Where we last left off...
Raisin had just went to Zecora's house with the CMC, Rarity, and Fluttershy. She was barely able to breathe by the time she got to the hut. To her despair and shock, the hut was swimming in a greenish, gaseous fog. Having been killed by this in another timeline and applying her metagaming knowledge to the situation at hand, she warned the other ponies not to go near it. Rarity found out first hand; the end of her beautiful tail was turned into solid crystal. She ended up nibbling it off and storing the crystal in her saddlebags.
Using her brains and a hint from the GM, Raisin was able to ignite the horrible fog with her Stompstarter. It instantly transformed into a sheet of solid crystal, allowing her and the CMC to investigate the inside of the cottage.
Zecora was nowhere to be found, but the Moldrot cure was brewed and ready to serve. Raisin drank as much of the disgusting mixture as she could; to her knowledge, the Moldrot is cleared from her system. Analyzing the house, Raisin determined that Cil, the mysterious dragon that none of the characters know anything about, must have attacked Zecora.
The group began heading back to town when two Royal pegasi guards came crashing down, reporting that the Mayor had been kidnapped. With 'Cil' on the loose gathering materials for who knows what and the Mayor suddenly disappearing with Twilight nowhere in sight, the adventure is beginning to heat up.
"Have you seen the Mayor anywhere? She went missing from Ponyville just a few hours ago."
Scootaloo shakes her head back and forth, not knowing anything about the sudden disappearances. You ask the guards where they last saw either of the missing ponies. They elaborate that one citizen last saw Twilight enter the library. Now, she's not there.
The Mayor was last seen at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie reported. Since then, nobody has seen either of them. Seeing as your group is outside of town and the guards heard a giant explosion sound emanate from this crystallized residence, they thought they'd see if you knew anything.
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom motion towards Ponyville, suggesting that the group should find out where Cil is. You answer the guard's confused expressions, explaining the mysterious little dragon to them as the team heads back to Ponyville.
You're now in the town square. All of the ponies are searching around for the mayor.
You ask the Guard if they have any pegasi that can fly a note to Celestia warning her about Cil and what has been happening in Ponyville.
The guards shake their heads.
"Unless the situation is of utmost dire urgency, we cannot deliver personal letters to the Princess. Twilight may be able to help; she has the little dr..."
Both of the guards look at Spike, unsure why you'd be asking them to deliver a letter when you have a magic transmission device right there on Rarity's back.
Rarity explains that the evil little dragon, Cil, intercepted the message they tried to send earlier. The guards shake their heads back and forth, laughing.
"That's impossible. No magic can interfere with dragon mail. Is your little friend sick at all? That could mess things up."
You speak up, saying that the mayor was last spotted at Sugarcube Corner; that's where the group should start searching. Applebloom and Sweetie both agree with you, but Scootaloo decides that Cil is a bigger issue.
"We have to find out where he's at! C'mon, Raisin; there's a bad guy running around and you're fretting over an old mare that most likely fell asleep somewhere? We need to find the bad guy."
You voice your opposition to Scootaloo's argument. Your sternness gets her to reluctantly concede to your views. The guards are still speaking to you at the moment, so you wait until you can dismiss them.
Fluttershy stays out of the argument completely.
You whisper to Spike to explain that he isn't sick.
Spike stands up, saying that he feels completely fine. One of the guards looks confused while the other concurs with Spike.
"Wait, my sister had a pet dragon once. Spike, what's the normal color of your fire breath?"
He responds that it's a shade of green and demonstrates. A brackish, brownish green fire erupts from his mouth.
"Ah, you are sick. That's a throat infection if I ever saw one."
Spike argues, saying that he feels completely fine. You interrupt their conversation, mentioning that Cil attempted to murder Zecora.
"That's quite a claim. Do you have evidence of this?"
You, Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Applebloom all explain the hut to the guards. They agree, saying that they saw it, but they ask how you know that it was a potion or any type of magic that caused this to happen. Seeing as Zecora is an outcast alchemist herself, who's to say one of her potions didn't go wonky? Are the burn marks actually dragon fire, or the result of an explosion?
Rarity shows the guards the chunk of her crystallized tali, telling them that they're incompetent morons if they can't piece two and two together.
The guards roll their eyes before strolling off.
"If you need help, let us know. We need to find the missing citizens, not follow a long line of assumptions and stories."
Fluttershy comments that the guards aren't really all that helpful.
