Raisin Quest 2
Log 1

The soft morning sunlight caresses your violet mane. As the warmth washes over your face, your eyes pop open, greeted by a beautiful Saturday morning sunrise. You try to inhale a deep lungful of your mother’s crisp, cinnamon pumpkin muffins, but you find that your nose is still completely plugged up. You sigh, fruitlessly trying to clear your nose with a silky white handkerchief.

As you make your way to the kitchen, you hear the excited voice of one of your friends outside. She inquires feverishly as to your whereabouts. Calmly and cooly, your dad responds by saying that “Raisin’s sleeping.” He sips on his coffee and mentions that your cold must have thrown off your sleep schedule; usually, you’d be awake for muffins by now. Your pattering hoofsteps catch his attention and he retracts his last statement, opening the door for Applebloom.

Almost immediately, she and her dark blue CMC cape zip up to you. She says that there’s super important CMC business that you simply cannot miss. She tells you to grab your stuff quick; there’s absolutely no time to waste.

In the kitchen, you see your saddlebag lying right where you left it from school the day before. As Applebloom grabs a pair of piping hot muffins from your mother’s pan, you look over a small pile of things you could bring. There’s a box of candles, cough drops, your favorite doll named “Hayseed”, an old green history book, a children’s story novel, and the handkerchief you’re holding in your teeth. Inside the bag is your secret Stompstarter (fire starter) that you don’t want your parents to find out about.

You decide to take Hayseed, the box of candles, your cough drops, and your history book.

Just as your about to ask Applebloom what she's in such a hurry for, Applebloom stuffs a muffin in your mouth and pulls you along behind her. She looks back over her shoulder and gives thanks for your mother’s fine cooking. With your mouth full, you’re unable to ask any useful questions along the way.

She explains that Sweetie Belle has called a secret CMC meeting at the clubhouse; she doesn’t know what about, but you’re going to find out soon enough.

You and Applebloom bound through the orchard, eventually coming to a sequestered tree fort. You clamber behind your friend up the ramp, nearly running into her as you screech to a halt in the main room. The door shuts behind you and the room is dark.

Sweetie Belle ignites a small, blue light inside of a thick iron cage. She clears her throat and welcomes everyone to the strange, unscheduled meeting. You can see 4 others around you; Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Spike.

“You all know why you’re here, right?”

"Oh... right... secret meeting and all..." Sweetie Belle laughs a anxiously to herself before nodding. The other presiding members roll their eyes.

She explains that, very recently, Spike has moved in with her and Rarity at the Carousel Boutique. While she’s had a lot of fun and has conducted many successful tea parties since his arrival, Spike’s sudden change of residence has some very suspicious and weird reasons behind it. She motions over to an embarrassed Spike to explain the situation a little further.

He says that a new baby dragon has come into town. He goes by the name ‘Cil’. Ever since he first arrived in town, he’s been practically living at the library. While he tends to keep to himself, he’s been relentlessly asking Twilight questions about magic. Spike thought it was a little weird, so one day he snuck up behind Cil to see what he was reading. Two books on the table stood out; “Modern Magic” and “Ceremonial Amulets”. When asked why he’d read such boring old unicorn books, Cil got extremely defensive over them and covered them up.

The next day, Spike woke up next to a pile of ashes and a fuming mad Twilight. After that, Twilight said that she understood he was jealous of ‘Cil’ getting all of her attention. She said that she made arrangements for Spike to stay at Rarity’s house, to which he enthusiastically obliged. Even though he was totally not jealous of Cil’s creepiness, it was a great chance for him to get closer to Rarity.

Spike goes on to say that he's not sure why, but he suspects that this new dragon is far more than he appears to be. He's very intelligent, conniving, and all around just reeks of bad news. His fascination with magic is also very peculiar, seeing as dragons cannot perform any magical feats whatsoever.

