Chapter 2: The Road to Ponyville, Part 2
Chapter 2: The Road to Ponyville, Part 2
The cool metal of her gleaming mithril plate against Fluttershy’s coat was a very comforting presence. Ordinarily a walk through the Everfree, while potentially dangerous, was very relaxing for the often high-strung mare. Today, however, there was a pervading sense of wrongness permeating the forest. She was wearing only her breastplate, but was beginning to wish she’d donned her full suit of armor.
She was also starting to very much wish she’d accepted Shining Armor’s offer of serving as an escort for her. Eventually he’d relented after, she assured him many times that Ponyville wasn’t much further than she normally ventured into the Everfree. She sighed softly for perhaps the dozenth time. “Oh Fluttershy. Why do you have to be such a loudmouth?”
Nothing answered the rhetorical question she posed to herself, naturally. More than once she made the arduous flight above the tree line to view the sun, and ensure she was still moving in the right direction. Settling back on the ground she continued on her way, confident she was on course though not at all pleased to note the sun was already beginning its descent. She’d expected to be in Ponyville before nightfall. Now it was looking like she would have to make camp in the forest.
Walking for some time more, she noted the change of light coming from above. The warm glow of the sun had given way to the moon’s pale luminescence. A quick search of her surroundings lead to the discovery of a small clearing in the trees. It wasn’t too far from the road, and there was even some moonlight filtering in through a gap in the trees overhead. Nodding in satisfaction, Fluttershy lowered her heavy pack to the ground and went about gathering fallen wood for a fire. Fishing the flint and tinder from her pack, she soon had a cheerful fire crackling away and warming the clearing. It had been a rather warm day, but suddenly she could see her breath misting in front of her muzzle.
Laying her sword across her forelegs she settled next to her fire, ears perked and alert for trouble. Nearly the second she’d settled down, a rustle in the bushes caused her ears to swivel in that direction, the rest of her body going rigid with fear. Forcing her quivering limbs under control she rose to her hooves to fully regard the offending bush. Gripping her blade firmly, she slid it free of the sheath. “Wh--who…” She swallowed, her voice firming up. “Who’s there?”
The rustling stopped abruptly, and the young paladin narrowed her eyes trying to catch a glimpse of what may be dwelling within the brush. Switching tactics, she lowered her sword. “It’s okay… I don’t want to hurt you. You can come out, it’s safe.”
She tensed again as more rustling came from the brush, than relaxed fully as a small white rabbit poked its head out. The little creature blinked back at her with its beady black eyes, nose twitching furiously. Fluttershy smiled gently and beckoned it closer. “There now. Come on out little guy. Let’s see if I have a treat for you hm?”
Fluttershy moved slowly and deliberately. Nosing open her saddlebags she fished out the salad she’d planned to eat for lunch and tossed a piece of chopped carrot toward the rabbit. Eyes shifting from the mare to the vegetable on the ground, the little bunny snatched it up nibbling furiously. Fluttershy sat, waiting patiently as he finished and raised his eyes up to meet hers expectantly.
Laughing softly, she laid the container of fresh greens out before herself. “Well come on then. We’ll share. I know I don’t want to sit here all alone all night. Why don’t we keep each other company?”
She wasn’t sure if it was the promise of an easy meal or her dulcet tones, but something lulled the rabbit into a calm sense of security and he closed the gap between themselves quickly. Settling back on her stomach, Fluttershy scooped some of the food from the dish onto the ground at the rabbit’s paws.
Casting a wary glance about the dark, oddly foreboding forest once more, she also loosed her sword from its scabbard, laying it close at hoof.
***
“We’re lost.” Lyra sounded less than enthusiastic.
“We’re not lost silly! We’re in the Everfree Forest. Ponyville’s in the Everfree Forest. Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before we find it!” Pinkie Pie’s enthusiasm was undimmed, as always.
Vinyl Scratch rolled her eyes at her companions’ antics and turned her attention back to the path, if the narrow, overgrown patch of ground before her could even be called such. If not for her supernatural strength the wagon she was hauling would have been stuck fast several times by now in various root entanglements and potholes. “You know one of you could help me pull?”
