Recap:
>Met up with Sweetie Belle, guard left you alone
>Head to market square to find Rarity
>Ask Pinkie Pie to buy you an elixir
>Discovered that Hayseed has been non-mortally injured
>xXx Gave Sweetie Belle the Snakeoil Sally Miracle Elixir that Pinkie handed you xXx
>**Sang the alluring melody for the fillies wandering town square**
>Saw Snakeoil Sally in a disguise hiding her loot in a secluded tree
>xXx Decided to immediately investigate the tree, brought Scootaloo along xXx
>**Did not hide behind the tree when Scootaloo dropped the Golden Box**
---If you would have done so, the Treasure Seeker Fanatic would have more than likely killed you
>**Confront Sally, avoided mentioning Tezel too much, showed your bravado**
>**Obtained the Golden Box**
>Rendezvous with Sweetie Belle at Sugarcube Corner
>Got the Peppermint Grape Jelly
>Pinkie joined your party
>Dropped off fillies and Rarity at Fluttershy’s cottage
>Went to get Applebloom and bomb at Sweet Apple Acres; obtained Apple Cart
>Went back to Fluttershy’s to discover a filly has gone missing, picked up Rarity
>Went into Everfree Forest to talk to Zecora before heading to the assumed location of the castle
>**Discovered properties of Siren Sand**
>xXx Opened the Golden Box, nearly dying. Unconscious for several hours xXx
>Geared up and traveled further into the Everfree Forest
>Temporarily dealt with Cockatrice by throwing Siren Sand at it
>Met up with Treasure Seeker Fanatic and began singing to her
*Asterisks represent good actions, xXx represents bad actions
Out in towards the edge of the Everfree Forest right as the sun begins to wane, Raisin, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Pinkie Pie serenade a mysterious mare with a magical song in hopes of keeping her from becoming a mindless killer. As they do so, Rarity has gone running ahead of the group to follow a song that only she seems to be able to hear. Sweetie Belle ran after her, but our heroes have yet to run into the sisters again.
Having just lost sight of an extremely dangerous wild Cockatrice, the group is on edge. Little do they know, however, that their perilous journey will only get harder as they press onwards… if they make it out of the forest unscathed.
Inventory check:
You make sure that the Golden Box in Scootaloo's saddlebags is completely hidden. As the familiar mare comes into view, you watch her head weave back and forth to your alluring melody. At the same time, you swear that you hear something approaching from behind the cart.
"Guys... stop singing."
"Uhh... why?" Scootaloo stops and asks. You explain that the Cockatrice may be close by. As the song begins to fade and the Treasure Seeker begins to open her eyes, she suddenly starts turning into stone. In an instant, she freezes up with a peculiar confused look on her face.
"I think you may be right..." Applebloom shudders, knowing that the derped out Cockatrice is more than likely just a few feet away.
Pinkie shivers by your side. "Wh... what happened to her?" She whispers in your ear. You tell the group to keep their eyes shut and to not turn around. The Cockatrice should leave in just a matter of moments.
You and your teammates stand together, huddled up and trembling. After a what seems to be an eternity, you hear the creature behind you groan. Its talons scrape against the cart as it jumps to the ground, walking toward the edge of the Everfree Forest.
"Is... is it gone?" Applebloom turns around, peeking through her hooves. "Guys... I think it's gone."
The group breaks the little huddle, slowly opening their eyes. The Cockatrice has, once again, vanished. "Next time, let's not sing to something we threw magic dust at." Scootaloo comments.
You tell the group that they must hurry to catch up to Sweetie Belle and Rarity. As you book it down the path, you hear something rustle in the bushes on the very edge of the forest. "Ohhhmmmm...."
"Oh what now? We seriously don't have time for this! Who's there?!"
>You hear the little voice call out again. "Ohhhhmmm... R....R....Rai..." You get closer to the bush to investigate. When you pull the branches back, you see a small purple and pink mane all roughed up. She looks up at you in a daze. "Raisin? Is that you?"
You seem to have discovered a slightly injured Sweetie Belle.
“Sweetie Belle? Sweetie Belle?!" Applebloom and Scootaloo run on over to help her out of the bush. She looks like she's been hurt.
