Mighty Force, a blue unicorn, stepped off the train and shook his head to clear the cobwebs from it. "I really need to stop falling asleep on that thing," he muttered under his breath as he slowly made his way to a building he hoped was the town hall. As he approached, a pink earth mare gasped and ran off. He blinked a few times and shook his head at the strange pink pony. "I certainly hope not everypony is as....odd as that one," he said as he stepped into the building. It felt odd to be in a place without a formal summons or having somepony let him know who he'd be speaking with.
As he approached the building, he almost bumped into a purple earth mare being shooed out of the building by a white unicorn. The earth pony seemed slightly unsteady on her hooves. He offered a slight smile. "Is everything okay, miss?"
She smiled lopsidedly at him. "Yeeaah, everything's fine. Rarib- Rara- Rarity just needs space to work."
Mighty nodded and gave a parting smile before stepping into the town hall. "Uh, hello there?" he called out to the room.
The white unicorn looked back over from where she had walked up to an unopened box. "Yes? Can I help you?"
Mighty smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, actually. I'm looking for the pony in charge of decorating for the Summer Sun Celebration. I'm assuming it's you?"
"Yes, I'm in charge of the decorations. Who are you?"
"My name is Mighty Force. I was asked to make sure everything was being taken care of for the celebration. If I can be blunt, I wasn't expecting a unicorn to be doing the decorating."
She frowned at him. "What? Why ever not?"
He chuckled slightly realizing what he said. "What I meant was that I didn't expect a single unicorn to be doing all the work. I assumed more of a group or a team working on the decorating."
The mare smiled. "Oh. Well, I am good at what I do. Making things beautiful is my special talent after all." With the last statement she turned slightly to better show her cutie mark, a trio of diamonds.
Mighty Force looked at the diamonds and smiled slightly. "I would have thought that would have something to do with mining or gem-craft rather than making things beautiful," he said with a curious look. "However, I can see how it's more versatile than my own talent."
"Oh? What talent would that be?"
"Offensive magic," Mighty Force responded as he turned slightly to reveal a trio of spiraling starbursts.
The white unicorn paused for a moment before replying. "I see. That is a rather specific use case. Did you consider joining the guard then?"
Mighty Force shrugged at her suggestion and gave a small smile. "I sort of wanted to get away from Canterlot for a little while. I thought that maybe I could settle down here and see if I could find a creative use for my talent. Maybe demolition work?"
"That would work. But, away from Canterlot? Why would you want to get away from Canterlot?"
"My family lives there," he said with an exasperated sigh. It wasn't that he disliked his family, but the politics of Canterlot eventually got to be too much for the young stallion.
The mare nodded. "I can understand that. I have tried endlessly to make my parents the slightest bit fashionable, but it was to no avail." She sighed dramatically.
Mighty Force chuckled slightly. "If anything, I seem to be having the opposite problem. I prefer not to take part in the Game."
"Oh. Very much the opposite problem, but I can understand. Subtlety is not for everypony."
"You clearly haven't played the Game if you really believe that it is all about subtlety," he said with a bit of a smirk.
The white mare tilts her head. "Perhaps not all of it, but surely it is an important part. Perhaps even The important part."
Veiled Light was woken by a blond maned, grey pegasus mare crashing into the cloud he was sleeping on. She flailed and shouted "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I thought I was going to make it around your cloud!" Then she paused, one of her eyes pointing off into the distance, the other focusing on the stallion with matching colors. "Wait, are you another me?"
Veiled nearly fell off the cloud. "What?" He looked between the two of them, still a little groggy from waking up. "No, I don't think so." His eyes widened. "CRAP! has it started yet?"
The mare looked around. "Has what started? Oh, the celebration? I don't think so. I just got back, but it shouldn't be till tomorrow morning. I think. Oh no, I'm probably late again!"
The stallion groaned and looked around, seeing that there were still ponies setting up for the celebration. He turned to the wall eyed Pegasus "Okay, I think we're good. You heading to help out with setting up with the celebration?"
The mare sighed in relief. "I don't have anything I need to do. I was planning to help other ponies out with whatever they need to set up."
