Recap:
>Go to find Sweetie Belle; search at Boutique
>Read a note on front door saying Rarity was out in town today
>Team is tired; seek rest. Boutique locked, Spike invites you and Scoots to the Library
>Find Sweetie panicking in front of guard; Rarity is missing
>Write letter to Celestia; ask to alter guard orders so that guards will search for Rarity
>Made Sweetie happy
>xXx Tell guards that Snakeoil Sally is really Snakeoil Sammy, provide no hard evidence xXx
>Go to nap, didn’t snuggle with Scootaloo
>Wake up, guards and Sally at front door
>Confronted; accused of stealing.
>**Talk to Sally, convince her that you can talk to Celestia**
>**Sally lies to guards to make them leave**
>Sally tells you about Tezel, her elixir, the unicorn fillies, and explains a few things
>Sally broke oath to Tezel; giant stone bird makes way to Ponyville to end her story
>Trapped behind Sally and wall, nearly impaled by Stone Bird’s beak
>HUG HAYSEED! PREVENT DEATH!
*Asterisks represent good actions, xXx represents bad actions
Raisin, Scootaloo, and Spike stand out in the middle of the abandoned town square, just after escaping the clutches of Snakeoil Sally. Having just used Hayseed to avoid being impaled on a massive stone beak, Raisin feels around her chest to make sure that she’s unharmed. Again, she seems to have narrowly avoided death.
Scootaloo realizes that she’s still hugging Raisin after their run in with Sally. She pushes her away and looks about, ensuring her girly actions remain unnoticed. “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?”
Using the information you gathered from your last near death experience, you reach into your saddlebags to hand Scootaloo and Spike the sand that you collected from Sally's stage. She yawns and accepts them. "Uh... alright. Are you gonna look for Sweetie Belle then?" You nod your head.
"Well, alright." She stretches. "We'll find you when we've got something new from Zecora." She turns her head to Spike. "Spike! Let's get going."
He shakes his head to wake himself up. "Huh? Oh.. yeah, let's go." You watch the pair start heading out towards Fluttershy's cottage, on their way to make the delivery.
You turn toward the Library, knowing that Sweetie Belle will be nearby. Sure enough, you see your friend bouncing up and down, panicking in front of the guard.
Inventory check:
You gallop over to Sweetie Belle, listening to her rant about how her sister suddenly disappeared into the night air. Again, the guard doesn't seem to be able to help much. "I'm sorry, little one, but we're already on a search and rescue mission on orders from the Princess herself."
Sweetie starts getting bleary eyed, but you grab onto her. "R...raisin?" She sniffles. "I lost Rarity..." You calm her down, waving the guard away. With a sigh of relief, he slowly backs up and returns to his patrol. You tell Sweetie that you may know where Rarity is, but she's gonna have to follow you.
"O..Okay... did you see her, then?" Sweetie seems hopeful and rejoins your party.
You feel light headed. Your eyelids feel rather heavy, but the excitement and terror of nearly being killed by a giant stone bird keeps you awake.
You tell Sweetie Belle that you more than likely saw a pony that looked kind of like Rarity heading to the Market Square. "That's where Sally's Stage is! We've gotta hurry!" Sweetie Belle runs up ahead of you. You tail her quickly, heading down a moderately busy alleyway.
When you approach town center, you see a little unicorn filly wandering around. She's walking around the square. It looks like she's asking ponies questions, but you can't tell.
Up on the stage, you see Derpy with a funny looking oragami bottle hat. She's standing next to a sign, but you can't read it. The crowd seems a little restless, but the Royal Guard's presence and the happy, quieter music helps to maintain some order.
"There she is! I see her!" Sweetie Belle shouts next to your ear. Sure enough, as coincidence would have it, Rarity is up next to the stage.
Before approaching the cart, you ask Sweetie if she has anything to eat. "Oh... um..." She searches around her bags. "I brought some marshmallows... in case we made a campfire or something. You want one?" She also knocks a slingshot out of her bags. You pick it up, saying that it'd be best to have one for yourself.
Munching a marshmallow, you contemplate your next move with care.
There seems to be a couple of other fillies running about the square, but they're with their parents. Mostly, they're standing around other stands, purchasing produce and sweets.
You recognize almost every one of the ponies in the crowd; you've grown up with them. Notably, a shaky ball of pink stands out among the ponies, but she's near the front next to Rarity.
You also see your dad running the grape stand off in the distance.
You decide to make your way up to the familiar ponies. Squeezing your way through the crowd of legs, you weasel your way up to the front. It seems to be crowded. It's a tight fight to get up to Rarity and Pinkie, but you manage.