Spike thinks that they should investigate this 'Cil' guy and find out what he's up to. At first, he suspected that the new dragon was there to try and replace him as Twilight's assistant, but then Cil made mention that he wouldn't be in town too long. Something about needing to go to Canterlot to see an old friend.

You inquire about where Cil might be at this very moment. Spike says that the dragon is probably still at the library. He warns you that the little robed creep is extremely paranoid; he won't let anyone near him, even Twilight, while he's reading.

Scootaloo suggests that the group head out and find this 'Cil' guy. If they at least see him, they'll have a better idea of what they're dealing with. Applebloom mentions that it may also give them an opportunity to ask some questions.

Sweetie Belle is feeling a bit cautious. She advises they meet back at the Boutique; she's forgot a map there that could help them plan a bit better. Spike knows Cil's daily routine; it could help with trying to stalk him.

You peep up to ask if Spike has talked to anyone about the new dragon or tried giving Celestia a ring. He shrugs his shoulders, saying that Twilight already sent the Princess a letter about him.

Apparently, the Princess thought Cil was interesting. She told Twilight to keep a close eye on him and report to her if she noticed him doing anything really weird.

You cast your vote for going to the Boutique to fetch Sweetie's map. Scootaloo scoffs, saying that the group needs to take action. They need to be more like Rainbow Dash, not Fluttershy. Her plea goes ignored, however, as the troupe heads back into Ponyville to visit the Boutique.

Upon arrival, Sweetie lays out a big, crayon-drawn map of Ponyville. She asks Spike to start pointing out spots that he has seen Cil travel to during the day. His claw keeps going back to the library, however, as that is where Cil spends a majority of his time, mostly reading and talking to Twilight.

There's several marks on the map; the Library, Sugarcube Corner, and the road to Fluttershy's Cottage. Applebloom and Scootaloo seem to be fixated on going to the Library...

You see if the team would be willing to split up and investigate the two suspicious areas that Cil is most likely not at right now. Scootaloo jumps in, saying that you shouldn't be the one to call all of the shots. She suggests that she and Applebloom go check out the library while you, Sweetie, and Spike look around Sugarcube Corner.

Applebloom seems to be on board with this idea, but looks to you again. You seem to be rather good at making non-fatal decisions; surely, you must be on to something with your plan.

You push that the group needs to confront Cil altogether, not split up into tiny groups. As you get a bit louder, you feel a bout of coughs coming on. You shake your head, then continue pressing your point.

Scootaloo shakes her head, thinking the group needs to find Cil right now and see what he's doing. Your pressing gets Applebloom on your side; she agrees that Cil is kind of weird and, if at all anything, you should all confront him at the same time, after you've found out a little more about him.

Just then, you hear the front door to the boutique open up. Rarity turns and heads downstairs. "I wonder who that could be..."

You decide to suppress the loud coughs with a lemon flavored cough drop. It doesn't taste much like lemons, but it keeps you from giving away your position. Applebloom folds up the map and hides it in her saddlebags.

You push Sweetie Belle towards Rarity. She gets a confused look on her face, then nods her head with a smile. She accompanies Rarity down the staircase.

Loudly, you hear Sweetie Belle yell back towards the stairs, "Oh! Twilight! What a surprise! Did you come to see Spike?!"

Scootaloo facehoofs.

You approach the staircase to see if you can hear talking downstairs. All you hear initially is a murmur, but then Sweetie's voices cracks back up the stairs,

"Cil lost dropped his notebook and you're trying to find him?! That's terrible! Where could he be if he's not at the library?"

Applebloom looks worried. "Oh no... she's gonna up and give us away..."

You motion for Scoots and Applebloom to follow you downstairs. As you appear, Twilight laughs quietly to herself. "Ah, that's why."

Rarity asks about the little notebook that Twilight is holding. Twilight mentions that Cil never goes anywhere without it; he told her that it's his little journal. She wants to find him soon so that he doesn't worry too much.

