Hivemind Control

Rainbow grunted in frustration. "This is gonna take forever if we keep going so slow. Can't we go any faster?"

Twilight shook her head. "All we know for certain is that the princesses both took this path. We don't know where they diverged other than beyond the line of sight, which is most of the path. We have to first find the point where they went off the road, then follow them from there. We have to be meticulous."

"Every detail matters," agreed Rarity. "As much as I would love to have this over and done with as quickly as possible, this is a task in which missing a vital detail early on could cost us in the long run. A stitch in time saves nine, as it were."

"We're not sewing together a poncho, we're looking for the princesses," retorted Applejack. "What Twilight means is 'measure twice, cut once.'"

"But that doesn't make any sense," huffed Pinkie. "You're supposed to measure all the ingredients, not just two. And you really should cut the cake into more than two pieces. That's a lot of calories."

"Yeah, right," chuckled Rainbow. "Like you would know how to count calories."

"Hey!"

"We've all seen you eat a cake whole, Pink," agreed Applejack. "How you can stomach that much sugar is beyond me."

"Um, girls?" muttered Fluttershy, a fair few steps behind the group.

"Now's not the time to be fighting," grunted Twilight. "Especially not so loud. If it was some kind of creature that spirited the princesses away, we'll never sneak up on it like this."

"Then we should be making more noise!" shouted Rainbow. "We draw it out of hiding and force it to tell us where the princesses are!"

"If'n you're right, I'd be right behind ya," agreed Applejack. "But what if it were bandits? They'd hear us comin' and know we're lookin'. All they'd hafta do is hide from us and we'd miss 'em."

"We don't know what happened to them, that's the point," argued Rarity. "It's no use speculating, we just need to follow the trail and look for clues."

"Actually, we're--" started Fluttershy.

"That's not even counting the fact that they could be just fine," smiled Pinkie. "Always with the negativity. We haven't even considered the fact that they might have just walked away."

"They wouldn't just walk away," dismissed Twilight. "The princesses wouldn't just abandon Equestria like that."

"Well, not normally," agreed Rarity, "but consider that Luna and Celestia haven't been themselves. If you consider their bizarre behaviour, the two of them might have run off in a fit. I think that, following such an event, Cadance and Shining Armor would do their utmost to ensure their safety. Doesn't that sound more likely than 'they all just went crazy and ran off?'"

Twilight sighed and hung her head. "At this point, I'd be happy just to know that they're safe. It's agony, thinking they might be hurt, or worse. Any indication that they're alright would be so soothing right now."

"At least we know we're goin' the right way," smiled Applejack, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"No, we're not," called Fluttershy from the back. Everypony stopped and turned around to look at her, causing her to shrink down. "At least, I'm pretty sure we're not."

"What makes ya think that, Sugarcube?"

Fluttershy turned to one side. Sitting atop her shoulders was a very large crow, its feathers glistening blue in the afternoon sun. As it cawed, Fluttershy translated. "He said that a few days ago, he saw Celestia's carriage come through with Cadance pulling it." The crow cawed again and pecked at the back of her head. "Excuse me, an ornate white carriage with a royal seal on the door pulled by a pink alicorn with purple wingtips and a tiara. My mistake. Anyway, it turned left at the fork rather than going straight forward."

"And how do we know that he saw it?" scowled Rainbow, flying down to look him in the eye. "He might just be saying that to knock us off course."

The crow bit Rainbow's nose and flew up into a nearby tree, stopping at a nest that was filled with his own feathers, along with a few other belongings. The nest had a perfect view of the fork in the road.

Rainbow flew up to the nest and pointed her hoof at the crow. "You win this round, but if we have to come back here, it's going to be ugly." The crow simply bit her hoof, staring at her until she flew back to the others. "So what's the plan? Are we splitting up?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "Do you think he's a trustworthy source, Fluttershy?"

"I do," she nodded. "If anything, I think he exactly described Celestia's carriage and Cadance pulling it, and the guards at Fort Phalanx said that was how they left. If he is lying, he's really, really good at making things up that align with recorded truth. It would either be a really impressive lie or a simple truth."

"Occam's razor," nodded Twilight. "It would make more sense that he saw it. They were supposed to pass by here, regardless. Does he know anything about Luna's carriage?"

"No. At least, he didn't say anything."

"It might not have made it this far," sighed Applejack. "If it did pass this way, it probably would have been spotted from the fort, and they didn't see nothin'."

"At any rate, we don't know whether or not they did go off course, but we do know that the guards that were sent after them didn't find anything," reasoned Rarity. "It stands to reason that if the guards couldn't find anything, they may have been looking in the wrong spot. At the very least, it couldn't hurt to check."

"No, I suppose not," smiled Twilight. "Okay, then. Onwards we go."

Backtracking to the intersection, the group took the new path as indicated by the crow. While the path they had been taking opened up into flat prairie, their new path took them into a woodland with tall trees all around. It wasn't the darkest place, but it was certainly a path less often traveled, more cut off from the heavier traffic of the main road. While this road could have led to Ponigsburg, it was a less direct path. They would need to keep their eyes peeled and their wits about them.