Lyra stared at Pinkie Pie expectantly. When the sturdy earth pony made no move to help her sister, she groaned and climbed into the harness next to her fellow unicorn. “Sorry, Vinyl.” They walked on in silence before Lyra finally spoke up again. “Do you know where we’re going?”
Vinyl shrugged. “I know we’re still going southeast, which if the map is right is the right way.” Her goggles rested comfortably atop her head, nestled behind her horn. The dim lighting of the forest allowed her sensitive eyes to go uncovered for once. “It’s starting to get late, though. We’re not gonna make it before the sun sets.”
Her fellow wagon-puller gulped. “Wh--what? Camp out here?! In the Everfree?!”
Another shrug was Vinyl’s response. Pinkie Pie gazed down at her in concern. “Vinyl? What is it?”
It took Vinyl Scratch several long moments to respond. When she finally did her voice was distant, distracted. “...dunno. Something feels off about the forest.”
Lyra and Pinkie shared equally unknowing looks. “What do you mean, it feels off?”
Vinyl shrugged again at Lyra’s question. “...just… off. Like something’s out there… waiting.”
Lyra swallowed heavily, and Pinkie’s eyes darted around the trees quickly. Soon enough she settled back down and grinned. “Well that’s pretty ominous! Hope we don’t get eaten!”
The aquamarine coated mare shivered at Pinkie’s cheery words. “Pinkie Pie! Don’t say things like that!”
Pinkie broke into a wild fit of giggles, flopping back into the wagon and kicking her legs wildly. Vinyl gave Lyra a friendly nudge. “Relax. If there’s anything serious I’ll know first, right?”
That did seem to steady the jittery unicorn’s nerves. “Y--yeah! That’s true, you can sense all sorts of stuff like that, right?”
Vinyl, able to sense absolutely nothing of the sort, smiled confidently. “Absolutely.” While her sense of smell and hearing were more acute than the average pony’s, and her night vision certainly sharper, she’d never before had any sort of supernatural danger sense. Thus making the odd feeling she was getting even stranger.
The white lie seemed to do the trick, as Lyra visibly relaxed. “Right. We’re fine. We’re probably almost there. Any second now.”
Both unicorns couldn’t contain a shriek of fear and alarm as Pinkie very abruptly appeared between them. “There’s something out there.”
Lyra squeaked and started trembling immediately. VInyl just shot her sister a hot glare. “C’mon Pinkie, Lyra’s really scared here. This isn’t the time for one of your pranks.”
Pinkie Pie didn’t speak. She just gently took hold of Vinyl’s chin and tilted it out into the forest. Confused and growing more annoyed by the second, Vinyl was about to admonish the pink mare when she suddenly caught sight of a dim glow through the trees ahead. “...oh. There is something out there.”
That was it for poor Lyra. With a trembling groan she collapsed to the ground in a dead faint. Rolling her eyes now, Vinyl levitated her into the wagon. “It looks like a fire. Maybe somepony else is stuck out here at night?”
Pinkie nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking. I’ll go say hi!”
Vinyl snapped her teeth around Pinkie’s tail, arresting the mare’s forward momentum and causing her to belly flop to the dirt with a grunt. “Pinkie, stop and think for a minute about the kind of ponies who’d be out here in the Everfree at night.”
Pinkie tilted her head. “A disgraced Canterlot musician, an orphan pick pocket, a gorgeous, talented, supremely smart and skilled bardess, and her half-vampire sister?”
Vinyl fixed Pinkie with a deadpan look. “Gypsies, tramps, and thieves?”
This caused the other mare to giggle delightedly. “Oh, Vinyl! What kind of thieves would be stupid enough to be out in the Everfree at night?”
Scootaloo finally peeked out from the wagon, deftly stepping around the unconscious Lyra. “Really dumb ones.”
***
“I can’t believe we’re stupid enough to be out in the Everfree at night.”
Rarity fixed Sifter with an unamused glare. “We were supposed to be in Ponyville by now. You got us lost.”
The night pony’s wings flared in outrage. “I didn’t get us lost! We’re not exactly moving as quickly as we could be is all.” He glanced pointedly to the little filly trotting along obliviously behind them.