Quickly, you interject that you and the CMC are trying to discover if delivering things is your super special talent. Your friends quickly follow your suggestion up with a loud 'CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SPECIAL DELIVERY PONIES YAY!' Twilight and Rarity try to shake the ringing out of her ears.

"Well... uh..." Twilight ponders the idea for a moment before giving you the look. "You're not going to try and read through his journal, are you?"

Your group all don innocent smiles and sprout some halos, swearing that you'd never do something so mischievous. Since you're all looking for Cil anyways and Twilight has to fetch some books for him, she doesn't see the harm in letting you deliver the little journal. After you promise not to read the contents, she slowly hands the book over to Sweetie Belle.

"Take really good care of it. Cil would get really depressed if his notebook were to get damaged."

Twilight turns out of the Boutique, heading back into Ponyville.

(Savepoint, take journal out of Boutique, check it for booby-traps/enchantments before opening)

With the interesting little journal in your saddlebags, Rarity gives the 4 of you a stern look as you seem to turn back towards the stairs.

"You're going to go and deliver that, are you not?"

Applebloom says that they most certainly are. As you head out of the Boutique, you start sprinting after the group toward the orchard, laughing cheerfully. "I can't believe we got it that easy!"

"I wonder what kind of stuff he's go-"

As you're running, Applebloom bumps into something and freezes. Before you stands a small, red dragon donning some brilliant silk robes. He has a very disgruntled look on his face as he pats his cloak down.

"Foolish child! Doth thou run in such haphazard manner to all places thou hath been summoned?"

He seems piping mad, more over his cloak than anything else. The group stands frozen in the street, looking over the small, cloaked dragon.

As his claws come to a rest, he adjusts his robes and looks down at the small purple filly. As he adjusts the robes, you hear a distinct clinking of glass coming from the cloak.

"I am called 'Cilepharus'. I have no time to play with children." He brushes his claw at you. "Part from me. It is urgent that I find the one called Twilight."

He starts walking towards the library, ignoring the frightened group.

"Cillepha-what?" Scootaloo looks about. "What a weirdo. He does talk funny."

You're still convinced that you can go ahead and read the little journal, but a passing curiosity comes to mind. You ask the CMC if his name sounds kind of familiar. They shrug, saying that they think it sounds really WEIRD, but by no means familiar.

For the sake of time, you decide to duck into Sugarcube Corner. You hide behind one of the counters and have Sweetie dump her saddlebags on the ground, letting the little journal slide on out. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to have opened.

You pull out your history book, rifling back to the index. Indeed, the name 'Cilepharus' turns up under 'C'.

The other CMC ask why you're reading through your history book when you've got the journal right in front of you. Applebloom reaches for the little book, ready to rifle through it for information.

You immediately stop Applebloom from opening up the book, warning that it could be enchanted. You flip to the small blurb on Cilepharus. It seems to be a keyword in a paragraph under 'Great Dragons of the Old World'. He's under the same category as Discord...

"So? His parents named him after another dragon?" Scootaloo shrugs.

You look through the rest of the chapter, but it doesn't seem to mention much else about Cilepharus. The primary dragon being described is Discord. As you search the book for more information, a fluffy pink bundle falls in front of your face.

"Doing homework in a bakery? Borrrrrr-ring!"

Pinkie looks over all the stuff you've got dumped out on the floor. She immediately picks up the little journal. "Hey, what's this? Looks really fancy!"

The CMC and yourself all simultaneously give Pinkie three reasons not to open it. She looks kind of shocked, but she heard 'Pinkie-promise' somewhere in there and 'related to Discord'. She looks genuinely interested.

"Ohhh~! Do I know them? I mean, I know EVERYONE in Ponyville, but just who owns such a sweet little diary like this? It's soooo cute!"

She rambles on and on, pushing the little book around up on the counter. The front door bell rings as someone enters the bakery.

You spring up at the sudden noise and try to get the notebook out of Pinkie's hooves. You catch her by surprise, grabbing the little book in your mouth.