You trot through a small sea of worried ponies. They dash about, calling out for the mayor as they search every nook and cranny of Ponyville. Fluttershy spreads her wings over you and the CMC to protect you from being run over or bumped into.
In a few minutes, you reach the door to Sugarcube Corner. You see Pinkie inside; she's baking cupcakes. That cold feeling that you're being watched sets in again as you approach the threshold to the front door.
You ask Pinkie if she'd like to help you look for Twilight and the Mayor; you have a sneaky suspicion that you may know where they are.
She says that she'd love to help after she's done baking a few more trays of sweets. She goes on, asking why your other friend way over there didn't come on into the bakery with you guys.
You turn around to see who this 'other friend' is. Way off in the distance, by the side of one of the buildings across the street, you see something covered in vines and leaves. They're standing next to some trashcans. They seem to be trying to stay out of view of the searching ponies.
You withdraw your Stompstarter and yell for the others to run. Pinkie looks at your group, confused. She bounces behind Rarity and Fluttershy as the group heads out the back door.
From the distance you're at, you make out that the form is some sort of green blob huddled up next to a trashcan. They aren't moving too much, but you can tell that they are looking in your direction.
Scootaloo banters with you a bit, saying that you've got to learn to be a little braver. She squints, seeing that the form kind of looks like a roundish green blob. She comments that it's moving around a bit stiff; it might be a pony.
You yell at the bush, assuming it to be Snips in disguise doing unseemly things beneath his cloak. The vines hop up and down stiffly. The head seems to shake back and forth, though it's hard to tell.
Mustering up a bit of courage after yelling at the vines, you exit the front door and begin to approach the strange creature. You can visibly tell that it is nodding it's head.
Suddenly, one of the searching ponies sees the amalgamation of vines and screeches. "IT'S THE MONSTER THAT ATE THE MAYOR! EVERY P0NY FOR THEMSELVES!!"
A panic stirs in the street. Ponies stream passed you in all directions, nearly trampling you. Fluttershy jumps out from Sugarcube Corner and protects you, dragging you back toward the building.
When you look up, the bundle of vines has disappeared.
Panting, you thank Fluttershy for saving your life.
Fluttershy nods and blushes, saying that it was nothing, though you should be more careful. Shouting stuff through the town square at a time like this gets ponies really rattled up; even she was feeling a bit startled from your exclamation.
The town square is still swarming with panicking ponies, though the guards seem to be getting the situation under control. They start questioning random passers-by, asking about the monster and if they could prove that it ate the mayor.
Pinkie pulls a tray of cupcakes out of the oven before they burn. She asks if any of the CMC want to help her decorate them. Sweetie seems pretty happy about this and definitely wants to help out.
Scootaloo scratches her head. "What was that thing?" You mention that you want to see if it dropped anything, but going through the square right now would result in certain injury.
You decide that you'll wait out the panicked ponies and help Pinkie and Sweetie Belle decorate some cupcakes. Applebloom and Scootaloo speculate about the monster, both having different theories as to what it could have possibly been.
While drawing a smiley face on one of the cupcakes with pink frosting, you ask Pinkie where the mayor went after she left Sugarcube Corner.
"Oh, she said that she was going over to the library to have lunch with Twilight and her new little friend... one of Spike's friends, 'Cil' or something or other."
Rarity and Fluttershy go over their supplies. Rarity stares at her crystallized tail boulder, slightly depressed.
“Pinkie, can you come with us to the library, please?”
Pinkie rubs her chin. "But who will finish baking and decorating all of these cupcakes?"
Scootaloo and Applebloom point out that they could use the back exit to Sugarcube Corner to sneak over to the library, bypassing the settling stampede outside.
Feeling a bit saddened by the loss of Raritys tail, you decide to comfort her. “Rarity, I have to say you pull off the short tail better than anypony I know.”
Rarity says that you're such a sweetheart, but she knows that short tails are not in this season. She'll be a laughing stock once everything goes back to normal.
You look over the supplies they have dumped out. There's:
You try to clear your throat, seeing if that nasty mushroom is still in your system. Everything seems okay.
You ask Pinkie if she's got some rope to tie around Rarity's little tail boulder. The CMC all nod in approval, reminiscing about how useful that was back in the Ursa Cave.
Rarity is opposed to the idea of attaching anything to any part of her body, connected or severed. She refuses to let you use it.
You feel a sudden chill run up your spine.
(Saved)
You stand move next to the oven to warm up a bit. It seems to make you feel a little better... but something still doesn't feel right. You ponder whether or not you should give Hayseed a quick squeeze before heading out.