Further behind them than Rarity would like. “Sugar Cube! I told you not to leave my side! This forest is filled with all manner of horrid beasts.”
Sweetie Belle sighed dramatically as she quickened her step to match her sister’s. “What could be more dangerous than you guys? You have your blades and Sifter has his… creepy… brain powers.”
Rarity had to stifle a laugh at Sifter’s look of outrage. “I’m a psion! It’s an ancient, well respected tradition.”
The filly raised an eyebrow. “Poking around in ponies’ heads is creepy.”
Rarity nodded in agreement. “She’s right Sifter, it is a little creepy.”
The stallion’s ears drooped. “Hmph. Fine! I’ll scout ahead if I’m creeping you two out so much!” Before either could respond he gave his wings a powerful flap and disappeared into the trees above.
Rarity sighed, watching him go.
“Sorry I made you fight with your coltfriend.”
The mare’s cheeks burned as she whirled on her sister. “He is not my coltfriend! We’re partners!”
Sweetie gave her sister a sly look. “Isn’t that another word for coltfriend?”
The elder sister couldn’t help but gasp sharply. “Where you picked up such poor manners I will never know!”
“The slums, Jewel. I picked them up in the slums.” The fillies eyes settled on her sister’s bags. “So! What’s in the case Sifter brought with him?”
Rarity sighed softly. She knew if she didn’t comply with Sweetie’s questions it would only make the filly more curious and lead her to helping herself to the case. Levitating the case from her bag she gently released the clasp, revealing the object within.
Sweetie Belle wrinkled her nose. “It’s a rock.”
“Hm? Oh!” Rarity flipped the rock over, revealing a strange pattern of lines and squiggles on the other side. “Our client says it’s the key to the vault we need to open to retrieve the stones we’re after.”
The filly’s eyes shone with excitement. “Do I get to come with you? Into the big spooky catacombs under the town?!”
Snapping the case shut, Rarity slid it away once more. “Certainly not! Don’t you want to enjoy the festival some? We don’t get many chances for such things in Canterlot.”
“I’m not a baby anymore, Rarity. You keep trea-mmp!” Rarity clamped a hoof over Sweetie Belle’s mouth, eyes darting back and forth in alarm.
“You have to be more careful! If Sifter had heard-”
The stallion dropped down from above. “If I heard what?”
Rarity was momentarily at a loss, she was saved by her sister. “Jewel likes you!”
Rarity and Sifter both turned beet red simultaneously, looking at one another before swiftly looking away. Recovering quickly, Rarity smiled faintly. “Sugar Cube likes to exaggerate. Of course I like you, we’re partners. We work well together.”
“Oh! Right! Right, no, that uh, that’s what I thought you meant.” The two adults awkwardly avoided looking at each other, leaving the filly to sigh in exasperation.
“So?”
Sifter blinked at her question. “...so what?”
“Weren’t you scouting?”
“...oh! Yes! I was! Aha, yes. I found somepony up ahead. It’s a mare, on her own. I think she’s a paladin. She looks pretty jumpy. She does have a campfire going, however. We could see if she wouldn’t mind the company.” The stallion glanced meaningfully toward Sweetie Belle when Rarity looked at him.
The mare frowned gently. “Perhaps. If we’re to spend the night out here, doing so next to a well-armed and armored knight wouldn’t be the worst way to do so. I just worry she may protest to our… profession.”
Sifter shrugged. “I don’t plan on trotting up to her and saying ‘hey we’re a couple of thieves, can we share your fire?’ We can just say we got turned around on our way to the town. That’s not totally unbelievable. Besides, with Sugar with us she’ll definitely let us share her fire.”
Rarity sighed. It was getting late, and no matter how much she’d protest otherwise, Sweetie Belle was looking tired. “Alright. We’ll see if she doesn’t mind us joining her. But I don’t want to push. The last thing we need is an angry paladin after us.”
Her partner nodded. “How we doing this then? Should we just walk into her camp?”
Ensuring her saddlebags were snapped tightly shut, her weapons loose in their sheaths just in case, Rarity started forward. “I think that would be best, yes. The knightly sorts tend to appreciate forthrightness."
