Raisin Quest 3
Day 4

Recap:

>Use magic to remove fallen tree from path
>Get into town, head to Library
>**Send warning letter to Princess Celestia**
>Recruit Spike, go to Sally’s Stage
>Let Sweetie Belle attend to wigged out Rarity
>Stealth way into back door
>Collect Snakeoil Sally’s suspicious ingredients from washroom
>Found by Derpy
>xXx Knocked Derpy out xXx
>Woke up Sally, ran like mad
>Caught by Sally
>**Continuously tell her the truth**
>Released by Sally and rejoin Scootaloo and Spike
>Get Scootahug, Hug Hayseed, Saved the Quest
*Asterisks represent good actions, xXx represents bad actions

Raisin, Scootaloo, and Spike stand out in the middle of a soon abandoned town square, narrowly escaping the clutches of Snakeoil Sally. Having just stolen a concoction of secret ingredients from Sally’s washroom laboratory, the young fillies and their small dragon friend find themselves in a rare moment of safety as they attempt to figure out their next course of action.

Scootaloo realizes that she’s still hugging Raisin after the altercation. She pushes her away and looks about. “Okay… soo… uh… now that you’re back on the ground, shouldn’t we go find Sweetie Belle and Rarity? They were supposed to wait for us.”

Spike scratches his chin. “Maybe they’re at the Boutique?”

You agree with Spike. If Sweetie and Rarity are anywhere, they're more than likely back at the Boutique. After all, you did spend quite some time backstage at Sally's place. They probably got tired. Shaking off some of the adrenaline of your near death experience, you lead Scootaloo and Spike over to Sweetie's place.

When you arrive, you notice a letter pinned to the door. Scootaloo squints up at it, then looks into the windows.

"...they're not home?" Spike looks about, unsure. "Where could they be, then?"

Inventory check:

• Raisin: Boots, CMC Cape, Vial of Strange Sand, Rocks, Hayseed + Peppermint Candy Canes, Stompstarter
• Scootaloo: CMC Cape, Vial of Algae, Vial of Odd Bathwater, Snakeoil Sally Miracle Elixir
• Spike: Nothing

You walk up to the door and yank the small, elegant parchment off. You begin to read it aloud to Scootaloo and Spike.

You drop the letter on the ground. "...'be in town'?" Scootaloo picks the letter up. "Did it say where?" Spike starts looking around, seeing if he can spot the duo from his current vantage. He has no luck.

"Well, if they're not here, we should just start looking around town. We'll bump into them eventually, right?" You yawn a little bit, realizing that you just stayed up an entire night. "We have to make sure Rarity's not trying to get any more of that nasty potion."

"Sweetie Belle's watching her, Raisin. She won't let that happen, would she?" Scootaloo starts walking toward Sweet Apple Acres. "If they're going to be wandering around town, why don't we go check on Applebloom?"

Spike looks at you, then at Scootaloo. "Wherever you guys want to go." He avoids offering any constructive input.

You shake your head, trying to wake up a bit. Not wanting to be too groggy for another adventure today, you quickly decide that taking a quick nap might not be a bad idea.

"A nap? After all that?" Scootaloo looks you over. "You nearly bite the dust and you want to sleep?" She shrugs, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Actually... I don't think I'd mind that right about now..."

Spike stretches and cracks his fingers. "I agree. Let's crash for a bit."

You suggest that the three of you find some lodging at the Boutique. When you try to open the door, however, you discover that it's locked.

"C'mon, let's go to the library. I'm sure Twilight won't mind if y-" Spike remembers that Twilight is still missing. "...this way."

As you approach the library, you see Sweetie Belle jumping up and down in front of a Royal Guard outside. She looks worried.

You gallop up to Sweetie Belle to see what's going on. "Rarity's gone! She disappeared into the night! I can't find her anywhere!" She walks in a few tight circles. "She was right there and then... poof! She was gone!"

The guard looks concerned. "I'm sorry to hear that, little one, but we're already on a search and rescue mission. We've got orders directly from the Princess herself to find a pony named Twilight Sparkle."

Sweetie looks about ready to cry. "But... can you just keep an eye out for her?" She shudders a little. "She's... white... and has a purple mane... and..."