Veiled hopped off the cloud, and flew down towards the town hall. "Well, let's see how we can help... Sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm Veiled Light."
The mare smiled. "I'm Derpy Hooves. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. Lets see if we can help."
As the pair enter, they see two unicorns, one a white mare, the other a blue stallion talking, while the mare opens one of several boxes with her magic. The pegasi trotted towards the unicorns and Veiled cheerfully waved to them
Mighty Force shook his head. "Rarity, was it? Trust me when I say that subtlety is a small part in the Game. Most of it is meant for power while subtlety is to pick off your opponents that show weakness."
Rarity frowned. "Hm. A bit different from how I envisioned it." A moment later she glanced away and gave a somewhat forced smile. "Ah. Hello, Derpy."
Veiled Light picked up a decoration out of a nearby box and stuck it on a random part of the wall, then tilted his head. "...Is this right?"
Mighty took a few steps out of the line of fire. The vague feeling of unease from when he had placed the fork on the wrong side at home let him know the particularities unicorn mares had.
Rarity's smile became strained and her eye twitched. "That is how the decoration attaches to the wall, yes. But perhaps you should let the expert handle this." Derpy poked her head in a box, and came out holding a spool of ribbon, somehow having gotten a bow attached to her head in the process.
Veiled turned to Rarity with a cheery smile. "Nah, it's good, I’ve got it." Then he turned it 76 degrees to the left, before thinking a moment and turning it 45 degrees right. "I think I got it."
Mighty blinked a few times and looked at the pegasus. "I strongly recommend you slowly back away and let Rarity here do the decorating. Much safer for your existence."
Veiled looked between the two unicorns and then followed Mighty's directions.
Rarity smiled at Mighty. "Thank you." She turned back to the pegasi. "It's not that I don't appreciate you trying to help, but this is an art form, the design of the decorations needs to reflect the glory of the sunrise. Now, if you don't mind, I think the way I'll get the most work done is with some peace and quiet."
Mighty nodded and smiled at the alabaster unicorn. "As you wish. I still have a few other things to check up on before the celebration."
She smiled back. "Well, don't let me keep you."
Veiled looked at everyone. "So... how can I help?"
Rarity sighed and smacked her face against one of the pillars.
Veiled noticed the dent in the pillar. "Um, if you want to remove that pillar, there's teams that can take care of that."
"Yes, he seems to be having that effect on me as well," Mighty said as he patted Rarity on the back before walking towards the exit. "If you wouldn't mind helping me keep an eye on things mister....?"
Veiled turned to Mighty. "Veiled Light, but Vei for short if you want."
"Veiled, if you'd be so kind as to follow me, I could do with some help. Preferably with some of the pegasi around the city… and perhaps finding my way around the town."
"Sure bro. Where to first?"
Derpy smiled as she finally got the bow off her head. "Can I help too?"
Veiled turned to Derpy " Sure, you can follow if you want."
Mighty smiled and nodded. "The more the merrier. I still need to make sure the music is being taken care of, the sky is clear, and the catering is taken care of."
Veiled's heart dropped as he remembered that he had to help clear out the sky. "Crap, I totally forgot that I had part in cloud duty." He dashed out the door. "I'll catch up later!"
Mighty chuckled at the pegasus' reaction. "And that is why I was brought here."
Derpy tilted her head. "You came because Veiled is on cloud duty?"
"No, I came to keep an eye on how things as they were prepared for the Summer Sun Celebration… and I just realized I was not informed about my accommodations, lovely."
Derpy frowned. "I'd offer my guest room, but somepony else is already using it. We could try to find Mayor Mare, or I could show you where the Ponyville inn is."
"I never planned on imposing on you. I would like to see if Mayor Mare could perhaps find a place for me. I'd prefer not to spend my bits if I don't have to."
She smiled. "Sounds good!" With that, she turned, then paused with one hoof in the air. "I have no idea where Mayor Mare is right now."
Mighty shook his head and sighed. "It's alright, Derpy. I'll see about finding a place to stay while I'm in town."
She momentarily frowned, but quickly perked back up. "So, where to first?"
"I think I'll just wander the streets for a bit. You're more than welcome to join, though," he said with a smile.