Sweetie Belle kept close to her sister, while Sifter fell into step a short distance behind the two. Assuming the knight ahead was either very skilled, or very stupid to be out here at night alone, Rarity signaled for Sweetie to wait as she approached alone. Not wishing to startle the paladin, she cleared her throat just outside the glade the campfire was burning in. “Ah… excuse me? I’m terribly sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if we could share your fire?”
Rarity’s ears perked at the sound of an armored pony rising. “Wh--who’s there?!”
Eyebrow raised, she looked back at her companions. The voice certainly sounded jittery for a warrior of justice. “We’re just on our way to Ponyville! We got caught out in the dark and would much prefer to share a warm fire with good company. I have a filly with me.”
There was some hesitation before the voice answered back, much of the fear gone. “Come into the light. Slowly.”
Rarity complied. Using her magic to push the thick brush aside to avoid mussing her coat and armor, she stepped slowly toward the fire. She offered as warm a smile she could muster to the mare standing next to the crackling fire. The paladin was a pegasus, probably the same age as Rarity herself, and the unicorn found herself slightly envious of the pegasus’ long, silky, pink mane, but it was her butter-yellow coat that made her gentle, teal eyes stand out all the more. The gleaming mithral plate mail and longsword she had half-drawn from its scabbard belied her apparent gentleness.
Clearing her throat Rarity motioned Sweetie Belle forward. The knightly mare’s demeanor relaxed visibly as the little filly came into view. Before Rarity could stop her, Sweetie Belle charged ahead, eyes alight with excitement. “Wow! Are you really a knight of the Order of Light?!”
Wings flaring in alarm the paladin stepped back quickly. “O--oh well um… yes? Er… yes I am.” She cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders. “I’m Fluttershy. Oh um, Dame Fluttershy of the Order of Light. It’s nice to meet you.” She finished with a little smile.
“I’m Sugar Cube! And this is my sister Jewel! We’re going to Ponyville for the festival!”
Fluttershy looked from the filly to her sister. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. You’re traveling alone through the Everfree?”
Rarity shrugged. “Sugar has always wanted to see Archmage Celestia in person. She’s always at the Summer Sun Celebration after all. My friend Sifter is with us as well. Why don’t you come say hello Sifter?”
Fluttershy stiffened in alarm again as the night pony revealed himself. “Y--you’re a night pony!”
He blinked, eyes wide. “I am?! Jewel! Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Sweetie Belle broke into a fit of giggles, while Rarity simply looked unamused. “Don’t make fun of her Sifter. I reacted much the same when we first met you’ll recall. Your tribe isn’t exactly a common sight.”
Sifter sobered quickly and nodded. “I suppose so. Sorry for poking fun at you, your ladyship, I get that reaction a lot is all.”
He squirmed a little as he felt her activating some sort of magical effect. He was sensitive to just about any extra-normal abilities being used on or around him. More than likely she was determining if he or any of his group were of evil intent. He certainly hoped nothing he or Jewel ever got up to qualified as ‘evil’.
Evidently it did not, judging by the way she relaxed again. “It’s alright, I think I might be a little more on edge than usual.” Just as she was beginning to settle down once more, the little rabbit poked his head out from around her hind legs. Sweetie Belle sighted him right away and squealed in delight charging after the critter. Fluttershy let out a squeal of her own, though hers was of alarm as her wings carried her into the air.
Rarity and Sifter shared another long, silent look. Moving over to the side of the fire opposite the paladin’s bedroll they spread their own bedding out on the ground. Seeing Fluttershy engaged with Sweetie Belle in conversation Rarity dropped her voice to a low whisper. “She’s certainly a jittery knight.”
Sifter shrugged. “Yeah but I can’t blame her. There’s something wrong with this forest Jewel. I dunno what it is, but I can sense something… just out of my range. Every time I poke at it it pulls back a little more. It knows we’re here, and its watching us.”
Rarity frowned. “Well that’s certainly ominous isn’t it? Are we in danger?”
Her frown didn’t fade as he nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure we are. Otherwise I’d never suggest we spend the night with a paladin of all ponies. If we’re attacked though, there’s strength in numbers right?”