"Rarity! Where did you go last night?! I was so worried!" Sweetie Belle runs up and hugs Rarity's leg. She shakes her head. "Mm-Oh, Hi Sweetie..." She's still a bit wobbly. "I got tired of waiting, so while you snoozed I went back to the Boutique... then I came here when I woke up."
Pinkie nuzzles up next to your head. "Hi! Did you like your candy Raisin?" She's still jittery and energetic, but not moving quite as fast as she was yesterday. "I'm stocking up on this AMAZING energy drink! You gonna buy some too?"
You nod your head, saying that you definitely would if you had a few Bits on you. "Oh! That's okay! You can have one of mine! They're so super duper fantastic!" She reaches into her bags, pulling out a couple of candy canes. She spits one into your mouth, keeping one for herself. "I'm next in line, so just let your good pal Pinkie hook you up!" She winks. The previous customer leaves the stage with an angry look on his face. "Oh! Here I go!"
Pinkie bounces up the stairs and starts talking to Derpy. She's still a bit hyperactive, so you weren't able to ask your other questions in time.
You stand by Sweetie Belle and Rarity.
While Pinkie barters with the wall-eyed pegasus up on stage, you juggle the candy cane in your mouth around. You tell Sweetie Belle that you see your dad nearby. You want to get a few grapes to snack. Sweetie Belle nods her head. "Oh! Remember, we were "at Fluttershy's" last night. I think Applejack already talked to her about it." You remember that the CMC always has a backup plan so your family doesn't worry about you during your crusades.
Walking back through the crowd, you see Hayseed hanging up on a pitchfork by her candy canes. You immediately grab her and stuff her back into your bag.
You make your way over to your dad. "Good morning, honey. How was the sleepo- huh... didn't sleep well, did ya? You had Hayseed with you, right?" He looks you over with concern. "Make sure to get some sleep."
"Hey Dad, can I have some grapes? I'll pay for them out of my allowance. I just want something cool and fresh to munch on, I'm not feeling too well."
"Not feeling well, eh? I can see that... did you even sleep last night, hun?" He lowers one of the baskets down from the stand. "Take as many as you like, grapefruit. We've still got a ton of them." He gives you a smirk.
"Thanks, dad!"
You take a hoof-ful of grapes and carefully fill your empty pocket in your saddlebags. You take another hoof-ful and snack them down. A little energy returns to your tired body.
"Don't get into any trouble now, Raisin. See ya at dinner!" Your dad waves as you dive back into the crowd, hurrying to get back up to Sweetie and Rarity. You bump into Sweetie. "Oh! Raisin, thank goodness. Rarity won't stop pushing up to the stage!"
Quickly, you pop a few grapes into Rarity's mouth. She chews them up and gulps them down. "Mmm... well... thanks, Raisin..." She looks at you funny, her eyes snapping back into position after a few seconds. "You... girls... stay right here... I'm going t-" Sweetie Belle grabs onto her sister, trying to keep her from going up on stage.
The late morning sun bathes the land in light.
You pluck the candy cane out of your mouth and jam it into Rarity's. Her eyes are still off, but she slowly scrunches up her face. "EwwwwWWWwww!!" She shakes her head and spits out the candy cane, letting it shatter against the ground. "W... why would you do something so... disgusting?!" It's hard to take her seriously because her eyes still seem a bit funny, but she's not concerned with getting up on stage anymore.
Pinkie comes bounding your way, carrying a small box on her back. She seems a bit displeased. "Oh. Hi Raisin... You still wanted one, right?" She looks at you hesitantly.
The group moves out of the way and off to the side of the stage.
You nod your head. She looks a bit down, setting her box on the ground. Inside are three vials of elixir. There's space for 12, but only three slots are filled. "I was gonna stock up... but now they're super expensive..." She reluctantly hands you one. "I promised, so here you go."
You make sure to ask her about the grape jelly. "Oh! We had all that done up yesterday! Thanks for the grapes!" Suddenly, her expression perks up. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She pops the top off of one of the drinks and gulps it down. Immediately, she's back into her hyper-mode. After running a few circles around you, Sweetie Belle, and Rarity, she picks up her box, pulls out a candy cane, and stands there, jittering in place. "Oh oh oh oh stop on by any time I've gotta go now wwwweeeEEEEE-" She takes off in a sprint.
As Pinkie leaves you in her dust, it seems like more of the crowd is going up to get some elixir. You can't hear too much over the music, but you can hear some clambering around inside the stage. More unicorn fillies are wandering about.