"Sweetie! What happened to you?! What happened to RARITY?"
The little filly shakes her head around, trying to knock off her daze. "...I caught up to Rarity... she was trying to go toward the mountains, but I told her to wait up for you guys..." She rubs a dark blue bruise on her left shoulder with a hoof. "...when I tried to hold her back, she pushed me into a tree! My own sister!"
"She's all mind controlled by that elixir stuff. It wasn't her fault." Scootaloo voices some reason.
Sweetie Belle looks about ready to cry. "I don't know what happened after that... she's gone..." You hand her Hayseed to help her calm down a bit. She appreciates the gesture, hugging the small doll tight. Pinkie walks over. "Ohmigosh! Are you okay?" She picks the small filly up and puts her into the cart. "She needs to rest... this is getting really dangerous." She shakes her head.
You tell everyone to hop inside the cart and keep Sweetie Belle company. You've got to catch up to Rarity if you have any hopes of finding the Tezel's Castle and saving everyone.
"Alright! Let's get this train rolling again." Scootaloo looks over the edge of the cart, ready to move out. Applebloom holds onto Sweetie Belle and tries to make the cart ride comfortable. As Pinkie saddles back up, you take position behind the cart, well aware that your bomb could go off at any moment. The team begins to head out.
"Hey, Sweetie Belle... did you see where Rarity was heading? Anything else that was odd before you got... you know..."
Sweetie Belle looks back at you, trying to keep her eyes open. "She was running off towards the mountains... she was actually running really fast towards the mountains..." She groans. "Ohh... my head..."
Applebloom interrupts. "She needs to relax for a bit. If I know anything about Sweetie Belle, I know for sure she'll bounce back in no time."
You continue over an open plain and approach the base of the mountain trail. The road is rocky and full of pits. You can see the hoof prints of many ponies traveling up this road. "This must be it..." Scootaloo looks out over the cart. "Rarity's gotta be down this way."
"Scootaloo! Can you run up ahead quick and see if everything's safe?"
Scootaloo gives you a sarcastic look. "Run down the dangerous dark mountain path to lure out the monsters? Oh yeah, I'll get right on that, captain."
She seems less than enthusiastic about leaving the security of the apple cart behind.
"Chicken." You scoff at Scootaloo. She scowls at you, but has no defense. You walk around Pinkie and start leading the way up the trail, Pinkie and the cart following you from a distance.
The trail is illuminated with a soft, dim moonlight. You can feel the brisk mountain air pour through your mane as you take your first steps onto the narrow mountain path. Following a freshly trodden set of hoof prints, you determine that this path has been used quite recently… and quite often. The path winds through the mountains, its end out of sight.
You can hear some small rocks tumbling from up above. They trickle down the mountain side every once in a while, startling your party. Up ahead, you can see the trail rounding a bend. The hoofprints continue along.
”Are we there yet?" Pinkie puffs as she hauls the cart with the CMC inside.
Down the mountain, you can hear the distant roar of a river. It drowns out any faint noises you otherwise be able to pick up on.
You look up to see what's causing the rocks to fall down. You're unable to see if there's anything following you, per se, but the wind seems strong enough to be able to dislodge some of the smaller stones. You pray that a rockslide doesn't occur while you're on the trail.
The path narrows around the bend. As you approach it, you look to see that this side of the mountain is rather well illuminated by the rising moon. Before you is a small plateau. It seems completely flat and barren beyond a single, dried up dead tree. You can see two ponies up ahead standing next to the trail, staring ahead. For some reason, they refuse to move ahead. They chatter back and forth, asking the other if they’ve ever been to the Castle in the Sand. One replies yes, asks the question back, and the other replies no.
From the cart that's now right behind you, Pinkie whispers, "What do you see? Is it safe?"
You devise an ingenious plan to sneak around the two 'guards' up ahead. You tell Pinkie to follow your lead. You breathe in deep, realizing that the injury you received earlier that day seems to have all but healed up. As the melody pours from your mouth, you notice the two ponies begin to hum along. Suddenly, one of them zips up to you in an instant.
"...Rarity?!" Scootaloo exclaims. Pinkie stops the cart out on the plateau. "I'm so glad we fou..." She realizes that Rarity is entranced already. "Oh, right." Not missing a beat, she joins in. The other pony comes up to you. It's a small filly. She looks like one of the derped fillies that you had with you earlier.