You notice that it has a very granular texture... it tastes like sour wood ashes.

Twilight stands in the doorway, staring you and Pinkie down. "...What are you doing?! You were supposed to deliver that to Cil!"

You start to explain that you were looking for him and decided to ask Pinkie for help. You bumped into a small dragon named 'Cilepharus', however, who seemed to be kind of a jerk. He couldn't possibly have been the 'shy, nervous' dragon Twilight was talking about.

She stops you. "...Cilepharus?"

You point it out in your little history book. She looks over the name. "...Cilepharus, the dragon king who died 800 years ago? You ran into him?" She shakes her head. "You girls..."

She goes to pick up the journal.

You start drawing connections between the way the mysterious dragon talks, how he acts... you point out that he can't possibly be from this time period. He could be the very same 'dragon king' that was mentioned in the book.

"That's impossible, Raisin. Cilepharus was an ancient dragon king that ruled over Crystal Valley hundreds and hundreds of years ago."

You ask how much she knows about the old dragon and if she can go into more detail, but you see Cil standing in the doorway to the bakery.

"Hi!" Pinkie waves to the little robe.

You consider a vast range of options, but the scowling dragon in the door simply reaches into his cloak. He withdraws a small, green vial.

"Cil, we found your jou-"

Without a moment's hesitation, he launches the little potion into the air. Twilight immediately catches it, staring at the strange green liquid. "Wh..what is th-"

With another reflex move, the little dragon hurls a fireball across the room. The potion vial shatters, spilling a strange cloud over the floor. He turns to leave, pulling his cloak over his head.

"What's going on? What is this stuff?"

You watch Twilight turn into a standing crystalline sculpture in an instant. You watch your hooves do the same for all of about 10 seconds. Your friends barely have time to shriek before an odd silence sets in on the bakery.

(RELOAD 1 - Just got the journal from Rarity, heading to Sugarcube Corner to read it.)

You mention that the journal you just got could be enchanted, considering how weird he sounds. The group stops running and ponders the thought in the road.

You bring up that it might be a good idea to take it on over to Zecora's house; she knows a lot about dark magic. The group starts to trot off towards the forest.

Suddenly, as you turn, a silky cloak clanks your way. You can hear glass clinks under his robes.

The CMC pause and watch as he walks by and stares you down.

"Whoa... is that...?" Sweetie Belle whispers.

He continues along, heading back toward the library.

"Excuse me, a-"

Scootaloo nabs you, holding your mouth shut. She chastises you, telling you that it's obviously the guy who owns the journal.

Cil looks over his shoulder at your group for a moment. He doesn't say a word before he continues on.

"That guy is WEIRD. C'mon, we've gotta read his journal." Scootaloo implores the crusaders to continue onward towards the forest.

Taking the safest route you can, you head into the Everfree Forest. You remember back to your first crusade through here and how dark it was that night. In the mid-morning sun, the entirety of the woods seems far less creepy than it did before.

You easily navigate your way toward Zecora's house. You see something odd, though; some of the bark on several trees looks like it has been carved off. The white tree under the black bark is what stands out, really...

You reach Zecora's hut, heading inside with your fellow crusaders. She greets you, asking what brings your troupe out to her hut today. You show her the little journal in Sweetie's saddlebags... to which Zecora's countenance falls.

"Oh my, this can not be true…
You didn’t open this book, did you?"

As Zecora talks a little bit, you have a sudden urge to seek comfort in the love of your little doll. You pull Hayseed out of your saddlebag and cuddle with her. The soft mane reminds you of a warm, winter evening you spent next to a fireplace with your family.

As you cuddle, Sweetie Belle looks over for a moment and just smiles. Scootaloo and Applebloom are too busy paying attention to Zecora to pay you any heed.

You feel your jaw bump into something cold in Hayseed's mane. There's a hairpin in it that you used to style it yesterday.