She smiled brightly. "Lead on!"
"Hurry it up, will you?” Rainbow yelled at the weather team. “I want to get back to my nap!"
Veiled arrived to where Rainbow was flying. "Sorry I'm late. Where do you want me?"
Rainbow glanced at Veiled. "Go help Flitter and Cloudchaser in the North West section. And try to make up for lost time since you're late. The rest of us have been hard at work."
Veiled nods. “Cool... or we could have a race? See how many clouds we could clear? Cause we've all got other things we'd like to do. The faster its done the faster the time for naps." He winks at her.
Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "You think you can match me? Ha!” She gestures at two roughly equal areas of clouds. “You take that section and I'll take that section. Loser has to buy the winner a cupcake from Sugarcube Corner. Deal?"
Veiled smiled. "Two cupcakes and you have a deal." He holds out a hoof.
Rainbow grinned and shook. "Oh, it is on!" With that, she started flying.
Rainbow finished her section of clouds, then stared in shock at where Veiled Light had already finished his section a moment before. "WHAT? How did-? I caught a bad wind." She sighed. "Fine. I'll get you your cupcakes soon."
"Thanks, RD." Veiled said between gasps. "I’ll be expecting those eventually."
Rainbow groaned. "Well, come on. Let's get this finished up."
Veiled nodded "Is there anywhere extra you want me to take care of?"
"Nah. Just make sure the sky gets cleared." She poked one of her wings with a light wince and muttered something that was lost to the wind.
Veiled said goodbye to Rainbow and flew off to take care of the rest of the clouds, feeling bad about having beaten her in that race.
After a bit of wandering, Mighty Force was able to find Sweet Apple Acres. He wandered into the orchard and looked around. "Hello," he shouted to the area, "I'm here to check on the catering for the celebration tomorrow."
After a moment, an orange earth mare trotted up. "Well, howdy Mister. We've got just about everything ready for the Celebration, just need to get the last pies out of the oven and get it to town hall. Ya want to try some?"
Mighty Force thought for a moment and gave a slight nod. "I don't see the harm in trying some of the food."
The mare smiled, grabbed Mighty Force's hoof, and pulled him off to a table, on which she started setting every imaginable apple related food on. "We have apple shortcake, apple bread, apple tallcake, apple pie..."
Mighty blinked a few times at the mare's rather firm grip and looked at the spread as she rattled off the food. "Uh, I think I'll just take a bit of apple pie and be on my way.I still have a few things to take care of before the celebration," he says with a slight smile.
The mare sighed. "Oh... Alright. If that's really all ya want. Ah suppose you already ate."
Mighty bowed his head guiltily. "I mean, there's no harm in trying a bit of everything," he said, floating over an apple fritter and taking a bite. "I am a bit ahead of schedule and I don't mind spending some time with a cute mare."
She blushed. "Aw shucks. Ya sure know how to compliment a mare. Not bad looking yerself."
He rubbed the back of his head with a hoof as he chuckled nervously. "I don't usually speak my mind but you seem to bring out the honesty in me."
"Ah do, huh? Ah can live with that. Ya sure ya don't say that to all the mares?"
Mighty smiled and shook his head. "If I had, I wouldn't have been able to leave Canterlot until tomorrow," he said with a slight chuckle.
She frowned. "What's that supposed ta mean?"
Mighty Force blinked a few times realizing what he said. "Er....what I mean is that if I went around complimenting all the mares and being rather suave, I may have a large crowd to get through and I wouldn't be here in Ponyville until at least tomorrow after all the good-byes." He decided not to mention the other possible activities that he could be pulled into at his departure.
The mare considered for a moment. "Ah suppose that makes sense." Then she smirked. "Though Ah don't think yer quite that good looking."
He smirked back and rolled his eyes. "Well, I stand by what I said about you. I don't think I caught your name. I'm Mighty Force."
"Well shoot. Ah did forget to introduce myself. Name's Applejack."
Between Veiled and Rainbow's race and the efforts of the rest of the team, the clouds were soon cleared, leaving clear skies for the Celebration. The various pegasi flew off to their homes to get ready.