"What are they doing here? Shouldn't they have gone up ahead?" Scootaloo looks at the pair, confused.
While Pinkie continues to sing to Rarity and her derped out filly friend, you decide to go and investigate the tree closer. It looks relatively nondescript; just a tall, thick, white dead tree with no leaves and barely any branches. It looks like a giant twig that got jammed into the mountain side.
After observing the tree, you look on down the trail where Rarity and the filly were standing. You see why they stopped. The trail looks like it was recently wiped out by a rockslide. There's a huge gap in the road several feet across.
You get the idea that this tree must be something rather special, considering it's the only thing on this plateau. You think that the chant you heard from the Treasure Seeker will do something if spoken to this tree.
"Pinkie, can you say a chant to this tree for me?"
"Okey dokey lokie!" She unstraps from the cart, approaching the tree. You whisper the chant into her ear and ask her to repeat it to the tree. She seems skeptical, but tries it.
"Do you know of the Castle in the Sand?
We carve the statue from the rocky land.
We serve under the stony hand
of the king of the Castle in the Sand."
The filly and Rarity both snap their heads over to look at Pinkie. They repeat the chant.
"Uh..." Scootaloo looks about. "Nothing's happening..." The wind howls.
After chanting to the tree fails to produce any positive results, you decide that it's time for this tree to meet its end. v"Hey, Applebloom! You got a saw, right?"
Applebloom takes a moment to set Sweetie Belle down in the cart, then hops on over. "Yeah... you thinkin' bout cuttin' down the tree? What for?"
You point over to the gap in the road, telling her that you need to make a way to bridge it. "A bridge, huh?" She looks the tree up and down, then holds her hooves out, squinting at the tree and taking a mental measurement of it. Yeah, I could build one of those."
She plunges the saw into the side of the tree. "Aww, but Raisin, I thought you loved your tree. Don't you want to sing it some lullabies or something?" Scootaloo banters. As Applebloom saws away at the tree, Pinkie keeps Rarity and the filly busy by entertaining their questions.
You hear a rush of wind. A shudder runs up your body. Pinkie seems to twitch a bit.
You hear another great rush of wind. In the back of your mind, you remember that you derped out that Cockatrice a while ago. It could have caught up.
"Pinkie, I saw that. What's going on?"
She looks puzzled. "Hmm.. I don't know. Usually I get that one when there's something really dangerous nearby..." Her head darts around, looking for the source of her worry. You warn the others that the Cockatrice may have come back.
Scootaloo and Applebloom cover their eyes up. You look up to the ledges, just in case it wasn't the Cockatrice. As you look up, you see a shadowy figure blotting out the moon. A sudden shadow pours over the plateau. Pinkie stands, frozen in fear. "WH... WHAT IS THAT?!"
Above, you see the glowing pale orange eyes of a gigantic bird streaming through the sky. It seems to be searching. It's head tilts your way for a moment. As you lock eyes, you feel your heart sink.
It passes by. You can hear the incredible power of it's wings as it blows gusts of air up the mountainside.
You decide that the Golden Box Scootaloo has been holding onto may be able to control that gigantic stone monster. There must have been some reason Tezel didn't want anyone else to get a hold of it, right?
"Scootaloo! Throw me the box!"
Scootaloo uncovers her eyes, reaching into her saddlebags. She quickly tosses it your way. Just as she does, you hear Applebloom yell out "Timber!" The tree she was sawing on falls to the plateau.
A grand rush of wind blows the sand up from the stony plateau and into everyone's eyes. Suddenly, the gigantic stone bird rises above the cliff side. It seems bigger than when you first saw at at the Library. Trusting your gut, you start to pry at the box in your hooves.
"I AM YOUR MASTER NOW!"
With a final tug, the box rips open. You feel your body once again overwhelmed with a powerful force of magic. The word CONTROL reverberates so loudly against your chest you feel your breath being taken away. It's so bright that you cannot see anything around you, only the golden lid of the box in your hooves.
You can hear screams from around you, but they sound distant next to the heavy, dark voice that shouts CONTROL inside your head.
