Finding an animal trail in the dense wildwood proved excruciatingly difficult. Stumbles over roots or into scratchy, thorny bushes seemed more frequent than they should be, and the thick foliage hid any sight, or light, of moon or stars. After a small slice of eternity, Cook and Sunset resorted to trading off the middle position and illumination duty. "It's like . . . like holding a lantern overhead in one hand," Sunset whispered to Rose. "Your arm gets tired after a while. Lighting up like this is just as tiring, so we have to rest our alicorns."