Title:           Hunting Hope 5
Author:          EgomaniacalMonkeyMan
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/rQ1M7hQz
First Edit:      Tuesday 28th of May 2013 01:08:52 AM CDT
Last Edit:       Tuesday 28th of May 2013 01:08:52 AM CDT

>"She went that way? Are you sure?" Exclaimed Twilight incredulously
>"As certain as is possible," Rarity responded concernedly, "I've done the spell three times now, she's definitely in the badlands, poor dear."
>"She's not a deer, silly! Did you just call Hope a deer?"
>"What? No, Pinkie, it's a-- *sigh*" Rarity responded distractedly, her brow furrowing.
>"Jokes aside, the badlands are nothing to jest about. Especially now that the trains no longer go through this part of the country."
It was true, but once anon had been banished, ponies throughout Equestria had felt the bite.
>First the trains had fallen silent, those mechanical monsters or transportation.
>The conductors of old had been replaced by burly cart-horses.
>Only one of the metal beasts remained, reserved for political guests of honour, royalty, and special occasions.
The trains no longer passed through Appleoosa.
>Like so many other things, the spirit of exploration seemed to have died with it, and the tracks that connected East and West were removed, leaving only the much longer coastal tracks.
>"We'll go in there after her!" shouted an excited Rainbow Dash.
>"Are you so ready to make Hope your Moby Dick?" retorted Twilight, again ignoring the looks of confusion of her friends, "We've got to prepare if we're going to chase her into the desert."
>"We'll need water, and food, and a tent, annnd..." continued the bookish mare, pulling a scrap of parchment to write a list.
>"And parasols," Rarity chimed in helpfully.
 
>"Twahlight, hold yer horses!" Applejack swept in, "Y'all are thinking about this all wrong!"
>"Yes, I agree," whispered Fluttershy, trailing off into silence as the group turned to look at her, "the meep mep m.. .... ..... ..."
>"What Shy here is trahin' to sahy," Applejack picked up with a comforting glance towards the frightened pegasus, "is that the desert is unliveable now that the aqueduct is destroyed"
>"Yes, which is why we need water and-" Twilight picked up impatiently.
>"If you would let me finish, please." admonished Applejack irascibly.
>"The desert isn't a place ta stay in. So that means if Hope ran inta the desert, that means she's planning on runnin through it. Which means she's heading towards..."
>"Baltimare!" the six spoke all at once.
>"What could Hope want from Baltimare?" Rarity mused, "a city like that is a den of thieves and miscreants, and the ships only travel to the Griffon kingdom."
>"Why would she escape from us, who wish to capture and banish her from Equestria, only to flee our borders on her own any-ways?"
>"Perhaps she dahsn't know herself," replied Applejack sagely, "Ah tried to run away from home when ah was a filly. Didn't get nearly as far, mahnd."
>"But there's a certain lonely desperation to it. Ahnd that's when the only ponies chasin' ya ahr yer family trahin to bring ya home. Ah can't imagine what this is lahk for Hope"
>"We simply must catch up to her before she gets into Baltimare." Rarity spoke up with a steely glint in her eyes, "Hope is in need of our kindness."
>"Indeed, girls, we must catch her!" Exclaimed Twilight, somewhat missing the subtle shift in mood as her friends began to sympathize with their prey.
>"We shall take the train and meet her on the other side!"
 
 
Fluttershy is the hardest for me to write.
I know she speaks, but whenever there's an argument or discussion she really kind of wilts into the background, and it's tricky to find justifications for her to say anything.
 
Anyways, since this is on a new thread, and I can't link back to the previous chapters, superfast summary time.
>Hope has been on the run from the law after being banished from Equestria by Celestia
>After a year or so, the Mane six themselves are sent in the hunt.
The story shifts between focusing on Hope herself, and the hunting party.
I'm trying to make both sides very relatable, and I'm starting to have a glimmering of a couple good ways to toss the six against Hope and pull some good emotions out of it.
And as always, [spoiler] [/spoiler] [spoiler][/spoiler]>inb4 this project gets abandoned
Stay frosty, kiddos, and I promise there actually will be some Satyr in the next instalment.
 
APPENDED:
I suppose you're right, I need to flesh that out a little more.
My idea for this was that on her 18th (?) birthday or so, some terrible things happen.
Many ponies are injured, anon's inventions to help ponykind mysteriously break, and something happens that is terrible enough to warrant banishing them both.
Perhaps some kind of political misunderstanding, if the timing of anon's machines breaking coincides with a Griffon attack in such a way as to cripple Celestia's defenses.
At any rate, Anon and Hope are captured and convicted, and try to fight their way out. Hope escapes, Anon doesn't. So she's been on the run.
Since they were banished, Hope running amok through Equestria is unacceptable to Celestia. But Hope is fast enough and strong enough that the royal guards are helpless to capture her, alive or not.
So, the mane six are sent in, the next level up as it were.