The guard simply looks around. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to look for her another time." He backs up slowly, continuing into town. Sweetie seems pretty down. "I can't believe I lost her..."

"Spike, take a letter." You ask the small dragon.

He nods his head, running into the library for a moment. He returns with a quill and some parchment.

You tell Spike to go ahead and send the letter off. He yawns, then blasts the letter up into a stream of bright green light. He shakes his head, trying to stay awake. "Okay, Twilight... can I please get some sleep now?"

You shake your head, realizing that he must be extremely tired. Sweetie Belle gives you a soft smile. "Thanks, Raisin."

You explain to the guard that there is a griffin in town named Snakeoil Sally. You go on to explain that you saw an odd unicorn filly enter the place in the dead of the night. You followed her, only to discover that Sally is keeping a whole bunch of little unicorn fillies held up in her stage.

The guard's eyes widen up. "That's quite an accusation, little filly... Snakeoil Sammy or not, abduction is a serious crime." He puts his hoof down next to you. "You four stay here. I'm going to get the captain to investigate this claim. If we find out that you were lying in any way, you will be severely punished. Understand?"

You look back to Spike, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. They each step forward in their own groggy haze.

"She's telling the truth, Mr. Guard. Every bit of it. I saw them too, all locked up in cages and everything." Scootaloo says.

"She caught us as we were leaving, though..." Spike continues. "What if she hides everything before you guys get there?"

The guard looks you all over again. "We'll search it immediately, then. If what you're saying is true, then the evidence will be impossible to hide."

He turns around to make his leave. "You kids stay here so that I can find you again. The captain may need to have a word with you."

Sweetie Belle still looks worried. "What if they don't find her?"

"They will, Sweetie Belle. What we gotta do right now is..." Scootaloo pauses for a yawn. "...find Applebloom. We've gotta get the team together so we can find out what's going on."

You hear the yawns and sleepiness of your weary team. Having not slept a wink the night previous, something that you've tried to become accustom with since you joined the CMC, you find yourself exhausted. The excitement of being whipped around like a football has you tuckered out.

"Nap first, Applebloom later..." You take a few long blinks, seeing that everyone is nodding in agreement with you. "...also, grape jelly. I'm hungry."

Spike's already inside the Library, laying down in his cozy, clean bed. "Just find a spot, you guys. Don't mess anything up; I just cleaned." Within seconds, he seems to be fast asleep.

You and the CMC crash on Twilight's bed. Before you nap, the team unequipped their saddlebags. You pulled out Hayseed to snuggle with before climbing onto the comfy, welcome bed.

Several Hours Later...

You're suddenly awoken by a loud knock at the door. The afternoon sun has rose.

You tell Scootaloo to flutter on down and see who it is. She rubs her hoof on your face and grunts. You give her a bump and ask again. "...aaaaalright, fine..." Groggy and bleary eyed, the little pegasus opens up the front door. She jumps back in shock. "S...Ssss.. Sally?!" Immediately, a guard walks in with the well dressed griffin.

"Hello, kids." Sally says in a charming voice.

The guard stands tall in front of your miniscule friend. "We searched Ms. Sally's stage with her permission. She was polite enough to let us know that some mischievous pranksters have been harassing her ever since she got in town... simply because she's a griffin." The guard looks very stern. "Where is your purple friend? We need to have a word with her."

You instinctively duck under the sheets.

Panicking, you slide over Sweetie Belle who is still fast asleep and walk over to the saddlebags lying on the floor. You pat your hooves over your bags, holding Hayseed in your mouth. You can't find anything that will help with this situation...

...until you bump your hoof against Scootaloo's bags. You reach inside, withdrawing one Snakeoil Sally's Miracle Elixir. Although you know the stuff is poisonous, this one drink could give you enough speed to see you out of a heap of trouble. Carefully, you uncork the bottle while Scootaloo stalls.

Taking a swig, you realize why this stuff sold so well in the first place. Your heart races and your face flushes red. Instantly, all that grogginess from the night previous melts away. You feel like you're ready to take on Sally yourself. You're now bursting with energy; what do you do?

You poke your nose up above the sheets, walking toward the staircase. You see Sally give you a subtle yet disappointed smile.