Pointing the mysterious Golden Box in the direction of the bird, you muster up all of your strength, trying to overpower the voice that bellows in your mind. Your voice sounds like a frail whisper in comparison, no matter how you try to concentrate. You can feel a numbness crawling over your small body. Determined, you keep the box opened, trying to direct this 'CONTROL' idea toward the bird. You cannot tell if it is effective or not.
In a last fit of desperation, you utter the words "ALT! DELETE!" You're not sure why, but these words suddenly came to mind. You blame the overbearing weakness you're currently feeling for the odd, random thought, as if you could bring up a magic window and kill the bird's running process in Equestria.exe.
The world grows darker around you. You can no longer feel your body as your mind succumbs to the power contained in the small Golden Box. Your vision wanes... a pitch black envelopes your body.
Raisin stands in place, staring at the giant stone bird flapping it's wings at her. She doesn't move, but holds onto the Golden Box with certain fervor frozen upon her face. The box snaps shut. As it does, the little purple earth pony rests her hooves on the ground. With a set of derped eyes, Raisin wanders up to the bird, offering the Golden Box to it.
"Command me."
Raisin is no longer under your control.
Game over...
…
…
...
Suddenly, your vision returns. You feel the wind blow against the bow upon your head as you watch your purple friend bow down to the giant stone bird, offering it the Golden Box. You're not sure what it does, other than making Raisin a vegetable, but you're certain that it's important.
“RAISIN!! NO!!" Scootaloo shouts from behind the apple cart. None of your party members dare approach the giant bird.
What do you do now, Applebloom?
You figure that you've got nothing left to lose. With your fearless leader down for the count, you pony up and ignore your better judgment. Galloping up to Raisin, you reach into her saddlebags for the explosives you made at Zecora's. You still can't believe she was brave enough to carry these all the way up the mountain with her.
Looking up at the now rather angry stone bird, you give the explosives a very strong toss. The explosive contacts the bird's wing as it flaps. Suddenly, the plateau is lit up like daytime. Your ears ring loudly.
When you open your eyes back up, you see pieces of the stony bird falling out of the sky. The ground at your feet trembles as it's massive body breaks against the mountain.
Scootaloo stares at you in awe.
As the bird's stony form rolls down the mountain side, you try to wake your friend up out of her self-induced trance. "Raisin! C'mon! Snap out of it!" The purple filly stands motionless, staring out over the cliffside. Her eyes are off center, but she stands at attention. The Golden Box is still in her hooves.
"You just had to open the box, didn't you?"
You can hear the mountain shaking. As you look up, you see a stream of boulders rolling your way. "GirlsssssSSSS!!!" Pinkie rushes over to the fallen tree, rolling it towards the broken path.
You grab onto Raisin, pulling her along behind you. In your mind, you try to figure out what you're going to tell her parents when they discover that she's become a non-responsive vegetable. You swallow your sadness and rush over to Pinkie.
The rocks are a turn away. The tree is going to be used as a makeshift bridge. Scootaloo is by Pinkie, helping push the log into place.
You use your quick reflexes to hurry all of the ponies across. You nearly toss Raisin across. She lands on her feet, seemingly glued in place. You rush back to help a hobbling Sweetie Belle over to the log. Pinkie and Scoots are carrying Rarity and the derped out filly across.
"Have you ever been to the Castle in the Sand?" The two are relentless with their questioning.
Just as you clear the plateau and land on the log, a river of giant rocks pours through the plateau. One of them hits the log you are on, sending the piece of timber off the edge. You fly through the air, barely catching the ledge to the other side of the path. Pinkie pulls you up. She tries to say something, but instead just picks you up and gives you a hug.
The boulders sound like a hurricane as they smash and pulverize the small clearing you were standing in just moments ago.
The group comes to one single conclusion; they just survived something absolutely terrifying. You huddle up on the narrow ledge and give the group a hug. Rarity and the other little filly continue to ask you about the Castle in the Sand. Scootaloo pipes up.
"When did Rarity start acting like that?" She looks at her funny. The unicorn's eyes are fully derped out and she doesn't seem to care.
