Fever Enigmatic

Winter examined the tunnel for a second, before slowly hopping down the stepping stones that he recognized as Summer's work. Once he reached the last step, he made a quick look around before flipping his cloak back off of his wings, and slowly and carefully flew down the tunnel. The whole time he kept his ears open for any sounds of ponies or otherwise approaching. If anyone came, he could disappear in a blink.

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Sunset Stroll blinked in surprise at Winter's exit. It appeared it was a soft spot for him. He shook his head as a thought crossed his mind. "Sorry to interrupt, but I have an important question for Summer. As far as I can tell, there are two reasons for Winter to leave the house right now: He's fed up with people talking about him like he's not here and wants to go home, or he's fed up with people talking about him like he's not here and he wants to go explore the cave. Which is more likely?"

"Good question! Let's go outside and find out!" Marvel replied, pointing at the door with an exhasperated tone.

Misfortune sighed as the ponies filed out of her home. ((...Right? Good.)) She followed behind, carrying her washtub and locking the door behind them. Without another word, she started her way back to the clinic.

Again.

"Well! She was certainly eager to be rid of guests, wasn't she?"

Fairy sighed, tossing back her hair for punctuation.

"You know, Ms Cake, I don't want to intrude on any ponies personal life -though I will admit a guilty fascination with it; I am a drama mare after all- but I think the doctor here is quite right. Since Ms Burst and I were heading to the caves, perhaps it would be best if you checked your home."

Flying down the tunnel, Winter could feel the air getting damper. The sparkleberries became more sparse and the tunnel walls were lined with thorny roots. A few stretched across the tunnel, making it more perilous to navigate.

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Summer frowned. She had the link that told her where where Winter was, and given that he was apparently downward from where she was, that didn't leave many options. Not that she needed it to guess where he went. "No way Winter went home after this. The tunnel is the best place to look for him."

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Winter knew he wasn't the best flyer, so he navigated the obstacles slowly and carefully.

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While moving through the roots, Winter felt a few light scratches. Ahead of him he could hear water.

Birthday Cake paused in rubbing her eyes. "Yes, almost certainly he went to the tunnels," she said after a while, heading out the door. "I suppose we're going in after him, now, aren't we?"

As Winter flew closer, he saw an underground stream collecting into a small lake where it intersected with the tunnel. However, he was starting to feel ill...

Weary...

Tired.

"Yes." Sunset Stroll replied, brief for once, heading towards the mouth of the cave.

As he began to feel drowsy, Winter dropped down to the ground. He had enough presence of mind to flip his cape back over his wings, but after that he just stood there, blearily staring at the things in front of him.

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As they approached, Summer noticed Winter's block on their connection getting weaker. She could tell that there was something wrong, although he wasn't sure what.

"Well, let's get going." Summer said nervously, before almost galloping down the steps and the tunnel after Winter.

"Cripes." Sunset Stroll mutters, chasing after Summer. "Please try not to trip and sprain anything. I don't like doing bindings in such low light." He says as he catches up to Summer, just a little tartly.

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Winter could hear the sound of hooves coming from behind him but in front, all was peaceful.  Enough to lull one to sleep.

As Summer galloped, she felt Winter's thoughts grow more faint, and even though she wasn't a pegasus, she practically flew over the vines, and soon reached Winter, who was sleeping curled up on the ground. "Winter! Winter, wake up!" Summer said, lightly shaking him, while trying to keep her voice calm, and looking him over to see what exactly happened.

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Summer could see that cuts on Winter's body, probably from the roots. They didn't seem deep at all but in this short time they already looked slightly infected so the roots may have been poisonous.

Sunset Stroll is hot on her heels, looking over Winter worriedly. "Stand back for a moment, Summer." He says firmly, bending over Winter and feeling the cuts and slight bruising.

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fairy Charmer said nothing as they passed the sparkle berry patch, though she did take a moment to squeeze one under hoof. She followed the others down the tunnel with a look not unlike vindication.

That look vanished as she noted the thorny vines that grew across the cavern floor. As Summer raced across, the drama mare took a slower, more cautious route. She placed one hoof on the thin piece of floor between two vines, twisted herself, then planted another. Whenever she was about to step on a thorn, she turned her body, stepping clear instead, like some elaborate dance.

She finally made it to the other side behind the others, frowning. From the look on Summer and Sunsets faces... well, even besides looks. She could practically taste the worry in the air.

Spoiler:

Sunset noticed that some of Winter's features were a little...different...than a normal pegasus. But on the more pressing matter of the infection, he saw that the wounds would need to be treated and he would need to discern the nature of the toxin so he could diagnose an antidote.

Light Burst was behind Fairy Charmer when she caught up to the rest of the group. Rather than her usual volume, she simply opted to keep quiet.

Sunset grimaces. "We need to get him to the clinic immediately." He announces. "And when we get out of here, we should seal off the entrance. Be very careful not scratch yourself, something in these thorns is poisonous." He carefully shrugs the small 'Pegasus' onto his back and hurries back down the tunnel.

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"I am begining to wish I had a suit," Fairy muttered after the pony. She looked back at the remaining members of the expedition team.

"Ms Cake, you should probably head back up with the doctor and your family. That being said, I'm rather curious as to how far this tunnel goes, or what it may contain. It would be quite unfortunate if Ms Fortunes house was to collapse into it sometime... Ms Burst, should we proceed?"

"The entire tunnel is covered in poisonous thorns. No one is going to risk their life by going any deeper." Sunset Stroll says, as politely as he can while still making it an ironclad statement.

Meanwhile, at the clinic...

"One of these days," Misfortune muttered. "One of these days, I'll have a day where nothing goes wrong. I'm ready for night shift," she said to Bitter Medicine. "I hope it's alright that I brought my laundry gear. I figured if I'm going to be here all night by myself, I might as well work on these stains."

"As long as you respond to emergencies as they arise, doing your laundry is fine.  If you need me, I'll be in my quarters."  Marvel watches as Bitter Medicin closes the door and audibly locks it.

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As Marvelous Misfortune gets started with her laundry, Sunset Stroll rushes in carrying an unconscious Winter Dreams and with several others following.

"The tunnel system under your house is filled with poisonous thorns." Sunset Stroll says, rather winded. "Summer blocked the entrance, but don't go down there. How much do you know about treating poisons?" Without waiting for an answer he bustles through to the back room of the clinic, laying Winter down on a cot. He reaches into his bag and produces a large piece of vine, excessively wrapped and covered with gauze. "Between Winter's blood and the branch, I'm hoping we can figure out what this poison is." He says, pulling a microscope, a scalpel, and a rather large textbook out of various shelves.

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"You do that. In the meanwhile, I'm going to take a wild guess and try one of those Zap Apples; if it works, great, if not then it won't hurt anything, will it?" Marvel responded, keepingnher head as she carefully grabbed one of the apples from a bucket in her teeth.