Last Time on My Little Raisin:
>**Use Parchment and paper folding skills to safely handle the Adanemzurai**
>Head off towards Fluttershy’s cottage
>Knock on door; a timid, scared Fluttershy recognizes Sweetie Belle’s voice, invites you inside
>Talks about unidentified Derp Eyed filly that wouldn’t stop asking her questions
>Convince Fluttershy to help you find Rainbow Dash and give you a cart
>Approach utility barn; there’s something inside that won’t respond to Fluttershy
>**Go back into house to acquire light source (Bundle of Candles)**
>Strike up candle with Stompstarter; see a Cockatrice napping on the cart
>Fluttershy gives it the ‘Stare’ and shoos it away
>Jump into cart
>**Investigate noise from up above; Fluttershy gives the Cockatrice another nagging before it runs off**
>xXx Fly straight toward Rainbow Dash’s house xXx
>Stopped by guard
>**Fluttershy successfully dodges the guard’s nosiness and continues onwards** 1/3 chance of failure
>Wake up Rainbow Dash
>Explain your current situation to Rainbow Dash; tell her that you need her help to defeat an ancient evil
>Groggy and bleary eyed Dash is confused, decides to go along with your story
>--Tell Rainbow Dash that you need to convene at Sweet Apple Acres to pick up Applebloom—
>RD takes off to the farm, leaving your crew in the clouds. You give her chase, soon discovering that she’s mingling with a gaggle of guards partaking in a late night, Apple family meal
>--Decide to skip out to collect Pinkie Pie—
>Run into guard in town Roll Failure; 1/3 chance of guard making an appearance
>**Fluttershy is able to panic her way around the guard, heading straight for Sugarcube Corner** 2/3 chance of dodging guard
>Upon arrival, investigate for Pinkie’s presence. Door is locked, a pile of sleeping fillies inside
>xXx Hop out of cart to knock on the window xXx 1/3 chance of being arrested by passing guards; lucky roll
>**Immediately hide while Pinkie stirs; narrowly dodge a small group of guards**
>Invited into Sugarcube Corner by a drowsy Pinkie; she gathers the general idea of your plan via meta-gaming knowledge
>xXx Caught by guard as you exit Sugarcube Corner xXx 1/3 chance of appearing
>**Pinkie and Fluttershy are able to pass you off as a small, non-purple filly that they’re taking home**
>--Guard gives you a permission slip in case you are hassled on your way to Sweet Apple Acres—
>Approach Sweet Apple Acres, see an unfamiliar, suspicious gathering of clouds
>xXx Go straight towards the gathering of clouds xXx
>Rainbow Dash swoops in to grab at Raisin; your current powdery disguise catches her off guard
>xXx Rainbow Dash swoops in again, getting a hold of Raisin xXx 1/4 chance of nabbing Raisin from the cart
>Rainbow Dash has been convinced by the guards and your sudden absence that you’ve been put under an evil curse that has taken over your mind
>--Attempt to convince Rainbow Dash that you’re not under a spell—1/7 chance of working; failed roll
>--Try to use permission slip to evade capture; Rainbow removes your disguise, invalidating the scroll--
>--Try again—1/2 chance of saying something creepy; success, you freak her out
>Surrounded by guards; bonk Rainbow Dash’s belly with the Adanemzurai. Land in the cart with your new flying pony slave
>**Make Dash take control of the cart, able to outrun guards**
>--Lose Fluttershy as a team member—
>Approach the mountains where you know the Stone Bird is lurking; guards are still chasing you
>Find Strawberry, a derped filly, standing next to a gigantic hole in the road. Pinkie picks her up
>Jump on Rainbow Dash whilst carrying the Adanemzurai; approach Kelthrax, the giant bird.
>xXx Attempt to board Kelthrax; he evades you as you fall perilously to the mountains below xXx 1/3 chance of successfully landing atop the monstrous bird
>xXx Ask the Adanemzurai for help; miraculously survive the fall. Picked up by RD xXx
>Discover that you’re an animated chunk of rock… a Golem, just like Tezel. Jump off onto a chasing Kelthrax, take him over 1/2 chance of being able to hang onto Kelthrax
>Use Kelthrax to stop oncoming guards and pick up your teammates
*Asterisks represent good actions, xXx represents bad actions
"Citizens... I have come for these ones. Do not resist me." A small granite pony with a brilliant golden box on her back shouts her orders from atop a giant stone bird to the Pegasus division of the Canterlot Royal Guard. The large gathering of pegasi obey, standing back with their weapons at the ready. As Pinkie Pie, Strawberry, and Sweetie Belle climb aboard the enormous bird, they discover that their close friend, Raisin, has been turned into solid, animated granite.