Sweetie Belle looks at her sister. "She wasn't like that back in the forest..." The group breaks the hug and looks her over. Sweetie Belle reaches for her saddlebags. "...she did it. When she knocked me out, she stole my elixir." Sweetie headbutts Rarity's foreleg. "You knew that stuff was poison, Rarity!"
Rarity doesn't respond to the hit. Instead, she asks Sweetie about the Castle in the Sand. Raisin seems to stare off toward the skyline, still facing the direction you threw her in.
You attempt to bring Raisin out of her trance by talking about all of the adventures that you and the CMC used to go on. As they talk about how she saved Equestria from Cilepharus and nearly discovered their future Cutie Marks with the Orion Orb, the CMC start to pick up their spirits a bit. Raisin expresses nothing.
Sweetie Belle hoofs Hayseed over to Raisin. There's still no response. Tears well up in Sweetie's eyes. "What are we going to do?" An air of sadness lingers over the group.
"I'll tell ya what we're going to do." Scootaloo stands up. "We're going to bash that Tezel guy's head in. Raisin wanted to do that, so let's go!" She looks at you. "Applebloom, you got your hammer, right? Let's knock this King out!"
You look down the path, seeing another bend.
You decide to push onward. Quickly, you turn around. "Sweetie, do you have a slingshot on ya?" She nods, then hands you one. You walk up to Raisin, reaching in her bags for some ammunition. You pull out some rocks, trading them with your apples.
With Scootaloo's brave words, you take to your hooves and start scouting ahead, slingshot at the ready. Scootaloo follows close behind. "I've got your back, AB."
As you round the bend, you see something absolutely magnificent. In the distance, you see a mountain sized pony statue surrounded by a massive display of multi-colored lights. At it's base is a large, opulent castle dug into another mountainside.
"Sweet Celestia... what is that?" Scootaloo mutters. Down the path, you see a trail of hoofprints. Rarity suddenly tries pushing her way passed you.
You remember the weird song that Raisin used to sing to Rarity to bring her back. You attempt to hum it, but Rarity seems lost. Sweetie Belle starts to sing it as well with some volume, but Rarity continues on her way, chanting about the Castle.
"Rarity! No! Stop!!" Sweetie calls out to her. Rarity continues down the sloped path and into the desert sands.
You see Pinkie getting dragged around the corner by the little derped filly. "I...can't... stop her!" Sweetie Belle dives onto the filly, trying to help restrain her. The filly stops moving.
You can see Raisin behind you, Scootaloo at your side, and Pinkie with Sweetie Belle on top of the filly, holding her down. Rarity is way out front, walking toward the Castle.
You quickly turn around, running up to Raisin. She's still staring out into the night sky and the far off mountain ranges, just cradling the Golden Box in her hooves. You reach into her bags, withdrawing your apples and replacing them with the rocks.
"Pfff... what was ah thinking? Apples all the way, right Raisin?" Raisin doesn't respond.
You then run up to Sweetie Belle and withdraw her two Marshmallows. You think to question her as to why she's been carrying around two Marshmallows for so long, but decide to ask her sometime later. You jam them into the filly's ears. Suddenly, it stops trying to struggle out of Pinkie and Sweetie's grip. It searches around, looking a bit worried.
"Wow! Good job, Applebloom! How'd you know that would work?" Sweetie smiles curiously. You simply shrug. "Dunno."
Pinkie and Sweetie are now freed up. Raisin sits still as Rarity shrinks to a speck in the desert.
You look over the whole situation and decide that Tezel is more than likely inside the castle. You figure he's probably got the Music Box in there as well. The key to stopping that gigantic stone pony and Tezel is probably within the castle. You communicate this with your team.
You feel your conscious tell you that you should leave Scootaloo behind with the derped filly, but something about your character defies this decision. Applebloom's personality will affect your ability to control her. Having her leave any of the CMC behind is out of her character.
You start venturing out toward the sand. Pinkie carries Raisin up on her back. Raisin kind of looks like a bewildered queen holding a golden artifact. You begin walking into the cold desert sand, keeping an eye on Rarity. She seems to be veering toward the Castle.
You close the distance between your group and Rarity, keeping a close eye on her. She seems to be humming the mysterious song you've been hearing for so long. As you draw closer to the Castle, you too begin to hear a beautiful song. It's distant, but the whole group starts to hear it.