Veiled glided down to the town. "Lets see about that cupcake payment. I need a snack." He landed and walked into to sugar cube corner. He almost walked into Rainbow as he entered Sugarcube Corner. She held three cupcakes, and upon recognizing Veiled, she shoved two of them at him.
"Here."
Veiled fumbled with the sudden cupcakes. "Thanks Rainbow." Noticing the awkward silence he cleared his throat. "So how's it going?" He asked trying to sound friendly.
Rainbow shrugs. "Well, we did get done pretty quick, but I'm kinda sore about our race. I should go practice some more." She started to walk towards the door, then paused. "How did you get so fast anyways?"
Veiled shrugged. "I think the wind was behind me in that area. But then again you did look pretty tired. Has training been rough?" he unwrapped one of the cupcakes and started munching.
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. I know I'm going to be a Wonderbolt one day, but getting there isn't as easy as I try to make it seem."
Veiled looked a little concerned "Hey, you can do it. You're a local legend at flying. If they knew how fantastic you are, they'd accept you on the spot." He smiled and tried to sound encouraging. "I know I'd never make it on."
Rainbow gave Veiled an incredulous look. "How do you figure? You beat me in a fair race today?"
"I guarantee that it was luck. That plus I don't practice speed with flight like you do, especially as often."
"I guess. Still, I should have done better. I should be good enough that just luck isn't enough to win."
Veiled thought for a moment. "Well... there are things that we can't control in life. There are some unpredictabilities that we run across... or that even run into us. But you can always work to do better.. be better." He sighed. "But hey, you're amazing and awesome. You can do it. Anyways I've got to go. I'll be seeing you." With that he turned out and heads towards town, needing groceries for tomorrow.
Rainbow blinked at the sudden departure. "See ya around."
Chapter 2: The Nightmare Comes
The town hall was crowded with ponies, all chattering excitedly. One pink pony appeared to be vibrating with excitement, Applejack was checking over the food tables, Fluttershy was preparing her birds to sing, and Derpy was hovering with a goofy smile. Veiled gave a hearty smile to the similarly colored pegasus, then turned his attention to the stage with butterflies in his stomach. He was a little excited and nervous to see the raising of the sun so close. Mighty gave a small smile around the town hall before turning to face where the celebration would begin.
Blue Nectar, a white pegasus with a blue mane in guard armor, entered the town hall, taking in the beauty of all the décor, amazing atmosphere and the abundance of cheerful ponies, being careful of where she's walking.
Mayor Mare walked up to her podium and smiled to the crowd. "Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!"
Veiled's ears fell to cover the shouts ringing through his ears. He wondered if he should have been outside.
Blue stood at her post and quietly cheered in excitement along with the other ponies, it being her first time to ever see the Summer Sun Celebration. She tried hard to conceal her excitement for the festival and being around so many other happy ponies.
"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..." She paused for Fluttershy to cue her birds. "Princess Celestia!” The curtains opened to reveal... Nopony.
Veiled removed his hooves from his fallen ears so that he could focus on the stage, wondering if she was just beyond his view
As the crowd started murmuring, Blue glanced nervously around at the other guards standing at their respective posts, unsure of what to do. The rest of the guards looked to each other, none present appearing to know what to do. Unfortunately, the guard captain had just taken leave to deal with an unspecified family issue, so there was no clear leader to look to with the Princess missing.
Mayor Mare shouted over the crowd. "Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!"
Blue Nectar had a sinking feeling as she remembered a certain old mare’s tale. She quietly asked a nearby pony, "Just as a clarification, today is the longest day in a thousand years, right?"
The pony stopped for a second to think, then nodded. "Yeah. That's right. Why-"
Suddenly, a tall, dark figure emerged from the backstage, her mane whipping about her head and her wings spread. "Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces."
Veiled slipped outside unnoticed at the new arrival.
"That would be why." Blue said quietly to the pony. She slipped out an exit to sneak around to the stage entrance doors.
As she did so she heard a rainbow maned pegasus yelling out, questioning what happened to the princess. The black alicorn responded, "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"
Veiled poked his head inside to see what is going on. He saw that Applejack was restraining Rainbow Dash from attacking the alicorn and had shoved an apple in Pinkie Pie's mouth. The alicorn stood proudly. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"
Veiled raised his hoof. "Excuse me, mam? who are you?"