As Raisin seems to struggle with her words and actions under the Adanemzurai’s influence, she commands the immortal stone giant at her hooves to take off into the moonlit desert. Of course, the Canterlot Royal Guard isn’t about to let her out of their sight; they begin to pursue the living rocks immediately.
You watch the wind flow through your team's manes, the moonlight reflecting off of Kelthrax's golden orange, white speckled granite back. You actively try to remember exactly what it was like to have a mane... you vaguely remember how the wind used to feel as it flowed through it.
Your thoughts are interrupted by a command from above. "Stop! Raisin, stop at once! By order of Her Royal Highness, Pr..." The guard drones on and on about the power and orders of the false Goddess. You feel him and his guards beginning to swarm over your relatively slower Kelthrax.
"Serva-... Pinkie... everyone, hang on."
"What are you going to do?" That white filly looks to you nervously, avoiding your eyes. You close them, then lean forward, directing Kelthrax towards the mountains. Finally, you've gained some momentum. You can hear... Pinkie... the pink one, she's shouting a bit over the sound of the rushing wind.
"We're losing 'em!" She shouts. It's hard to hear her over the terrified screams of the other two. Rainbow Dash seems just as glued to Kelthrax's back as you are. As you approach the ground, you pull up, riding out the increased velocity into the lower mountains.
Quickly, you try to bring Kelthrax to a stop. The white filly pipes up again. "Raisin!? What are you doing!? We've got to run!"
"No. We shall not." You're direct and authoritative.
Kelthrax lies up against the side of one of the mountains, hoping to blend in under the pale light of the full moon
Grasping onto Kelthrax's rough back, you and your team silently clasp and cling to his giant stony form. The mountainside you've picked almost blends in with Kelthrax's color... though it contains a bit more quartz than any of the other colors.
A voice echoes in your head like an empty cathedral. "Raisin... what are you doing? Queens do not hide themselves... they crush... crush..." She trails off.
A massive swarm of guards finally start rushing passed you. Sweetie Belle huddles up to Pinkie, trying to remain calm and quiet. Just as the last of the guards fly by, one stops and observes the stone. "Commander! Stop!!" He calls the party on back. The squadron makes a slow, banking turn back to your position.
"They've spotted us..."
As the guards begin to flood back in, you ascend Kelthrax's back and stand firmly atop his wing. "Stop! We command you all to stop! We wish to speak to your commander!"
The massive battlion of guards swarms around the giant bird, getting in tight. They start to close in on your teammates.
"Move another inch and we shall oblit... no... no, please, stop. That's close enough."
The guards hold their position by the simple gesture of their commander. His magnificent armor is just as brilliant as it was when worn by his predecessors so many years ago... "You have my attention. Shall we discuss the terms of your surrender, Raisin?"
"No. I need you all to understand... We must have... I n..." The Adanemzurai makes it excessively difficult to construct your words.
"What? Please... speak up." The Commander looks you over. He holds a hoof up near his side as if ready to defend himself.
"Please, stop chasing us. We must get to the Castle before morning..."
The guards laugh in unison until the commander silences them. "I'm sorry, little one, but you've been very, very naughty. We must take you with us to discuss your punishment with the Princess."
"Please, listen. My husban-" You stop yourself. "King... Tezel... is off over in that direction... where that music is coming from..." The commander puts his ear to the air. "He's in that castle next to the giant stone pony... can you not see it?"
The guards flutter back down to the Commander and whisper something into his ear. He rolls his eyes. "Yes, we can see it. What does tha-"
You cut him off. "That monster will crush my kingdom if we charge straight in there."
"What's this 'kingdom' of yours?"
"Equ.... no, this cursed thing on my back is making me talk funny..."
The commander starts closing in with his team. "That's exactly why we need you to come with us."
You begin to stand your ground. "Stop! Don't come any closer!" Your voice bellows out with a volume that resonates across the mountain range. They stop for a moment.