The commotion in the town square seems to have died down. Calls for the mayor and Twilight are heard echoing through the square. Rainbow Dash swoops through the square, seeming to be on the lookout.
You give Hayseed a hug. Her soft mane brings back memories of sitting in front of the fireplace at home during a snowy, winter's evening with your mom and dad. You recall how sweet the hot chocolate was. You wonder where you put your snow boots; for the life of you, you can't remember.
You give Hayseed a little kiss before returning her to your saddlebag, feeling much more confident.
Scootaloo calls you a baby.
You argue with Rarity, telling her that she's not using it at the moment. She says that you should try to understand; it's her tail we're talking about here. She's optimistic that there's a way they can uncrystallize it and reattach it to her flowing tail. Using it as a throwable object would ruin it.
You tell Rarity that, regardless of what happens, that she alone will make short tails successful this season. Using her tail, you could save the lives of everyone in Ponyville, considering that Cil is a no good evil nasty little dragon. She realizes your point... her element of generosity kicks in.
You get her tail chunk, though Pinkie doesn't have any good rope to offer you.
Immediately, you throw the chunk out of the back door. It hits the ground with a soft thud. Rarity looks disappointed.
You dive out of the door, grabbing the tail chunk like a big football. You roll a bit and come to a stop, looking around for suspicious figures. Nothing seems to be waiting out here to disembowel you or your comrades; you motion that it is safe for the group to follow. Pinkie bounces out with Spike on her back with the others following close behind.
Applebloom catches up to you, saying that she can help you carry the tail chunk, seeing as your bag is full.
As you approach the library, which is surprisingly inactive, you ask Spike if there's another way inside. He says that the only other ways in, besides the front door, are the kitchen and the balcony. You could always bust out a window, but Twilight would be royally mad if any of the books got rained on.
Fluttershy and the CMC follow you to the kitchen door. The upper half of it is open. You hear something boiling inside, like a big pot of water. You can't see what it is; the noise startles Fluttershy as she crouches with you fillies.
You look over at Fluttershy. She seems completely frozen up, unable to move. The notion of fighting some super old evil dragon has got her full to the brim with fright; she cannot move.
You sigh in frustration.
You pick up a stick and poke it through the door.
You hear a piece of silverware drop in the kitchen. As you wiggle the stick, the sound of breaking glass rings in the air.
You immediately drop your stick and tell the others to get back. You start running away with the shrieking fillies and squeaking Fluttershy, traveling as fast as your little feet will move.
As you get a distance away, you see the lower half of the door kick open. The only thing standing there is Cil in his robes, his claw in his robes. He looks at the terrified group, relaxing his arm when he identifies the group.
"Thou hast startled me. What business, pray tell, dost thou require to impart upon me this day?"
You can see a small cup broken on the floor behind him.
You simply ask him about the Mayor and where he thinks she might have gone.
"I hath but not a clue. When did the 'mare' disappear?"
He looks at the group coldly.
“I don't know, we just heard that you were the last person to see her. We thought that maybe you could tell us if she was acting suspicious or something and might want to help us!”
As he hears you explain that he was apparently the last person to see her, he shakes his head.
"I hath but only heard of this 'mare'. Never before hath I been honored by her presence. If you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of something. Come back later when Twilight returns."
He ignores your request, slowly closing the door.
"Wait! We need to go in and get a book. For reference. I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind."
He repeats himself as the door shuts, this time with a bit of anger.
"Come back when Twilight hath returned."
The door clicks shut. The upper half slams shut.
"Jeez... that guy is such a creep." Scootaloo comments.
You decide that it's best for you to try to sneak into the library. You go around to the front of the library, telling Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Fluttershy, and the CMC what you plan to do.
Rarity immediately warns that, since he's already seen you, there's no element of surprise left. Spike said he was super-paranoid; he'll be expecting you to try and sneak in now.
Pinkie says that she'll go in with you if you're scared. Sneaking around could be fun!
Spike reiterates that Cil is incredibly paranoid. It's probably not the best of ideas, especially since you don't know where in the library the 'Old' section is.
You ask Spike what he thinks.
Spike gives a simple shrug. "I don't know. Personally, this guy just creeps me out. I think we should leave him alone for now."
The balcony doors gently close and latch shut.
You suggest that the troupe should go back to town, but Scootaloo isn't having any of it. You mention that you're going to find Rainbow Dash so that you can kick Cil's teeth in. She smiles, congratulating you on having a great idea.