"...Hey! That's the song Raisin was singing!" Pinkie exclaims. Little Raisin sits on her back, not so much as flinching. She clasps onto the box with a relentless grip.
You draw close to the Castle entrance. Two large statues stand over the stairway. You watch as Rarity starts ascending the stairs. Outside, you see two derped unicorns simply standing there, looking out over the desert.
Looking over the building, you determine that the whole thing is made of a brilliantly polished granite stone. There doesn't seem to be any windows or alternate doors beyond the massive entrance. Torches provide light inside.
"This is it, team." Scootaloo brings the CMC into a huddle. "How are we going to do this?"
You attempt to ask the formerly derped filly if she knows any secret ways into the Castle. She looks at you, then looks around the place. She says rather loudly that she has no idea where she is right now. She looks a bit scared.
The guards up on the steps pan their heads back and forth. You cover the little filly's mouth and duck down, hoping the shadows keep your group concealed.
"Well.. that's not gonna work..." Sweetie Belle mutters.
You withdraw your slingshot from your saddlebags. Taking a rock from Raisin, you aim to the side of the guards. Carefully, you draw your slingshot back and prepare to fire it. You make sure that it doesn't fly across the guard's line of sight. With a loud plink, the rock bounces off the side of the Castle walls. Both guards immediately look over to the source of the sound. You see the two manticore statues slowly turn their heads as well.
Scootaloo stands by your side in silence. "...the guards must control the statues somehow..." The guards slowly move from their spots, making the giant statues move along with them. They both go to investigate the noise. "...thankfully, they're both morons."
Suddenly, you see the world around you grow instantly dark. Ahead of you is a small opening. Your senses are flooded with the smell of fresh, dry cardboard. You feel safe. Outside the box, you hear Pinkie slam some corrugated safety over everyone elses head.
"C'mon, while the coast is clear! Let's move!" She moves her way up front as a moving stack of cardboard boxes.
"W..what's going on?" Sweetie Belle seems confused. You tell her that the cardboard box is the best disguise you can possibly wear... though you have no idea where Pinkie was storing this stuff. Despite lacking this knowledge, you decide to use it to your advantage.
"This is stupid. We're going to get caught." Scootaloo comments. You tell her to go with it; the disguises will prove useful.
Your team heads up the stairs as a moving train of cardboard boxes. When you reach the top, you skirt around the entrance and hide behind a couple of columns.
"Okay. We're in, covert spy stealthy style." Pinkie reports.
You get a good look through the opening of your box. You can see the purple squiggle of Rarity's tail heading down a hallway of statues. There only seems to be one main path at the moment, but it seems to split at the end of the hall. The floor is polished granite, a surface that seems to make quite a bit of noise when walking.
"Team, I see Rarity at 12 o'clock."
Several guards patrol the long hall. They seem to stop Rarity every once in a while, asking her something before she continues onward.
You waddle your box up next to Pinkie, quickly ducking under it. "Hey!" Pinkie exclaims as you bump into her stomach. "Sorry, Pinkie. I've gotta see if I can fit into Raisin's boots." You pull one of them off her rearleg, seeing as she's still clutching the box rather tightly. The boot is much too small for your hooves. "Shoot." You reach into her saddlebags and withdraw another rock.
You scoot back under your box. "Alright, now what Applebloom? What do we do about the guards?" You look down the hallway for hiding spots. There don't seem to be any; a series of torches light it up very well. There are 3 guards in the hallway, each standing in positions equidistant from one another.
You devise your plan and tell the team what you're going to do. Arming a rock in your slingshot, you fire it down the hall, letting it land in the corner. The guards all turn their heads toward the noise. Suddenly, you see 3 larger pony statues walk over to investigate the noise. They follow the guards over. As they are distracted, you lead the CMC down the hall.
Sweetie Belle trips along the way, slipping on the slick granite floor. She loses her box, but continues running ahead. You quickly run up the stairs, but stay on the steps. The guards start returning to their positions, having determined the noise was definitely caused by a lone rock sitting in the left hallway, clearly not a threat.