"Face it; there's nothing you can do to us."
That annoying pink pony looks over to you. "Umm... Raisin? They've kind of got spears..."
"Spears cannot hurt me now, for I have been cast in the immortal skin of sto.." You shake your head. "My point is, we don't have to move or take orders from you. I have stopped to try and reason with you."
The commander sighs. "The time for reasoning is over, Raisin. You've busted out of a secured location, stole a cursed artifact, took over the minds of two ponies..." He nods towards a guard on his right and down to Rainbow Dash. "...and you've been fleeing from the Canterlot Royal Guard. We're sorry, but on behalf of the Princess of Equestria, we must detain you."
Uncontrollably, you feel an overwhelming anger take over your thoughts. With a swipe of your foreleg, you use Kelthrax's mighty wing to knock a good portion of the Royal Guard out of the air.
"Raisin!! What are you doing?!" That stupid pink pony feels incredibly worried. "We're gonna be in so much more trouble!"
Most of the guard seems cleared from the air. To your relief, the sky looks navigable again. Suddenly, you realize what you've done. A bunch of guards swoop to catch their comrades. "Wha... what happened? I didn't..."
"Move. Fly. Go." A voice resonates in your head.
You know you'd be shaking as much as that... Belle... the white filly is right now if you weren't made of stone. Watching as the guards, including the commander, tumble through the air, you take this opportunity to make as much distance between you and the guards as possible.
"P.. Pink, I'm sorry, I... I couldn't control Her..."
Pink observes the dazed guards as they attempt to regroup. The commander tumbles perilously through the air as a few of his guards rush to catch him. "This isn't gonna be good at all..." She holds on tightly to Strawberry. "Well? What are you waiting for? RUN FOR IT!"
You panic for a moment, then stomp on Kelthrax's back. He seems to know exactly what to do; with a kick off from the mountainside, he soars up into the night sky, leaving the confused group of Royal Guards in his wake. You turn your head back over your shoulder, prepared to yell 'sorry'.
"FOOOOOOLS!!" You're barely able to choke the laughter you feel erupting from your chest. "I meant SORRRY!!"
As you ascend, you look for a spot out of the way. Far behind, you see the guards swarming about, trying to gather their bearings. Ahead, you see the Castle and Titanio starting to grow larger in the distance. You're closing in on your target. The pretty lights of the unicorns' magic below lights the sculpture as they blast away at it.
You keep low to the desert sands, though maintain a good distance as to not create a dust storm in your wake. Gliding gently through the air, you find a very large rock to drop yourself and your team behind. "Here. Stop here, Kelthrax." You rub your hoof against his back.
Quickly, the bird comes to a silent stop, allowing you, Pinkie, Sweetie Belle, Strawberry, and Rainbow Dash to hop off. "Rainbow, come." The pegasus obeys your command, following you off of the giant stone bird.
You all plop onto the sand before you look up the bird once more. "Kelthrax... I command you to be a distraction. Fly over the castle, crash into the mountains... do something." You point just beyond the Castle in the Sand.
"What? Crash? But... he was our ride!" Pinkie protests. "You can't just-"
"I'll do as I please." You retort. "Slave, that is an order."
The bird silently takes back up into the sky. As it approaches the area directly above the Castle in the Sand, you see pulses of energy flying out from the construction project. In a flurry of beautiful, colored light, Kelthrax is blasted to pieces.
"...didn't see that one coming." Sweetie Belle comments.
You crouch behind the rock, looking up to the sky. The Royal Guard stops in midair, watching all of the stone pieces crash into the ground. They seem stunned. From this distance, they look like specs. They seem disorganized as they maintain their position.
Quickly, you decide it'd be a good idea to ask the Adanemzurai to make you fleshy and soft again. "A..Adanemzurai... please, change me back now. I think I'm good..."
She doesn't respond at first. You feel overcome with an intense, burning pain. "You wish to relinquish my gift of immortality? To be cursed with a dying form?" You feel as though the Adanemzurai is going to cook you. "Do you not understand my blessing, the gift of stone form?" As she continues, the box feels like it gets hotter and heavier.
"Raisin!" A voice calls out. You open your eyes to see the bouncy pink mane of that energetic pony grabbing at your face.
"Take it back." You hear her say. It doesn't match up with her mouth movements.