You tell Sweetie Belle and Rarity that the three of you should head out to Sugarcube Corner. "Uhm... okay." Sweetie Belle nods. Rarity looks back over her shoulder. "...wait... do you girls... could you girls wait a few mi-" Sweetie Belle grabs onto her sister's hoof. "C'mon, Rarity."
As you start walking, you notice all of the younger unicorn fillies standing about. You remember what Sally told you about their fate should they make a journey out to the 'Castle in the Sand'. Seeing as you took the time to memorize the tune the night previous, you start to sing it aloud. You can hear the faint singing of the others little ponies around you.
"Oh... uh... is that a new song or something?" Sweetie looks over to you. "Can you teach me?"
After a little bit, you and Sweetie sing the song in duet. Rarity and the pack of fillies follow you with happy smirks on their faces as they hum the tune along with you. Standing out front of Sugarcube Corner, you see a blur of pink dashing about inside the Bakery.
You tell Sweetie to keep the song going for your little filly audience... and Rarity, who now seems rather content. She bobs her head back and forth to the alluring melody. Sweetie gives you a wink and continues on.
You tap at the door with your hoof. The door opens up almost immediately. "WelcometoSugarcubOHMIGOSH!!! RAISIN! ComeonIN!" Pinkie grabs onto you and pulls you inside.
"Pinkie! Calm down, sweetheart. I need you to pull the cupcakes out of th-" Pinkie disappears while Mrs. Cake is talking. She sighs. "Hello, dear. Did you come by for some more candy?"
You shake your head. "Actually... I was wondering if I could get a jar of that delicious Grape Jelly you and Pinkie made the other day."
Mrs. Cake gives you an unsure look. "...O..Oh... yes, the jelly... uh..." Pinkie zips up to the counter with a discolored jar of grape jelly. "Thanks, Pinkie..." Mrs. Cake holds it up. You can see a broken candy cane suspended in it. "Pinkie added a few extra ingredients to the mix... I haven't been selling any so far."
You acquire Peppermint Candy Grape Jelly.
You stuff the weird concoction in the pouch that previously held the Vial of Glittering Sand. You thank Ms. Cake for the free jelly. Pinkie zips up to the counter. "OhOhohohohohoh! It tastes grrrreat with that energy drink stuff!" She zooms on by Mrs. Cake with enough speed to make her spin in place. "N..Not a problem, Raisin... come back for the rest if you end up... liking it."
As you walk outside, you see Sweetie Belle keeping up the harmonious little choir. Rarity shakes her head every once in a while, but goes back to singing. Scootaloo is standing off to the side, looking exhausted. Spike is sleeping on her back. "...what's going on here?"
You tell Scootaloo that the singing seems to corral the brainwashed unicorns. Scootaloo pauses, looking them over again. "...wait... are these the same unicorns from last night? Did you spring them?!" She nods in approval. "Righteous! You're much cooler than I ever thought!" She bumps heads with you.
Spike rolls over on her back, miraculously able to keep himself from falling off. While Sweetie continues to serenade the little fillies, Scoots yawns. "I'm sooo tuckered out... but I think Zecora helped us out big time. You know that Tezel stuff you were hearing in the town square yesterday?"
You nod.
"Apparently, that glittering sand comes from some 'Castle in the Sand' that this King Tezel lives in. Zecora told me all about it! There was a ton of stuff... like... treasure and... stuff..." She struggles with a few ideas. "Bah. Basically, there's this stone pony guy that makes this magic powder stuff; it makes unicorns a bit..." She points at Rarity. "If it's here, that means we've got some much bigger problems than Sally to worry about."
You unscrew the top to the Jelly Jar and feed some to Rarity. Her singing instantly stops. She starts gagging. "Blech! Pfffah!" She spits it out. She gives you a cold look. "Stop. Feeding. Me. Weird. Stuff." She tries to look serious, but her eyes wander.
You mention to Scootaloo that you think you've figured out how to cancel out the sickness crash that ponies keep getting from drinking the elixir. You hold up shake your saddlebag with the strange grape jelly in it. She takes a look as you explain eating this with the elixir just gives you the energy, none of the sickness.
"...I think..." She yawns, shaking with Spike on her back. "...I'll pass."
You tell Sweetie and Scoots that you should get the fillies off to Fluttershy's; she can watch over them while you figure out your next course of action. Sweetie walks around the group as the three of you sing the enchanting melody. The little fillies begin following you.
As you continue, another adult unicorn joins your group. She hums in tune to the song.