You fire another rock in the same spot, then motion for Pinkie and the other filly to follow you. The other filly shakes her box back and forth slowly, then slides off to the side. Pinkie rushes down the hall, making sure not to slip. She runs into Sweetie's box, making a hollow thudding noise. One of the guards snaps his head back toward the peculiar noise. Pinkie slides to a stop, hiding under her box.
Quickly, you throw another rock into the corner to distract the dimwitted guards. They seem to fall for the trick again, diverting their attention to the sudden sharp noise. While they turn, you gobble Sweetie Belle up under your box like a Hungry Hungry Hippo. The two of you are a bit close in the box, but she understands the importance of staying out of sight. The box gets a bit muggy with two little ponies under it.
Pinkie takes the cue and begins running over to the stairs. She slides again, then hops up them to park next to you. "Good job, Applebloom."
You leave Sweetie with your box. Tossing one more rock into the corner, you make a mad dash back down the hallway. As you run back, you pick up Sweetie's box and throw it over your head. You're now back at the entrance.
"I'm not going down there..." The little filly sobs inside of her box. You give it a stern tap, letting her know that she must. "I refuse! I just want to go hooome!" She sniffles, hiding under her box in the corner. She doesn't seem to want to come with you.
You hear the guards shuffle back down the hall with their stony guardians.
You jump under her box quick so that she can hear you. Being so close, she's able to hear your through her marshmallow earplugs... as long as you project a little.
You begin to explain that you're on a special mission for both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. If she doesn't come with you, you might fail your mission. If you fail your mission, the princesses would be really sad. "Y'all don't want the princesses to be sad, do ya?"
She sniffles. "...no..."
You put a hoof on her shoulder, then nod your head back toward the stairs. She nods to you before you get back under your box.
The little box springs back up, ready to follow you. The guards are back in position. Scootaloo holds a rock above her head, boxless. She looks your way, ready to act at your command.
You nod your head, letting Scootaloo know that she should cause the distraction. She gives the rock a toss. As it clinks against the floor again, you start to push the little filly along. She starts running as the guards dimwittedly surround the harmless rock and allow you and her to pass on by, undetected.
"Way to go, Applebloom!" Pinkie Pie whispers out from under her box. The team congratulates you and making sure every member is present and accounted for. At the entrance, you can see one of the guards looking in at the spot where you were talking to the filly.
"Close call there, AB." Scootaloo watches the guard go back outside with his massive statue guardian.
You turn to face the red curtains. A funny feeling erupts in your stomach, a feeling of uncertainty. The music plays it's sweet melody from beyond the crimson wall of fabric.
You quickly glance down the hall on the left. You see a massive stockpile of gold and a small pile of rocks that you've deposited in this area. Mountains of old artifacts adorn the chamber and glimmer brilliantly. Scootaloo turns to see what you're looking at.
"Applebloom... look at all that gold..." She swallows hard.
"I'm lookin'..."
The music beckons you beyond the curtains, but the treasure seems to be a tempting venture.
Looking over the treasure quickly, or what treasure you can see from your current vantage, there are many different treasures that have a similar style to the Golden Box that Raisin is holding. There's a staff, another bigger box, a chest of some sort... a lot of the treasure seems to follow a theme.
Not seeing anything that you could use to help your poor friend Raisin, you decide to stealthily sneak a peek through the curtain. Beyond the plush crimson barrier, you see an absolutely massive pony sitting on a sizable throne. He has a very cheery look to him. You see that he's wearing a crown with several tips on it, though one is apparently missing. Looking about, you see a couple of guard unicorns standing at the throne's base.
"Whaddya see?" Sweetie Belle whispers to you. "Is it safe?"
Inside the room, you can see a Crystal Phonograph playing a lovely melody out into the castle. It rests on a ledge out of reach, but well within reach of the giant sitting on his throne. Rarity is not present in the room, but you see a door off to the side of the room where she may have exited.
One of the guard ponies at the base of the giant stone pone's throne is, indeed, Twilight Sparkle. She stands there, staring into space with a set of derped out eyes. She looks relatively happy.
You decide that the only way to proceed is by sneak attacking Tezel before he can react. You tell the group what your plan of action is. Pinkie seems a teensy bit skeptical. "But.. I don't have any candy to wash it down with..."
She looks at the bathwater and algae, then scrunches up her nose underneath the box.
END OF DAY 8