In the distance, you feel the group of guards lands on the desert sand. They feel confused.
As she continues, the box feels like it gets hotter and heavier.
You push your point. "Yes. You can take it back." Your words don't leave your lips. The heat intensifies; your vision starts to wane.
"No, you are my queen. Queens are immortal... you are immortal."
"Is she.. is she smoking? Raisin?! Are you on FIRE?!" Pinkie starts kicking some sand up on you. You cannot feel whether it is cold or not; all you can feel is an intense, horrifying burn.
"I want my body back..."
"No." She replies in a caring way, soft and delicate. The pain makes you weak; you roll on your side. "You shall not be subject to mortality. You wanted this."
"What's happening to her? What's going on?" Another voice quivers.
Over the pain of your burns, you can feel the guards confusion. They begin to move away from your location, back towards the mountains.
"That's... an ORDER! Change me BACK!" You yell loudly inside your head. As the heat intensifies, you can feel an overwhelming sorrow take hold of your body. Suddenly, the pain stops. Immediately, you feel alright once again.
It takes a moment for Her to speak, but her voice echoes forth again. "... such tenacity. You'll make for a strong leader..." She pauses. "You will keep your stone skin. You must survive... We must survive..." She sounds sincere for once. "I need you... to carry my wrath... stand in my stead... to defeat him."
"Raisin! Raisin, are you okay? What's going on? Why were you on fire? Speak to us!" Pinkie keeps knocking on your stony head. Your eyes open up as you get back up on your hooves.
"I'm... I'm alright..." You shake your head. For some reason, your mind seems a bit sharper now. "I think... I think so, at least..." You look at your hooves, realizing that they are still made of stone. Feeling disappointed, you sigh and look about. Sweetie Belle shivers before you, Strawberry seems clueless, and Pinkie is attempting to hold you up. Rainbow Dash stares towards the Castle silently.
You feel an overwhelming urge to cry... are you stuck like this forever? You're never going to grow up... no cutie mark? No running a grape jelly store with your mom? What's going to happen to you?
Relieved to have a little more control, you outstretch your forelegs to give Pinkie and Sweetie Belle a hug. As you reach out to them, Pinkie jumps back. "Whoa... whoa there, Raisin."
You feel crushed. As you nearly sob, Pinkie spits on one of your legs. The spit sizzles and steams off. "You're still a bit warm. I could feel it through my hoofsies!" She smiles. "You're gonna get a big Pinkie hug after you cool off a bit."
You feel a little better at least. You smile, then sniffle.
Looking toward the entryway, you see two unicorns standing guard by two massive statues. From the entrance, you see Tezel emerge. He seems a bit flustered. "What in the blazes was that racket?" He looks about as you and your team duck behind your rock. Sweetie shivers. "T..T...That's T...Tezel?!"
The golem stomps on over to the construction site. You hear him stop for a moment. "You there! What was that explosion I just heard?" His voice booms.
GAME INFO: From your current position, you'd probably be about 300 feet out. Tezel is comparatively massive to the rest of the ponies around the castle's front entrance.
You motion for your team to squat down behind the rocks and keep out of sight. "My head is made of stone; I'll blend in." Pinkie agrees and slinks out of sight. Sweetie Belle moves away from you and rolls to the other side of the rock.
"Pheew... you're way too hot right now..." Sweetie lays belly down to the sand, getting her eye just around the side of the rock. Tezel seems to fascinate and terrify her.. you feel the anxiety flowing through her veins.
You watch Tezel from this distance as he questions one of the guards. The derped unicorn is far too quiet to overhear from this distance. Suddenly, he bellows. "Did he now? He knows better than that..." The guard continues to chatter away. Tezel speaks again. "No, no; just have the 3rd shift carve me a new one. Double the guards as well; I have a feeling my Queen will be making a return shortly..." His eyes scan the desert sands. You remain frozen in place, blending in with the rocks.
You can hear a flood of voices calling out from the construction site. They all beg and plead for your command...
A brilliant idea suddenly comes to mind. As Tezel issues his orders to the construction site guards, you decide to test a theory. Looking about, you search for a rock. Unfortunately, the only rock close to you is the giant one sticking out of the ground right now.
"...Probably won't work anyways..."