Zecora breathes a sigh of relief. She explains that the symbol on the front of the book is part of an ancient curse that causes a non-owner of the journal extreme misfortune; not only will the contents of the book be unreadable, but the reader will soon be pitted up against a run of such bad luck that they will not survive long without a counter curse.

She asks where the CMC found it. The symbol written on the book hasn't been around for hundreds of years. The owner is surely deceased; she's curious where it came from.

Also, she mentions that some small dragon was peeling the bark and stuffing it under his cloak. The bark can't be used for any potions that she knows of; she found the whole thing rather peculiar.

Zecora stares at you with great concern. She asks if you're absolutely sure that this little dragon is the actual owner of the journal. You assure her that's what you've been hearing; Applebloom backs you up.

Zecora looks incredibly worried. She says that this bodes incredibly bad; the only way that the same little dragon could own the journal she's holding is if that dragon were hundreds and hundreds of years old. She sets the journal down, unsure of what to do with it.

She asks you to take it to Twilight and tell her not to panic, but to keep a very close eye on Cil. There's something very wrong with all of this.

You request that Zecora get that down in writing because the adults tend to dismiss your investigations as 'imaginative' and 'non-life-threatening if ignored'. Zecora writes down everything that she told you and hands it to Applebloom.

You also mention, as a last minute thought, that your nose has been plugged ever since you sniffed a weird mushroom in a cave that started vigorously growing up your leg. Scootaloo waves her hooves around like you weren't supposed to say anything, but Zecora is extremely concerned.

She says that if you come back later, she'll have a remedy for you.. but she's extremely curious where you found that rare spore at.

As the group heads toward the door, you promise that you'll explain it later. She tells you to hurry on back after you tell Twilight; Moldrot is no joke and, in fact, can be lethal if left untreated.

You swallow hard, then start heading out. As you come back through the woods, you can't help but shake the odd feeling that you're being watched. You look around as you run, but the only thing you see are the slightly scraped trees.

Applebloom stops the group outside of Fluttershy's cottage. She wonders if telling Twilight right away would be the best of ideas. Sweetie thinks that they should go get Rarity's help; she always knows what to do. Scootaloo thinks that you guys should meet up with Twilight as soon as you can, but if Cil's around, schedule a raincheck on the note.

You decide that Scootaloo's idea seems to be the best bet. Keeping your eyes peeled for Cil is a top priority; you start galloping off back toward Ponyville.

On your way to the library, you still have the cold feeling on your shoulders that you're being watched. You approach the door, ready to enter.

You glance over your shoulders. Applebloom asks you if you saw Cil or know if the group is being followed. You explain the feeling you've had since you left Zecora's... the entire group gets a bit nervous as you stand huddled outside of the tree.

Scootaloo instinctively looks up toward the windows, noticing that a few candles are lit, but nobody seems to be home.

(Save State 2 Saved)

You and Sweetie Belle call for Twilight.

There's no answer

Scootaloo says that she needs someone to jump off of. Applebloom gives her a hoof up. She jumps and flutters up to one of the windows.

She reports that the library looks empty; there's a few book lying around and 2 candles lit up by one of the bookstands, but nothing else odd.

You turn again. A silky red cloak is coming your way. The dragon inside of it looks at you cautiously.

Keeping your cool, you introduce yourself to the robed dragon. He doesn't respond immediately as he continues his approach, seeing that you're pretty calm.

"Greetings, plebeians... why dost thou inquire for the one called Twilight? Art thou relatives?"

He continues to approach, though a bit slower. He looks suspicious.

You each explain part of the reason why you were trying to find Twilight; you wanted to make medieval costumes for the school play and were wondering if Zecora could help, but she seemed to be a bit busy. You further explain that it's to help earn your cutie marks.

The dragon pitches his brow.

"Did not thy friend tell you that she would not be present at her residence this forenoon? Her business takes her throughout the town. Though I have looked, I have found her not."

He stops, staring the CMC down. He looks like he really wants to get back into the library.

