Sweetheart put her hooves on her hips and sighed. "Teddy, Ace, get over here, now!" The pranksters' heads sunk low to the ground as they trotted up to the group. "Ugh, boys." sighed Bon Bon. "We heard you were going on a walk, so we wanted to maybe... uhhh... have a little fun." said Ace. "Do ya mind if we come along too?" asked Teddy. "Alright." answered Patch grudgingly. The two boy ponies trotted up to their girlfriends and the group started on the dusty trail through the woods.
A full moon started to appear in the night sky speckled with stars. Clover looked up with a scared look on her face. "It s...s...sure is d...d...dark." she stammered quietly. "Oh, just shut up, Clover!" Patch snarled. Clover's teeth started to chatter, but she kept her mouth shut. Starlight screamed as a bat soared above her head. Ace put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "Maybe we should turn back." Sweetheart said in a worried tone. "Don't worry, Sweets," Teddy answered as he nuzzled her sweetly, "if anything happens, I'll protect you."
"Sweetheart's right!" said Melody. "It's getting pretty creepy out here." "Oh, nonsense!" yelled Patch. "We're perfectly fine! If we do get lost, we can always use the good ol' North Star." Nobody said anything for a while, until Bon Bon complained of hunger, and munched on one of the many chocolate bars she had brought along in her crammed sack.
Out of nowhere, a loud rumbling noise was heard. A large streak of lightning danced across the night sky, casting an eerie light upon the forest. The group screamed in terror as rain and hail streamed from the dark cloud looming above. One soon blocked out the moon, making it almost pitch-black. Everyone was running everywhere, bumping into trees and brambled bushes. Starlight and Sweetheart rushed to find their boyfriends in the pouring rain and hail.
Almost as quick as it had started, the storm stopped and moonlight was seen once again. The group sighed with relief. "Heyyyyy! Over here!" a mysterious voice called. Everyone turned around to look at the trail behind them. Out of the shadows galloped Lancer, adorned with his adventure and survival gear. "LANCER!" everyone called as they ran up to their friend. "I knew he'd come! I knew it!" Teddy cheered. "You're really becoming one of us guys!" "Yeah," answered Lancer, "but I still don't believe in playing childish pranks on harmless ponies." Teddy crossed his arms and, with an angry frown on his face, walked away.
Lancer reached into his backpack and pulled out a tattered, rolled-up sheet of paper. "Here's a map of the woods." he said, unrolling it. "We're here, by the gorge." He pointed at a large gorge towards the center of the map. "Now if we just go..." Lancer said, and as her tried to turn the map, a large gust of wind blew by, sending the map straight out of Lancer's hooves. "NOOO!" everyone yelled.