"I am Nightmare Moon, your new queen, now that Celestia has been dealt with. All shall bow before me. Mwahahaha! Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!"
Outside, Blue remembered that she was a member of the Royal Guard for Canterlot. Those ponies in there needed her. With that realization, a fire of determination burned inside her and she went back inside, making her way to the edge of the stage.
Nightmare Moon looked down at the Blue as she dared to approach. "And who might you be?"
Blue Nectar stood in front of the towering legend with shaking legs. With a loud voice she cried, "I am Blue Nectar, member of the Royal Guard of Canterlot and I command you to stand down!" She spread her wings open as wide as she could, attempting to make herself look somewhat bigger and stronger than she actually was.
The alicorn paused and looks Blue Nectar over before replying. "An impressive presence, and quite bold. Would you be interested in joining my lunar guard when I reform it? You seem to have the potential to become a captain even."
Blue glared at the alicorn "I will never join you and your shady minions!! I will always stand by Princess Celestia and her subjects!!!" She stopped herself from saying more in fear that Nightmare Moon would harm the ponies surrounding her. She glanced around, hoping to see that some of the ponies were able to sneak away while she challenged Nightmare Moon. The townsfolk had backed away a bit, but most were just transfixed with horror. However, a pinkish unicorn with a purple mane and a trio of diamonds for a cutie mark made her way through the crowd to stand just behind and to the right of Blue, and yelled "You won't win, tyrant!"
Nightmare Moon snorted. "Enough of this! None of you can stop me, and my night will last forever!" With that, she flapped her wings, taking to the air.
Blue stood dumbfounded that she wasn't dead from that encounter.
Veiled turned to the nearest pony, a magenta earth mare with a trio of flowers for a cutie mark. "So... how are we getting the princess back?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea. I mean, I knew the stories, but I thought they were just old pony's tales!"
Veiled Light nodded. "I honestly forgot about this whole thing... but there must be something we can do. She is our princess. No sun means that it's gonna be really hard to tell the time." He picked up his voice to reach the guard mare who had stood up to Nightmare Moon. "Hey! What do we need to do?"
Blue Nectar snapped out of her trance and looked at Veiled. "Uh...w-well.." she paused to collect her thoughts. "The Elements of Harmony!!" She cried with excitement. She glided over to him. "You wouldn't happen to know anything on the Elements, do you?"
Veiled Light stared blankly. "No... Do you? I am a pegasus, so I don't really study magic stuff, nor magical items. I probably should though."
The magenta mare Veiled Light spoke to earlier trotted up. "Did you say you're trying to find the Elements of Harmony? They're just an old..." Her voice trails off and she looks back at the town hall for a moment. "What is it you want to know?"
Blue Nectar perked her ears up. "You wouldn't happen to know where they're at?"
"They're supposed to be in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, which is..." She shudders. "In the Everfree Forest."
"I think I know what you're talking about.” Veiled Light said, standing more confidently. “I've never been there myself, but I know the woods rather well."
Blue Nectar's ears dropped a little as the name of the forest came up. "Is that really the only place? Are you sure its not in another forest or maybe they're in a secret dungeon somewhere?"
The mare shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's where all the legends say they were left. The legends could be wrong of course, but then I'd have no idea where to start looking for them."
Mighty Force looked at the crowd and sighed as he walked out of the town hall. It seemed the only way to take down the alicorn was to find these supposedly legendary items. The idea made the stallion groan. "Celestia clop me with her wings," he muttered under his breath.
Blue Nectar sighed, then looked towards Veiled. "I guess we're gonna go on adventure to save the world?" she shrugged.
The unicorn mare who stood by Blue Nectar and Applejack trotted up. "Can I come too?"
Applejack winked at Mighty Force. "It wouldn't be right to let such a cute stallion go off into the dark, scary forest without my help."
Veiled Light's eyes widened "Wait, I just offered to guide you there. I don't think I could go up against someone so powerful. Plus, I would have no idea how to use it." He said, backing off a little.