You smile at the awkward dragon as his countenance grows increasingly bitter. You apologize for holding him up and scurry passed him. His claw drags against his pocket as you pass him by.

Your pulse stays high even after you enter Rarity's boutique. Applebloom comments as you come in the door, "What a creep!"

You all nod in agreement. The first thing you see when you enter is Rarity using Spike as a doll; she's literally dressing him up in an assortment of gaudy outfits. Rarity welcomes the girls back, asking if they were able to deliver Cil's journal back to him.

He came by earlier and picked up some sapphires; more than likely, it was for lunch.

You go on to explain that Zecora determined Cil's journal to have an 'extinct' curse written on the front of it. Further, Zecora determined that the owner would have to be hundreds and hundreds of years old and quite evil in order to have known about how to implement this curse.

Rarity thinks you're just playing at first, but after she reads over the letter, she hands it to Spike and tells him to send it immediately.

In a short burst of flame, the note flies out of the window.

You all wait for a response.

Spike gags for a moment before coughing up a black fireball. After the air clears of soot, it would seem that the Princess has responded with a blank piece of paper.

The CMC fall dead silent. Rarity looks over the note and tries using a reveal spell on it, though nothing stands out. The letter is completely blank.

Applebloom shrugs. "Why would she send us a completely blank piece of paper? That doesn't make any sense!"

You hear a knock on the door.

You determine that the knock at the door must be Cil. Rarity and the CMC all agree. The fashionista jams a bunch of mannequins against the door and opens the back window up, motioning for everyone to sneak on outside.

You all duck out and start heading toward Fluttershy's cottage, taking the longest detour you can to stay out of the way and get there without being seen.

You catch her up on all the happenings and she panics, hiding under her couch. Scootaloo suggests that the team come up with a plan; since they couldn't mail Celestia and Twilight hasn't been seen for a while, they need to come up with some way to confront Cil.

You ask Fluttershy if she has any birds that could non-magically deliver a letter to Canterlot. She says that they more than likely could deliver it, but with Cil out there running around, shooting down letters, she doesn't want to risk losing one of her beloved fowls.

You also ask if she's seem a small dragon messing around near her house. She says that all she saw was a scary little cloak go into the woods and come out. She thought it was one of Zecora's friends.

You decide to whip out your history book. Surely, if this guy is hundreds and hundreds of years old and still alive, he must have made it in here somewhere. You gloss through the index, looking for anything that starts with Cil. Cilesstrex, Cilepharus, and Cilvanii all seem to stand out.

The others fight about what they should do. Scootaloo suggests going back to town and trying to find Twilight; with Rarity and Fluttershy, they should be able to convince her that Cil is an ancient, evil dragon. Sweetie Belle thinks this is the best idea, but Applebloom suggests that the team somehow get armed.

You look up all three names and see which ones matche Cil's description. One of the entries deals with a phoenix, the other about a giant griffon. The entry on Cilepharus, however, appears in a small paragraph under the heading 'Great Dragons of the Old World'. There's just a small blurb where the name appears under other notable dragons... such as Discord. No other significant information relating to Cilepharus is given.

You ask if you should possibly try rounding up the other Elements of Harmony before you go to confront the small dragon. You have no idea what he could possibly do, but aren't about to take any chances with such a creepy entity.

Sweetie Belle points out that, without Twilight, you wouldn't be able to utilize the Elements of Harmony to defeat Cil. Also, she seems skeptical as to how powerful Cil actually is. Being old isn't really a super power.

You decide it best to try and gather up some more help. Another rough bout of coughing comes over you as you realize your cough drop melted away half an hour ago.

The others seem to be on board with your idea, but Fluttershy insists that everyone remain at the cottage. She doesn't want to go anywhere while Cil is creeping about.

You tell Fluttershy to come with you. Staying at the cottage would endanger her animals. She gets teary eyed and agrees to move along with you, but doesn't know how she can possibly help put a stop to his schemes... whatever they could possibly be.

