The three had planned to take a hike through part of Ponyland that day. They would
start
on the west side of the river and go southeast, which would take them through some hills and
then woods. After they'd gone that far, they would turn around and head back to Paradise
Estate.
"Hi!" Friendly greeted them as he ran across the wooden bridge.
"Did you remember the Bushmelon?" Tabby questioned him.
Friendly held up a round, green Bushmelon. "Here!"
Sugarberry took the melon and put it in her backpack, which held all the food provisions
for the trip. They would have to stop along the way to eat lunch. "Okay, let's go!"
And so, the three started off.
* * *
"There hills-- sure are nasty-- to climb up," Tabby gasped as she stopped to catch her
breath on the steep, grassy slope.
"Nasty, yeah, yeah," Friendly agreed, who was as equally as weary as Tabby and
stopped
next to her.
"Well, we're almost to the top, and this is the last one!" Sugarberry said cheerfully.
"Then we get to go through the woods!"
"Let's get moving again," Tabby said, feeling energetic again. She started to trot
forward
and Sugarberry and Friendly followed.
* * *
"We made it to the woods!" Sugarberry said a little while later.
"It's too bad this is just a normal woods, and not the Dark Forest," Tabby said
mournfully. "The Dark Forest is so much more exciting."
"But it's always bad things that happen in there," Sugarberry said.
"Exciting bad things, through! I say it's better to be dealing with an exciting bad thing
than to be sitting around being bored!"
"Sure." Sugarberry shrugged.
"Not going straight," Friendly suddenly noticed.
"I think we are listing to the right," Sugarberry said. "It'd be best to go straight;
otherwise we might get lost."
"I think we're still going straight," Tabby said stubbornly.
"Tabby!" Sugarberry and Friendly exclaimed.
"Besides, I'm sure we won't get lost, even if we're going a different way. These woods
can't be that big," Tabby said.
Friendly and Sugarberry knew there was no way to reason with her, so they just kept
going the way they were.
* * *
A few hours later, they were still in the woods.
Sugarberry looked at her watch. "It's 1 o'clock! I had figured we'd be on the other side
of the woods at 12!"
"Well, we'll get out eventually," Tabby said.
"Maybe we should stop and eat lunch," Sugarberry suggested.
"We lost," Friendly said sadly. "But we eat lunch."
Sugarberry sat her backpack on the ground, and the three dined. But Sugarberry
decided
to save the Bushmelon back. "In case we're still out here at supper time," she explained.
Then they got back up, and continued on.
* * *
It was 3 o'clock. Tabby, Friendly, and Sugarberry were still wandering around the
woods
aimlessly.
"I wonder where we are by now?" Tabby wondered.
"Will we ever find out way out?" Sugarberry asked aloud.
"Never get back," Friendly mourned.
Suddenly, they heard something walking towards them.
"What's that?" Sugarberry said, alarmed.
Then, a smaller, purple pony with jewel eyes appeared in front of them.
"He's one of the Friendship Garden ponies!" Tabby excitedly exclaimed.
"Are we that close to the Garden?" Sugarberry asked the newcomer.
"Yes, it's just a short ways off," the purple pony said. "I'm Clever Clover. Are you
three
from Dream Valley?"
"Uh huh," Tabby said. "I'm Tabby, and she's Sugarberry, and the Bushwoolie's
Friendly."
"I've been to Dream Valley a few times since we and the other ponies discovered each
other," Clever Clover said. "How did you guys get so far away?"
"We take hike and get lost!" Friendly explained.
"Do you think you can help us get back?" Sugarberry asked.
"Oh, sure, that'll be easy." Clever Clover waved one of his hooves in the air. "All you
have to do is follow the path."
"There's a path?" Tabby asked, surprised.
"Path?" Friendly echoed.
"It starts at the entrance of Friendship Gardens and goes all the way through the woods,
and stops where the hills start," Clever Clover explained.
So they all followed Clever Clover. After running through the woods a few minutes,
they
came to a narrow, dirt path.
"Now we can get back!" Tabby exclaimed. "Thanks, Clever Clover!"
"Yes, it's lucky that we ran into you!" Sugarberry added.
"I think I'll go back with you to Dream Valley," Clever Clover decided. "I want to stop
at Bushwoolie Bargain Books again."
"Come, let get going!" Friendly said, and the foursome headed off on the path.
Clever Clover became fast friends with Sugarberry, Tabby, and Friendly. By the time
they reached Dream Valley, they had decided to all go to the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe
together after Clever Clover was done at Bushwoolie Bargain Books.