Mighty Force sighed slightly and nodded. "I think that may be for the best as I may not be able to take on an alicorn on my own." It was true that his training was to handle more....civilian threats, not alicorns that could level him with a glance.
Veiled Light turned it over in his head for a bit, a slightly an unsure aura about him "... Well I guess I can help you out with more than just guiding you there. I am... okay at combat... but I'm not going without some magic ponies. That is my decision" He stood a little taller.
The magenta mare looked up at Veiled Light. "Actually, all ponies are magical, it's just that earth ponies express it through their strength and connection to nature and pegasi express it through their flight and weather manipulation. But even taking it as you meant, we have two unicorns with us."
Blue Nectar looked at the magenta mare. "Huh. Never thought about it like that before. Guess you learn something new everyday."
The pink unicorn smiled and reared up. "Let's do this!" Applejack rolled her eyes.
The magenta earth pony muttered to herself "For the foals, do it for the foals. You can do this Cheerilee."
Mighty Force nodded and looked at the forest. "Well, we may as well get going."
Veiled Light thought for a second. "Um.., I'm gonna need to make a stop real quick at my place. I need my stuff. I'll meet you all at the edge of the forest."
Cheerilee nodded at that. "I should get some medical supplies. I'll meet you there."
Mighty Force sighed and shook his head. "And this is why we try to pack light for a trip. I suppose I'll meet you all at the edge of the forest."
Veiled Light shrugged. "Well, I literally came here with nothing on. I wasn't planning on fighting a demon moon princess. But yeah, packing light is smart."
Applejack nodded. "I'll just get my lasso."
Mighty Force headed off in the direction of the edge of the forest, muttering a few choice words to himself.
Blue Nectar looked awkwardly at the other ponies, considering that she already had everything she needed. "I guess I'll make my way towards the forest and see you all there?"
A couple minutes later, at the edge of the forest Cheerilee came rushing up. Glancing around and seeing she was the last to arrive, she sighed. "Sorry for holding you up."
Mighty Force offered a smile to the magenta mare. "It's alright. Gave me time to try to formulate a battle plan for taking on an alicorn… I have nothing so far but I'll let you know if that changes."
Blue Nectar looked puzzled at Cheerilee’s late arrival. "Were you able to get everything you needed?"
"Yeah,” Cheerilee replied, “it was just scattered all around my house."
Blue nodded in understanding.
Veiled Light had been waiting patiently by a tree, re-stringing his bow and maintaining his equipment. Upon seeing that everypony had arrived, he stood up "So... I guess introductions are in order. I’m Veiled Light."
Applejack smiled. "I'm Applejack. I run Sweet Apple Acres."
"Mighty Force," Mighty said with a small smile. "In this case, I suppose it's best to make our way through the forest as quickly as possible and see if we can get these Elements of Harmony… or at least stop the scary alicorn from getting them."
The pink unicorn spoke next. "I'm Amethyst Star. Haven't got a job yet."
"I'm Blue Nectar." She smiled at everypony as she introduced herself.
The magenta earth mare finished the introductions with "And I'm Cheerilee, the local schoolteacher."
Blue looked to Veiled. "So, you said earlier that you knew Everfree Forest fairly well?"
"Yeah. I've basically grown up around it." He turned back to the group "If everypony is ready, lets go!" Veiled replied as he walked confidently into the forest.
Applejack and Amethyst followed confidently. Cheerilee hesitated, then darted after, frequently glancing around nervously.
Mighty nodded and brought up the rear, keeping an eye on the rest of the group. "Well, and here I thought my life in Ponyville would be boring."
Applejack gave him an odd look. "You didn't learn much about Ponyville before coming here, did you?"
"To be fair,” Mighty defended, “I never expected to have to visit the town. I expected to spend my days back in Canterlot, dealing with the politics of unicorn families. Thankfully, I took the opportunity to leave."
Applejack nodded. "Ah. Makes sense."
Blue Nectar looked around at the trees with an uneasy feeling. "You sure you know where to go, Veiled?" she asked quietly, catching up to where he was walking.
Veiled nodded, having found a path. After a bit of walking, the party found themselves at a cliff face. At the bottom of the cliff they could see the trail continuing onwards.