You continue along the dirt road, shrugging off the eerily familiar unicorn mare that you've picked up. As you proceed, a few ponies give you looks until you're up near Fluttershy's cottage. She's out tending to her chickens at the moment. She sees the large group and looks a bit shaky.
"Oh... uh... hello?" You lip-read her response.
You rush up to Fluttershy, motioning to Scoots and Sweetie to continue singing. The unicorn fillies and the mysterious mare look a bit disgruntled for some reason.
"Fluttershy, all of these unicorns are being mind controlled! We need you to watch them and sing to them while we go find a cure!"
Fluttershy's eyes widen. "M..Mu...Mu...Mindcontrolled?!" She looks over them with fear. You assure her that they're harmless; they just need someone to keep them indoors and watch them so they don't go wandering off.
"But... but..." She looks about. "I..." She doesn't seem to want to take them off your hands. You notice that Rarity is starting to wander off. The other fillies seem to be losing the melody...
You hear Scootaloo's cacophonous tones drowning out the melody. You motion her over to come and help you. She rushes over, stopping her horrible, malformed tones. The group seems to settle down as Rarity returns to hum along. "Yeah? Whatcha need, Grapes?"
You tell her that the two of you need to convince Fluttershy to take the fillies in. You and Scoots bombard the yellow pegasus with a bunch of guilt tripping, telling her that if she doesn't watch the fillies, they will wander off an never be seen again. Only she can help.
"Oh... my... uhm..." Fluttershy looks around. You ask her sincerely once more.
"...okay. I'll watch them..." She opens her front door. "...is there anything special I need to do for them?" You tell her that she needs to sing the song that Sweetie's singing. She looks about and nods. "Okay, got it... I can watch Rarity too... but what about that other mare?" She points at the mysterious mare that joined your group.
You tell Fluttershy that you'll be taking the other mare and Rarity with you. Sweetie Belle guides most of the fillies in. Scootaloo holds back the other pony and Rarity. "Wh... what?" Rarity looks confused.
You say that, if worse comes to worse, that she should just lock her doors and let them wander around inside the house. Sweetie walks back out, nodding to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looks a bit distressed, but picks up as Sweetie stops.
"Thanks, Fluttershy. We'll be back later, promise." Sweetie Belle waves as Fluttershy, worried, enters back into her house.
"Have you ever been to th-" She stops as Sweetie Belle remembers to continue singing. Spike jostles around on Scootaloo's back once more. He still seems sound asleep.
The afternoon sun hangs high in the sky.
You walk up to Scoots and bop Spike on the head. He hiccups a flame. "WhaaaahahAH!" The little dragon springs to life. "What's going on?!" As the bleary eyed dragon awakens, you catch him up to speed as to what you've found out.
"Okay... I was wondering about the singing there..." He scratches his head.
You tell him that the group has a new guest that needs to be interrogated a bit. When Sweetie stops singing, he needs to tell her that he's never been to any 'Castle in the Sand'.
"...what now?" He looks at you, unsure.
Sweetie Belle stops singing and ducks behind you. Scootaloo sticks by your side. "...do you know this pony, just to ask?"
"Have you ever been to the Castle in the Sand?" The unicorn inquires. Spike answers with a simple, unsure 'no'. The mare looks up at you, Scootaloo, Raisin, and Rarity, asking the same question as her eyes bobble about.
All of you answer no... except Rarity. "...the Castle in the Sand?" She looks about. "I... where is it?"
The mare nods her head. She starts heading back into town.
You start following the mysterious mare. You remember to tell Sweetie Belle to sing. Quickly, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Rarity, and Spike catch up to you. "We're going to find the Castle, aren't we?!" Scootaloo looks excited, but slightly dizzy.
You shake your head. "No... not yet. I think this mare knows where something really important is..."
"What is it?" All but Rarity ask. You answer with an 'I don't know', keeping up your brisk trot behind the derp eyed mare. As you near town, the mare heads toward the town square. She keeps stopping at random, asking ponies if they've been to a Castle in the Sand.
As you come to a stop, you see Spike carrying Scootaloo. She's sound asleep.
You bump Scootaloo. She makes some weird grunting noise. Spike sets her down on the ground. "You better wake up. I'm not gonna carry you everywhere." Scootaloo rolls over. "I carried you everywhere!"
You tell Scootaloo to drink some of the elixir. She sighs. "Not if I have to chase it down with that nasty jelly stuff Pinkie made..." Before she can finish, you mix the jelly and elixir in her mouth. She swallows it.
"Huh... that's actually not too... wow!" She smiles and kicks her forelegs up. "I feel fantastic!"