The rest of the crew seems to think the same thing. RD would know how to handle this guy.
You start heading back towards town. A muffled cackle erupts from the well insulated tree.
You head back to the town square to discover an extremely peculiar sight. Rainbow Dash, the pony you were looking for, is confronted by two guards that won't let her go anywhere. She looks around them, seeing your small group.
"Finally! Guys, c'mon, help me out here! You know I don't know how to do any of this magic stuff! Tell them!"
Behind Dash is a crystal sculpture of Zecora. Some leaves and vines are scattered on the ground at her feet.
The guards listen to your little quips about the 'ancient dragon doing things at the library'. The guards scoff, saying that when they looked, they found Spike wearing some really classy robes cooking some soup for Twilight. Apparently, she fell ill and has been sleeping all day.
The group is outraged.
"That's a complete lie! He's evil!"
Spike is most offended. "We look nothing alike, you bozos!"
The guards shake their heads. "We know who's been crystallizing ponies around here. We WATCHED this one..." They give Rainbow a tug. "...we witnessed her turn Zecora into a statue."
Rainbow shakes her head. "I found the monster everyone was freaking out about, I snuck up on her, and took her disguise off. It was Zecora... but then... this happened." She motions to the statue. "You have to believe me, guys! I didn't do it!"
The guards still aren't buying it.
You and Scootaloo ask the most logical question; how?
The guards say that Rainbow Dash refuses to inform them as to how she did it. They just know that it was her that in fact crystallized Zecora.
"And I told you clowns that it's impossible! I've never even heard of magic that can do this! Twilight can back me up!
...wherever she is."
“What do you plan on doing?”
The guards say that, given Rainbow Dash is the villain here, that they are going to let her off the hook if she simply reverses the curse she placed on Zecora. If she refuses to, she'll have to go before Princess Celestia to be judged.
"Please, just call the Princess. She'll clear this up in a flash."
They say that they won't until she cures Zecora.
As you ponder why Rainbow is still in place, you see that the guards have placed shackles around her hooves. They don't look like they were fastened on very well.
Frustrated with your run of bad luck, you wish Rainbow Dash the best. You suggest that the CMC follow you to the Carousel Boutique to see if there's any clues you may have left behind in during your first escape.
Fluttershy and Rarity say that they'll try to convince the guards to let RD go.
You see the boutique in front of you. The door seems to be untouched, but the ground shows a pattern of anxious hoofprints all pressed into a small circle in front of the door.
You investigate around the hoofprints. "Someone looked pretty nervous..." Sweetie Belle comments, looking at the pattern the pony made.
You follow them along a trail around to the side of the house by the back window. There's a note stuck to the glass.
You rear up on your back legs, just barely able to reach the note. You pull it down in your mouth. The CMC gather around, curious as to what the flustered pony must have left behind.
You begin reading it. First, you glance at the bottom to see who signed it. Indeed, confirming your suspicions, the pony that left it was Twilight. She's very concerned in the note, saying that she came back to the Boutique to find the 'girls' and get Cil's notebook back. He was furious that it had somehow been lost; he insisted that Twilight go out and find it.
You look around for any other clues of Twilight's presence at the boutique. No other hoof prints seem to be embedded deep enough into the dirt to follow any other trails.
Suddenly, a bright idea comes to mind. You rush back to Rarity and Fluttershy who are still trying to get Rainbow Dash off the hook. You ask if you can borrow Spike for a few minutes.
Rarity dumps him out of her saddlebags. "Take good care of him."
You immediately reach into your saddlebags, giving the little dragon one of your cough drops. He doesn't quite understand why until you calm down and explain it to him a bit better. He assures you that he isn't sick, but you're confident that you'll be able to send a letter though now. He shrugs. "It's worth a shot, I suppose."
You immediately start writing down as much information as you can jam pack onto a single scroll. You tell the Princess that Rainbow Dash is being held up by some really dumb town guards, that Twilight and the Mayor have gone missing, that Zecora has been turned into crystal, and that a small dragon named Cil, or Cilepharus, has taken over the library.
You hand the scroll to Spike and command him to send it immediately. "Yes, ma'am!" He salutes before burning the scroll up into the air. In a green flash, the flame is whisked away into the sky.
You await a response.
You wait a few minutes, staring at Spike. He rubs the back of his head. "Hey, these things take some ti.. ti-"
He vomits out a scroll. Immediately, you snatch it from the air.
