Lost, Not Found

[Shake]

"Finally, the weekend! No work today!" Shake exclaimed, cheering, as he ate his breakfast. The meal in question was composed of a simple chocolate milkshake, a pair of waffles showered with chocolate syrup and, because of the breezy morning, a delicious cup of hot chocolate. He wiped his mouth off with the napkin and used his moth to carry the empty plates to the counter, before slipping on his saddlebags and heading for the door.

The young stallion walked out of the two-story house before pushing its door closed by kicking it with his hind-legs. He smiled at the road before him, and at the few ponies walking along the street. He then began to trot, following the road all the way to Ponyville's outskirts. He looked around for a bit in order to spot the lake. He smirked and walked over to the lakeshore.

The earth pony took a seat, letting the saddlebags slide off his body before opening one of them and pulling out a glass jar. Using his hooves, he attempted to force it open: He had forgotten his Jar-Opener at home! No proble, he could manage. Or so he thought, right before the jar rolled right into the lake and was grabbed from under the water by something he could not quite make out. He was in trouble now!

[avante]

A sigh crossed Avante's lips, as he stared in frustration at a piece of parchment on the ground in front of him, reading quickly. Somjething just wasn't right. He was currently lounging beneath a tree, his saddlebags next to him. A pencil hung absently from his mouth as he read. A lock from his mane fell into his eyes, and he glanced up. A scan of the area revealed that he wasn't alone anymore, another stallion had taken a seat, and was struggling to open a jar.

Avante gave a quick smile, and spreading his wings, flew over. Leaving his work behind, he spoke in a low, gentle tone. "Do you need some help?" he asked, blowing another strand of hair from his eyes. He glanced into the waters of the lake, looking for the jar that the earth pony had dropped.

[Shake]

The light blue pony sighed. "I think so, yeah. There's some things I need in that glass jar." he explained, with a stare at the lake. He sighed once more and stood up, turning to look at the fellow pony. "Hello, I'm Shake." he said, offering a smile at him. "I wonder how we can take that thing out, though... It appeared to having been pulled down by something; possibly a small critter attempting to take a bite out of it or something." he said, wondering if critters were as naive so as to wanting to take a jar.

[avante]

"Avante. But I go by 'Vante, or Novel." he said with a shy little grin. "Well..." he said, landing on the ground at the edge of the lake. "How far down did they tug it? I don't seem to see it." he said, then took a deep breath and put his head under the water, opening his eyes wide to see if he could catch a glimpse of the jar.

Pulling his head up, he shook it gently to remove most of the water from his ears and nose. "Hm... I don't know where it went." he said with a small frown. "Wish I had my goggles right about now, I'd just jump in." he glanced to his saddlebags. Today, he hadn't packed his goggles, he hadn't planned to do any quick flying, so it was a waste of space.

[Shake]

Shake shrugged at the pony. "That's exactly my problem. It appears to having gone way too deep!" he explained, sighing. He then looked at the water and attempted to make out something, but with no success. He then stuck his head into the water, just like the other pony had done earlier, but still, tu no avail. He looked at the other pony. "Maybe we could... Create something! A fishing pole or something. And attempt to reach it somehow. Perhaps, if we tie food to it, the thing that pulled that down could come back and allow us to recover the jar!" he said, suddenly getting such a strange idea.

[avante]

"That seems like it could work. But what should we use to bait it?" he asked, glancing to a nearby tree, for a proper branch to use. He'd read about making fishing poles before, and had a rough idea of how it was done, but... He'd never tested it. The pegasus had a bit of his earlier meal in his bags still, a couple bites of oats. So maybe they were fine on bait.

A thoughtful sound escaped his throat. "I'll get the branch for the pole, if you've got something to use as a line." he said, grinning over at the other male. "I'll be right back." he said, before taking a few galloping steps and launching himself into the air, flying towards a nearby tree. He clenched a branch in his teeth and twisted, then pulled sharply. A loud crack was the reward for his efforts, and he was now holding a fairly long stick in his teeth.

'Vante made his landing, and dropped the stick on the ground for a moment. "It's rough, but it's the best we've got handy." he said. The stick was pretty straight, not many outgrowths. And it was from a young willow tree, so the wood had some flex to it, and wouldn't snap right away if something grabbed onto it.

[Shake]

Shake nodded as the pony suggested him to get something for the line, and he opened up his saddlebags. Rummaging through both of them and pulling out various items, he finally found a loose rope he had been keeping there in case he needed to tie something to his back. He smiled and placed it on the grass with his mouth, waiting for his friend to get the branch.

As soon as Vante returned, he pushed the rope with his forelegs in order to make him notice. "I think this may work! I also found some apples and chocolate in my bag. We could use them as bait, perhaps!" he suggested, nodding at the other stallion.

[avante]

Avante nodded, staring at the rope for a moment. After a couple seconds, he lifted the rope, and using some quick toothwork, he tied it to the end. "And there we go. 'Operation: Make a fishing pole outta whatever's handy' is a success!" he smiled, then held up one hoof. "I'll be right back." he said, sprinting for his saddlebags, and putting them on his back, before returning. Shedding them on the ground a little closer to where Shake was. "Sorry, just didn't want to leave my stuff alone." he grinned.