Using your stony hoof, you start chipping a pony face on the rock's surface. Pinkie and Sweetie stare at you in confusion. "SHHHH!! They'll hear us!" Sweetie panics.
You've managed to sculpt a very simple face into the rock. It looks remarkably better than your normal pen and paper drawings...
The stone stands before you, a rough face carved into it. "Hmm... I could also knock a few piece off of the side to make some pebbles..." Raisin thinks over her options as Tezel admires his most prized creation.
"Beautiful... he'll be ready by sun up, yes?" His voice booms as the guard replies. You hear his hooves excitedly rap into the sand as big, low booms. He sounds giddy as a school filly that just got their cutie mark.
GAME INFO: Tezel indeed does have a Cutie Mark. It looks like a crown seated around a pair of palm trees holding up a star. Like most cutie marks, you're not quite sure what this is supposed to symbolize.
Remembering back to when you first came to this very rock only a day ago... through the eyes of your best friend Applebloom... you decide that Pinkie's cardboard box distraction was ingenious. As Tezel finishes up his excited little dance, you duck down behind the rock once more, being careful not to accidentally bump Pinkie with your sizzling hot exterior.
"Pinkie... remember last time when we used those cardboard boxes to sneak in?"
Pinkie looks about. Her eyes flash. "Oh! Right! I remember that! We went all super-spy on that castle!" Suddenly, the pink mare pulls out a small collection of cardboard boxes, then slams them over each of the ponies heads. She takes a large refridgerator box for her and Strawberry. Rainbow is stuck in an average sized box; she doesn't move an inch. Sweetie Belle gets a box the same size as yours, though yours has another box stapled to it to accommodate the Adanemzurai.
"Alright... cool." You nod inside the box. "...where did you get these from, anyhow?"
"Silly, I always carry spare boxes around with me!" The chipper pony hops up and down. "You never know when you need to build a box fort!"
You peek around the rock, noticing that Tezel has vanished. "Must have went back inside..." You see some steam filling up the box a bit; you're skin must still be sort of warm.
The entrance still has a pair of guards standing near it. Two statues lumber over them, pleading for your intervention.
Huddling up under your steaming box, you give Rainbow Dash one simple command. "Follow me."
Without a word, she bumps into your box and follows your every step. You lead the way out towards the main entrance, suspiciously moving across the sand with your small convoy of cardboard boxes. Sweetie pipes up from behind. "We look so out of place... ohh..." She sounds a bit frightened.
"Nonsense. We blend in okay..."
As you walk toward the entrance, the guards don't seem to take notice to your disguises immediately. You get closer and closer, approaching the stairs from the side. Above, you hear a mighty voice asking for your touch... the giant statue towering above wishes to be animated.
You hear the Adanemzurai boom in your head. "Nooo... don't go in. Take Him..." You feel your head turned towards the giant statue to your right... the mighty Titanio. You shake your head, focusing on your mission. "I know what I'm doing."
"Uh... I hope so, Raisin." Pinkie whispers from behind. "Did you need a slingshot or something? That worked pretty well last time."
"Yes, that'd be perfect."
Pinkie walks up to your box, then slides a giant gumball under it. She pulls her hoof away quick. "Whew! It's really hot in there!" She faces your porthole and gives you instructions. "Okay, I don't have a slingshot, but if you chew that up and stretch it out, you should be abl-"
"Pinkie, I'm a statue."
"...Oh. Right." She retrieves her gumball, remarking 'hot' a few times before chewing it up. In a matter of moments, she hands it back to you. "There! Super stretchy, good to go!"
GAME INFO: Holding the candle up against the sand, it doesn't seem as though the colors would blend all that well. The outside of the candle appears to be a bit sticky by the steam in your box.
You take one of Sweetie Belle's candles and examine it under your sauna of a cardboard box. It doesn't appear as though it'd blend in with the ground, but the outside starts to become sticky like the wad of gum in your hoof. An idea comes to mind...
Rolling the candle around in the cool sand beneath your hooves, you're able to get the entire thing covered in a good layer of sand. Carefully, you break it apart and roll the little piece into the dirt some more. Something about stomping on it feels so incredibly... right. Breaking the candle under the crushing force of your hoof puts a smile on your face.
You make sure each chunk is evenly coated before you pick one up and place it in the stretchy bubble gum.
END OF DAY 21