The Princess writes back expressing her incredible shock at the situation in Ponyville; she's wondering why you didn't message her sooner. She says that her chariot will be arriving in just a few minutes; "Tell the guards that they need to stand down. Rainbow Dash can't use magic and has no idea how to turn anything into crystals."
The guards look back and forth at each other, slightly embarrassed. They unlatch the chains around Rainbow's hooves, letting her move around again. "About time."
You hear something off in the distance by the library. It sounds like thunder.
Inventory check:
"What the hay was that?" The two guards squint off into the distance. Rainbow Dash immediately takes to the sky to get a better vantage.
"Hey... it's Twilight!"
Another loud explosion echoes through the town.
"Uh... but she's blowing up town hall... and something's on her back."
You grasp Hayseed once again, telling her everything's going to be okay. Knowing that Hayseed is safe at the moment, you feel a little relief as another bout of thunder roars out. Ponies are fleeing down the streets.
"She's gone MAD!! EVERYPONY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
Rainbow Dash darts off toward the calamity. "I'll stop her! You wait here for the Princess!"
Scootaloo cheers as Rainbow Dash heads off. "Don't worry, guys! Dash has got this covered! She'll talk some sense into Twilight no problem-o.
You yell up at Dash to wait. You scream that it means certain death. Dash pauses for a moment, watching the side of the meeting center cave in. "But... Twilight's our friend. We've got to help her!" She squints towards the rampaging unicorn once again.
"Is that thing on her back what's causing the problem?! I can snatch it up off of there!"
You start down the street toward the library, dodging ponies along the way. The CMC follow close behind with RD in the skies overhead. You see that the side of the tree and part of the basement have been blasted out. Close by, you can see Twilight walking up into the burning Town Hall.
"What's she doing? Is she crazy?! They'll burn alive!" Rainbow squints to try and see what's going on.
In what seemed an eternity of time, Celestia finally rolls into town. Her chariot takes a sharp turn toward the town hall as she takes wing. A violent wind snuffs out the fires instantly.
It looks safe to approach.
Rainbow Dash zips off way ahead to to investigate with Princess Celestia. You and the CMC trot along, hurrying as fast as you can over to the ruined Town Hall.
"Do ya think it was mind control? How did Cil do all that?" Applebloom asks you rhetorically. You skid to a stop outside of the hall. A green fog pours out of the hall. Celestia stands in the midst of it, unaffected.
She's next to a statue in the center of the room.
Suddenly, her horn glows and the fog clears, somberly inviting you, Dash, and your friends in to see what has happened.
You hop on up to the platform, approaching the Princess quietly.
"Cilepharus..." She whispers. Her head tilts back a little as she watches you approach. "I was too late."
Twilight is a crystalline statue in the center of the room. An odd device is affixed to her head like a set of marionette strings. On her saddle rests a note:
"I figured it out. My vengeance shall soon be complete."
Celestia looks deeply saddened.
“W-What's wrong? Isn't crystallization isn't reversible?”
Celestia informs you that the curse that has been levied against Twilight is part of an extremely ancient alchemy potion that only Cilepharus has the mixture for and the cure to. During his 'first life', he closely guarded the recipe to his concoction. Nobody ever knew how he created it, but the potion allowed him to create a wasteland of crystal in the far west.
You show her the journal.
Celestia looks at the small, cursed journal. She recognizes the symbol on the front.
"Is this... does this belong to Cilepharus?! You got his journal!?"
Her sadness suddenly lifts. "These are his private notes. He's probably got everything written down in here; we'll have everything we need to create a cure from this!"
Suddenly, an ominous quake rattle the earth.
Celestia is puzzled. She looks at the ground, then traces a line up to the Library. It heaves up from the ground.
You give Hayseed another hug and close your eyes. A reverberating voice echoes out from the earth.
"Hello, Celestia."
You hear something that sounds like a hurricane roar around you. You open your eyes for a moment, seeing that Celestia has put up a shield around you and the CMC. A torrent of plasma and magic envelop the shield.
"Girls... stay strong!"
Suddenly, you find yourself up on a hill on the outskirts of Ponyville. A massive, abominable dragon seems to be folding space time around himself. He wields magic unlike any that has ever been seen. A sphere of light bombards him, though every movement of his arms causes another storm of fire and the elements to ravage the small settlement. Ponies flee out of the town in sheer terror.
"This couldn't possibly get any worse." Sweetie Belle says, depressed.