"Little Ms... you told us that this wonderful griffin here was holding a bunch of young fillies hostage at her stageshow." He looks at you down the tip of his nose. "When we arrived, she was courteous and understanding of the situation. She let the guard into her house by the kindness of her own heart." He glares at you. "There was nothing of the sort found at her residence."

He continues. "Further more, Sally here says that you stole something from her show. May we have a look at your belongings?"

You hold Hayseed in your hooves and look up at Sally, whispering just loud enough for her to hear you. "Tezel throws away his tools when he's done with 'em. You're just gonna be tomorrow's trash."

She gives you a sullen look. "...you think I don't already know that, kid?" The guards perk their ears up. Sally turns to speak in their direction. "Oh, she was just apologizing and telling me that the stuff she stole is in her bags!" Sally looks down at you. "Trust me, kid. The less involved you are, the better. Stay out of my way."

The guards start making their way through the Library.

As the guards search around the Library for your bags, you ask Sally, "Just what are you fighting for, anyways?"

She gives you a concerned look. "Look, I'm just a traveling salesgriffin looking to make a quick buck. I got in way over my head with that... Tezel thing... and now I'm just trying to get out of this without being crushed into a fine paste in my sleep. Just shut up, duck out, and stop worrying about it."

You pull Sally close to you. "Ya know, Cilepharus is a decoration in Celestia's statue garden now thanks to us and our friends. Help us find a cure, find our friends, and we'll stop King Tezel." You look her in the eyes. "You'd be surprised, but I've got connections. I can get Celestia to give you a full pardon."

Sally can't help but laugh. "Kid, I don't even know what you're talking about, but I admire your drive." She looks down at you with a sarcastic smile. "That doll thing is really killing it for me. What are those, peppermint candy canes?" You look over Hayseed, seeing that she's still got her firm grasp on your partially melted candy.

"Connections to the Princess? Seriously, how dense do you think I am?" Sally gives you a light shove. The guards come down the stairs, carrying two saddlebags. They set them on the table and start searching through them.

"It should be a couple of glass bottles with some... uh.. stuff.. in them." Sally smirks at you.

"It's my homemade fizzy lemon soda drink. I just reused the bottle. If you dont believe me, then have a sip!"

You whisper to her again. "I'm serious, Sally. I personally know the Princess and I can prove it... just make those guys stop."

She stares at you. "Prove it, then."

You call up to Spike. He doesn't seem to wake up, instead just grumbling a bit. Scootaloo runs up the staircase. "Hold on, I've got 'im." Within a few seconds, an extremely groggy looking Spike makes his way down the stares. He snaps awake when he sees Sally and the guards. "Whaaha! What's SHE doing here?!"

You ask Spike if he's received any word from the Princess yet. He scratches his chin. "...nothing yet. She's usually pretty quick to respond, too..." He looks around. "What are these gu-"

You cut him off, asking about the letter further and why she'd take so long to respond. Sally snickers. "Oh please... give it up, already."

Spike says that since they only sent a request to update the guard orders, the guards would more than likely be the only ones to be contacted by the Princess.

"She's trying to hide the things we took because she doesn’t want people to find out what's in her fake potion. She make the whole town sick."

You point over to Spike. "You see that dragon? That's Twilight Sparkles' personal assistant. He can speak directly to the Princess on our behalf."

She looks at you coldly. The guards begin to pull things out of the saddlebags. One of them holds up a glass vial. "This one of 'em?"

Sally nods her head, then turns her attention towards you. "If you can really get my 'associate' Sammy a pardon for 'his' crimes, then by all means, please do. Use your little dragon. Get me a pardon." She says with confidence, thinking that you're just trying to bluff her.

"Spike... take a letter." You wait until he's ready with another piece of parchment and a quill.

You tell Spike to send the letter simply to prove that you do, in fact, have a means of communicating with the Princess. He rolls his eyes and blasts the parchment out of the window. Sally is taken aback by the simple display. "...well... that's interesting."

You also make mention that Twilight is missing because of her poisonous potion. The guards are here looking for her and to arrest 'Sammy'.

"They're not gonna find her here, I guarantee."

The guards gather up a small circle of bottles. "Alright, found them. Just like you said, Sally, these kids stole 'em."