The mysterious mare seems to be picking on a kid in the distance.
You offer some of the elixir to Spike. He takes a look over to the jar of jelly. He shakes his head. "Nah, I'm good. Sweetie could probably use some, though..." Sweetie Belle yawns as she continues singing to her incredibly happy sister.
As you approach, you see Snakeoil Sally start walking up to the unicorn. She shoves the unicorn mare and pushes the kid to the side. The little pegasus filly runs off crying. You see Sally put an arm around the mare and lead her into a nearby alleyway. Several ponies look on. "Hey, isn't that Sally?"
"Hey... that was Sally, wasn't it?" Scootaloo looks onwards. You tell her that you're gonna sneak up and see what she's doing with your mysterious mare. "I'll back you up, Raisin."
You tell Scootaloo that you're gonna hoof it alone. You've got boots, so you're able to move around a bit quieter. Scootaloo looks at you cross. The sounds of the town square almost drown out your talking. "...okay, then." You shrug, telling her that you've gotta be extra stealthy.
You sneak down the alley, watching Sally lead the pony out towards a tree. There's significantly less ponies out behind the buildings.
"So, you're looking for treasure, huh?" Sally starts talking to the mare. You see something hit the ground. The treasure seeker follows it to the ground and stares. "Watch this for me, will ya?" Sally looks around.
You hide near a trashcan and watch on. Sally looks over her shoulder, seeing if anyone is watching. She pulls out a small black club from under her coat. She looks around again. "Keep looking... You're about to see a whole bunch more of it..."
Quickly, you think of some way to make a noise. In as deep a voice as your young filly vocal chords can manage, you yell "Don't!"
Sally messes up her windup, slapping the tree with her club. She stumbles a little bit, ramming the tree with her shoulder. Sally snaps up, looking down the alley. You remain hidden, but hear something rustle the tree branches. "Oh... shoot... shoot shoot shoot.." Sally seems to scramble about.
"You have stolen from the King." You hear the derp eyed unicorn call out.
Suddenly, you begin to tumble, the trashcan rolling over you. Sally groans closeby. "Aww... not again..." You look down, seeing the unicorn make its approach. She's holding some gold in her mouth. There's quite a bit more lying on the ground.
"What the?! Kid! What are you doing here?!" Sally kicks the trashcan toward the unicorn.
You withdraw your cherished little pony doll Hayseed and hold her tight. Suddenly, you feel two talons wrap around your body. Hayseed is trapped against you, but you cannot hug her. You become airborne for a second time today.
"Now's not the time to play with your doll, kid. We gotta move." She flies up a bit and heads back toward her stage. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Spike start shouting and pointing up toward the griffin carrying you to safety. A couple of pegasus guards become airborne.
"You've gotta be kidding me..." Sally flies by a building and rolls you onto the roof. Thankfully, there's enough traction to stop. You shake yourself to get your bearings and hold onto Hayseed. Sally gets tackled by two guards in midair.
"STOP!! PLEASE STOP!! SHE WAS SAVING ME!!" You yell to the guards currently assailing the salesgriffin. They stop fighting her, looking over to you. They let her go. Suddenly, a trashcan goes flying through the air, narrowly missing Sally.
"You have stolen from the king!" The crazy treasure seeker shouts around a small, golden box. The guards immediately divebomb the unicorn, managing to restrain her for a few seconds. You can see the guards looking at all the random treasure on the ground, completely baffled. The unicorn flings the two into the tree.
Suddenly, a shower of golden artifacts rains down from the branches. You can see Sally clutching at the sides of her head in panic. "No no no no no no" She mutters, hovering next to you. Scootaloo runs over to the unicorn and stamps her hooves.
"Have you ever been to the Castle in the Sand?" The unicorn flips around, throwing a nearby boulder towards Sally.
You figure that you've seen enough. With a boulder coming your way, you close your eyes and bring your sticky hoofed doll up to your face. As you begin to hug her, the distant voice of Sally screams out, but fades away too fast to hear what she was saying. You feel your body get lifted from the ground and flung to the side. You peek through your eyelids, watching a giant gray boulder smash into side of Sally.
You hug Hayseed tighter. You start to think about a cold winter's morning you shared with your mother. When you and mom were the only one awake in the house, you roasted marshmallows over your fireplace. You remember snuggling up next to her and falling asleep. The feeling of her safe embrace and her warmth overwhelm you.
You feel the hooves of Scootaloo slip off from around your neck as she shuffles around. She pushes you away and looks about, ensuring her girly actions remain unnoticed. “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?”
END OF DAY 5