Thinking for a moment, he looked at Shake. "An apple would float too much..." he said thoughtfully. "But maybe some oats will suffice as bait." he said, and stared at the rope. Now the only problem was attaching their bait to the line... and of course, the actual fishing.

[Shake]

"Oats could work, yes!" he exclaimed, examining the small grains. The pony then looks around for something. Soon enough, he comes into it: Regular tape. He looked at the grains and walked towards them, picking a bunch up with his mouth and placing it onto the tape. He then ripped an equal part off and made the food stick together, leaving an opening, in case it would attract the creature in such a way. Then, he walked to the pole and placed the bundle on the ground. "Are you good with knots? I'm much better at serving desserts than at tying stuff..." he admitted.

[avante]

Avante bit his lip, thinking. "It was one thing tying the knot to the end of the stick..." he said, then picked up the bundle of oats, and set it next to the end. Then he sat back a little, looking stumped. "Wish somepony who knew magic was around." he muttered, and thought back to the wilderness guide he'd read.

The knot he wanted was vividly pictured in his mind, and with a little effort, and a couple failed attempts, he managed to connect the oats to the line. A grin crossed his face, and he let out a victorious chuckle. "Got it." he nodded at the now-complete fishing pole. "Would you like to do the honors, Shake?" he asked, smiling.

[Clover]

Clover had always liked the lake. It was so clean, calm, and relaxing - almost like a sky on the ground, a sky she was allowed entry to. Other pegasi had places like Cloudsdale, and she had this. In her free time, she often ended up going for strolls simply because she still had energy and wanted to use it... today, she had ended up here. You could almost say she was pleasantly surprised, considering she hadn't been aiming anywhere in particular. When the lake greeted her eyes, she smiled immediately.

This smile was soon interrupted by an expression of surprise and curiosity. She'd heard a wish. Well, she'd heard somepony saying they wished for something, anyway. Her eyes moved to the source - only a few feet away, really - two ponies by the lakeside. Somepony who knew magic, he said? She didn't... but maybe she could help anyway. Trying her best to look as un-nosy as possible, she trotted over to the two. "Hello" She spoke as clearly as she could, trying to make a good impression. She'd never seen this pegasus before, and she'd never actually introduced herself to either of them. "What are you doing? If it's okay for me to ask." She added the last bit quickly, with a smile. Curiosity got the best of her sometimes, and she didn't want to seem rude.

[Shake]

Shake turned around, and looked at the mare. He thought she looked familiar; possibly, she was an usual sight in Ponyville, and he had just seen her passing by sometime. The young pony immediately inspired a slight curiosity and confidence in Shake, so he was quick to smile in greetings at her. "Hello!" he responded after Clover greeted them. He then listened; the young mare didn't appear to be intending to do any harm more than she appeared eager to help, so Shake found it a good choice to share what they were doing.

"We're fishing." he responded. "Well, kind of fishing... You see, I dropped an item accidentally and, strangely, something grabbed it and pulled it down. We're trying to lure that thing to us so that we can get my jar back." he stated, motioning to the fishing pole. "If you want, you may stay and help us!" he offered, before recalling the fact that they were still strangers to her. "I'm Shake, by the way!" he said smiling, and looked at Avante in order to incite him to introduce himself.

[avante]

Avante smiled shyly at Clover as she approached, setting the fishing pole down. "Hello, I'm Avante Novella. I go by 'Vante or Novel, mostly." he said with a quick bob of his head. "We could use some help. We can't see the jar, so we decided to try to fish it up!" His eyes flicked over to the surface of the water. "I don't know much about what lives in the water though, other than the fish. He sighed softly, and shook his head.

Turning his attention back to the mare, he asked in a friendly way, "Do you want to help?" he smiled. "Three's a party, after all." he said gently. His mane was still damp, and a piece of his bangs had fallen over his face. Again. A grumpy frown flicked across his face, and he blew it upwards. (It promptly fell back in place.)

[Clover]

"Something... grabbed it?" Clover tilted her head, looking at the water suspiciously. What could have done something like that? She had always assumed that the lake had nothing in it but fish, but that was a silly thing to think, really. It was clever of them to make a fishing rod to figure this out... and now, out of curiosity, she had to help. She had never gone fishing before, especially not under circumstances as strange as these. It would be very exciting.

"I'm Clover" She introduced herself, in response to the other two. "And I'd love to help, if I can. I don't know how fishing works, but if you point me in the right direction I can probably handle it!" The help of a friend was key when learning something new, she knew this well. As far as she was concerned, these ponies were her friends already.

[Shake]

Shake nodded and looked back at the rod. He had barely used one of those before, but he may be able to handle it. He picked it up with his mouth, and with quite comical movements, released the line into the water, expecting for something to turn up. Still holding the rod, and because of that not being able to speak so well, he looked at his friends. "This is kind of painful.." he attempted to say. Indeed, his teeth were hurting, but he held it for a bit more.

A few minutes later, though, Shake gave up and threw the rod aside, hurting more than he had thought he would. "Ow... It's not as easy as it looks to carry that thing in your mouth..." he said, rubbing the side of his snout with his forehood. "Anypony else wants to try?"