You are taken aback by her statement. "Is Twilight okay? Where have you taken her?"

Sally puts one of her cold, well decorated talons on your shoulder. "She's someone else's problem now. Don't worry about it."

You prepare to tell the guards that you only took the ingredients in order to make a cure to whatever poison is inside of Sally's potions, but a sudden burst of fire and a belch disrupts the silence. Sally looks stunned as a scroll appears out of the dragon's mouth.

Scootaloo runs it over to you. "Here. Read it, quick..." She looks over to the guards as they start heading for the door with the vials.

Sally starts following the guards. "h..Hey! Where do you think you're going with that?" The guards give her a serious look. "This is evidence that a crime has taken place. A little crime, but a crime nonetheless."

Two more guards enter the room with spears. "I hate to do this to a couple of little fillies, but you kids are coming with us."

"No! Wait! You're making a terrible mistake! Sally's the bad guy here, not us!" Spike starts waving his claws like mad.

Quickly, you unfurl the note.

Dumbfounded, Sally grasps at the letter and reads it for herself. "Well... if I'll be an old mare..." She holds it up to the light. A spear lingers closer to your face.

"Regardless of being able to talk to the Princess, you've committed a crime against a citizen of Equestria. You mu-"

Sally jumps up. "No, no. It's fine. Actually, I don't think they meant it at all. We'll work something out. Thank you, guards..."

Scootaloo gives you a stressed out expression. "What's going on now?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. These kids need to learn a lesson about lying, at the very least. They're distracting us from a very important missing pony search..."

"Hold on, now! You're searching for a Twilight Sparkle, yes?" Sally looks a bit nervous.

"Yes. And another pony named 'Rarity'..." They look at her cross. "Do you know something that you're not telling us?"

Sally looks back over to you. "You 100% sure about that pardon, kid?"

You nod your head, evading the spear that's nearly poking you in the nose. She takes a big gulp.

"I know where they went off to! You should have asked me about them before, I could've told you all about it..." She gives them a beaming smile. "I saw both of them just the other day playing by Froggy Bottom Bog when I was gathering some ingredients for my wonderful energy elixir." She wraps her arm around the nearest guard. "Don't tell anyone where I get my stuff from, alright?" The guard looks at her coldly.

"Froggy Bottom Bog? Are you certain you saw them out that way?"

"100% certain. They could be out there right now... but that was a hours and hours ago. They said something about camping... I sure hope they're okay." Sally gives you a quick wink.

"Alright, then. Thank you for your help, Ms. Sally." The guards withdraw their spears. One gives you a sneer. "Little brats..."

When the guards finally leave, you, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Spike meet up in the center of the room. "Alright. That probably got us a few hours. You kids better be quick; what do you want from me so that I can get that pardon?"

You tell Sally that you need to know everything about what exactly is going on. You tell her to start from the very beginning as to how she got mixed up with some living granite pony golem named King Tezel.

Sally sighs. "You know, I said we only had a few hours..."

Scootaloo sits up. "Tell us everything you know!" Spike has the same sentiment. Sweetie Belle sits close to you. "What's even going on? I just woke up..."

You narrow it down quick, asking her about the fillies in the cages.

"Ha. That.. That's me being extraordinarily nice." She rubs her temples. "King Tezel absolutely hates children. The little unicorn fillies aren't strong enough to carve sto-" She looks at the group's confusion. "Okay, let me start from the top..."

Flashback

So I was on the road, just trying to cut out a living for myself. I was out of goods to sell and in a bit of a rut. No goods, no money, no food. I saw this temple place in a mountainside out in the desert I was traveling through, so I decided to go treasure hunting.

That was the biggest mistake of my life.

Inside, there was a ton of gold, but also some gigantic stone pony. I didn't mind him at first... he didn't move or anything. Then, he started talking to me.

He said that he appreciated having the company, but he felt compelled to grind me up into dust. As he started to approach me, I had no choice but to try and win his favor. I told him that I, Snakeoil Sally, could help him get anything he possibly wanted. He started telling me about his life, his title... a King, apparently...

Long story short, he wanted me to use this weird sand stuff to put enough unicorns into a trance to carve him a warrior out of the mountain. I said I'd agree to help as long as he didn't crush me to death. He said that was acceptable. A deal was made.