You gather the team together and prepare to head out to Sweet Apple Acres to arm yourselves. The CMC seem a bit skeptical about fighting the dragon with farm equipment, but they don't have anything else...

"Well, besides the town guard..." Sweetie Belle comments. You continue trotting off to the farm, determined to get AJ on your team and get yourself armed to confront Cil.

You feel that it's getting a bit difficult to breathe. You mention this to Applebloom, but Rarity overhears you. Unfortunately, you explain that you accidentally inhaled Moldrot several weeks ago. A little bit must have remained in your sinuses; it's still growing and Zecora said she'd have a cure ready to go by the time you got back to her.

Rarity doesn't know much about flora or fungi; she comments that having mushrooms growing in you is disgusting and that you need the cure. The team starts heading toward Zecora's place again.

An odd green mist lingers around the outside of the house.

The ponies look at you kind of funny as they continue to approach the house. "What are you so worried about? Don't you want to get that cure for that... 'moldyrotten' stuff in your nose?" Rarity leads the others closer to the front door.

You highlight your worry about the mist and that it could have something to do with Cil. You felt like he was following you when you left Zecora's; you say that it's entirely possible that he could have attacked her with a potion of some sort. As you speak, Rarity notices that her tail gets heavy. She jumps away from the house, her tail crystallized by the fog. She goes into a panic; the end of her beautiful tail is now solid crystal.

All of the ponies cease getting any closer to the house. They try looking in the windows, seeing nothing but some tribal masks from their current vantage.

You feel your chest get a little tighter.

In a last ditch effort to do something about the heavy crystallizing gas, you smash the stompstarter next to the fog. In a quick, loud pop, the gas burns an extreme white and solidifies.The ground is covered in a thick layer of solid crystal.

You scramble into the house, the loud explosion of the fog still ringing in your ears. As you wander in, you see that the house is in a pretty bad state; all of Zecora's things seem to be partially crystallized or broken. Whatever happened, a struggle went down inside the home.

You see a pot sitting atop crystallized logs and fire. The CMC looks over it, judging that this very well could be the brew Zecora was making for you before the attack.

It looks safe.

You scoop the ladle into the mix and consume some of the odd smelling brew. It tastes horrid and cold; it doesn't seem like it cooked for nearly long enough.

Upon drinking the concoction and nearly choking on the flavor, you feel the tightness in your chest start to fade away. Rarity finally makes her way into the crystal hut, commenting on the beautiful gem-like finish. The end of her tail looks chewed off.

There's no sign of Zecora. You see a bunch of broken stuff and a shattered window. You can't tell if it was used as an entrance or an exit; the glass that would have been on the floor has been consumed by the crystal fog.

Taking a quick look around the room, you see a few marks near the ceiling that look like burns. You assume that Cil must have gotten knocked around a bit or laid out on his back more than once.

Now that you're cured of Moldrot, your sense of smell returns. It's relieving to be able to breathe through your nose for the first time in over 2 weeks.

You mention that now would be a good time to get the town guard involved. Obviously, Cil is getting deadly aggressive and needs to be stopped. You start heading out of the hut with your group when a pair of guards comes crashing down in front of you.

"Citizens... we're in a state of emergency at the moment. They mayor has gone missing. Have you seen her anywhere?"

You elaborate that a small extremely dangerous dragon that speaks funny has been making potions that turn ponies into crystal. They simply look passed you and see the crystalline house to your backs.

"...wait, wait... does this dragon have anything to do with the recent disappearance of the mayor?"

You say that he must be. The guards begin to listen a bit more intently as you describe your enemy as a creepy, several hundred year old dragon king that has come back to do something... possibly just be creepy and kidnap mayors and make creepy green crystal fog.

The guards agree to escort you back into Ponyville, on one condition; you must help them either find the Mayor or another VIP, Twilight Sparkle, who has also gone missing.