/Flashback

"And if I don't deliver 100 unicorns to his dumb Castle in the Sand by the end of this week... well... I'm a goner."

As she finishes her story, you think that you'd probably have time for 3 more questions before you had to leave the Library. It's just an estimate, of course...

"Just how big is gigantic and how big do you think the warrior is going to be?"

Sally flies up in the air a little and holds her talon out about 7 ponies above your head. "I'd say he was about this tall, honestly." She lands on the ground quick. "...and the warrior of the mountain? I have no idea what that's about. He's probably going to carve a bigger stone pony out of the mountainside."

"What is in that nasty elixir crap anyways?"

She scratches her chin. "Oohh... uh... actually, to be absolutely completely honest, I'm not sure."

"Whaddya mean, 'you're not sure'?! You make the stuff, don't you?" Scootaloo protests.

"Well, yes, I do. I put some of Tezel's magic powder in the mix to get to the unicorns. It doesn't affect any of the other ponies... from what I know..." She hesitates. "The other ingredients? It was just some nasty bathwater I forgot to drain... I think I knocked in some floor cleaner and paint thinner at some point in time. One of my associates drank it once, got a huge boost of energy. 'Snakeoil Sally's Miracle Elixir' was born."

Sweetie Belle looks disgusted. "Rarity drank rancid bath water? She's not gonna be happy about that."

"Just why does Tezel hate kids?"

Sally shrugs her shoulders and looks off to the side. "I maaaaay have something to do with that..." She looks about. "You see, I knew that Tezel had a ton of gold locked up in that sand castle, so I decided to loot it... discretely." She looks over her shoulder at the door, answering a paranoid feeling. "Tezel said that he would kill any unicorn children he saw; they are too weak to help and only a burden. Being a good girl, I decided to rescue those fillies... and send them in there during the night to loot the place."

"You're despicable." Spike looks at her angrily.

"Say whatever you want. I saved those fillies and that's that." She puffs up her chest proudly.

You feel a chill run up your spine.

You grab onto Scootaloo and pull her close. "Scoots, I've got a bad feeling right now. Keep a lookout for guards, would ya?"

She rolls her eyes. "Alright, but Sally said they'd be a few hours out." The little pegasus goes upstairs to look out of Twilight's bedroom window. As she goes upstairs, you ask, "...where did you hide all your stuff at?"

She looks at you funny. "Eh.. since we're on the same side for the moment..." She smirks. "I actually just let the unicorn fillies run free in the streets. I really hope they don't go toward the 'music' in the west... had to save my skin first, though. As for the treasure..." She shakes her head. "That's a secret."

Scootaloo falls downstairs. "RUN!!!" Spike rides Sweetie into the kitchen. Sally looks around the Library, darting to the kitchen.

You decide it best to separate from the group. You by the stairs and hide in one of the statue alcoves. Suddenly, you hear a crash of glass on the upper story floor. A terrible roar shakes the small tree.

Your friends shriek in the other room, darting out with Sally close behind. Behind them, a giant stone wingtip reaches into the library.

"I was afraid of that..." Sally is ducking near you.

"What?! You know what that thing is!?" Spike yells over the screeching of the giant stone bird.

"That blockhead said he'd get me if I betrayed him, one way or another..." She gulps. "I guess he wasn't kidding..."

You see a sharp beak slam through the upper story wall. It works its way through the wall, jabbing big holes into the tree as it gets closer and closer to Sally.

You can't take anymore of this tension. You bring Hayseed close to your face, taking in her wonderful scent of home. You start to remember all of the fantastic pies your mom would bake for you as after school snacks. You remember her warm smile when she served them up with just a little dollop of whipped cream on top.

As the world begins to fade around you, a sharp pain tears its way into your back. You see the fading image of Sally being struck by a stone emerging from your chest. It barely misses Hayseed. Suddenly, you feel warmth around your neck and a familiar softness against your cheek.

Scootaloo pulls away, realizing that she's been seen hugging you in public. "Oh.. umm..." She clears her throat. "Should we go find Sweetie Belle and Rarity? They were supposed to wait for us the other night."

You're back out in the middle of the town square.

END OF DAY 4