Rarity looked over at Sweetie Belle, who was now petting the small rabbit. “Sifter if something attacks us, I want you to get my sister to safety. Fly her above the trees and find Ponyville, or just go back to Canterlot.”
His eyes widened. “What? Jewel I won’t leave you.”
He winced as she grabbed him by his vest and dragged him closer, so they were almost nose to nose. “I’m not asking Sifter, I’m telling. If anything happens to her I’m holding you personally responsible. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
The stallion gulped. He’d seen what happened when ponies crossed Jewel. Especially if they threatened her sister. Eventually he nodded. “Y--yeah I get it. I’ll take care of her.”
She let him go and he sat back smoothing his vest. The knight was regarding them with a faint frown from across the fire. “Is anything the matter?”
Rarity forced her smile back into place. “Not at all lady knight, just a little discussion with my friend. I’m terribly sorry if I was being rude.”
Fluttershy nodded slowly. “It’s alright. I don’t have much to eat I’m afraid. I already shared my supper with this little guy.” She finished by stroking the rabbits ears, causing his hind leg to thump in appreciation.
“Not to worry! We came prepared. Even have some extra to share, it’s the least we can do to thank you for letting us share your fire.” Rarity was already levitating their stock of food from their bags, ignoring Sifter’s look of protest.
Sweetie Belle eagerly rushed to her sister’s side as she broke out their evening meal. The poor filly had been complaining about her hunger for the past hour or so, and was more than ready to satisfy it.
Sifter’s ears suddenly perking upright drew the mares’ attention. “Is something wrong?”
He scanned the trees slowly, not answering Rarity at first. “I’m not sure… I sense something out there. Nearby. I’m gonna try and narrow it down…”
Rarity stepped back as he closed her eyes. Fluttershy started to speak but the unicorn mare lifted a hoof silencing her. She watched with concern as a faint glow suffused Sifter’s eyes, signaling the usage of his psionic abilities. “I… I think I can touch her mind… I…”
Rarity gasped softly as Sifter’s nose started to bleed and his eyes rolled back, the poor psion keeling over in a dead faint. “Sifter! Sifter what happened?! What is it?!”
The poor stallion seemed completely knocked cold by whatever mind he’d touched. The two mares whirled in alarm, weapons bared as a new voice sounded from beyond the trees. “Hellooooooo there! We’re a little turned around and spotted your fire! Our friend’s kind of a fraidy cat and we were hoping to share your camp!”
Fluttershy glanced at the unconscious Sifter, then looked back toward the voices frowning sternly. Rarity noted the paladin’s glowing holy symbol matched the faint light around her eyes. “Um… yes! You can come closer.
Rarity levitated her protesting sister closer to her side of the fire, so she could keep an eye on both Sweetie Belle and the dazed Sifter at the same time. Fluttershy remained on guard as a bright pink earth pony mare bounced through the brush. She didn’t relax at the sight of the ponies garb, her brightly colored silk skirts and large glinting jewelry clearly said ‘gypsy’ to anypony with a little sense.
A second mare appeared, similarly clad. Though this one was a unicorn who oddly enough, wore a pair of dark tinted goggles completely obscuring her eyes from view. She shot an annoyed glance at her companion. “A little help here Pinkie?”
Pinkie sighed, looking torn between dramatically introducing herself, and assisting her friend. Her smile reformed bright as ever as she bounced back the way she came. “Sure thing!”
Keeping one eye trained on the newcomers, Rarity leaned closer to the gradually recovering Sifter. “Sifter what happened?”
The stallion blinked groggily. “I… I touched her mind Jewel. It was… I don’t even know. At first there was like this iron wall of discipline, I’ve never seen anything with such will. Then all at once the wall vanished and it was pure insanity in there.” He was staring fearfully at the pink mare, Pinkie her friend had called her, Jewel recalled.
If she hadn’t been looking right at her, Rarity would have missed the quick wink Pinkie shot Sifter’s way, causing the night pony to squirm uncomfortably. Both of the new mares wore harnesses around their flanks, and were straining heavily to pull something apparently quite cumbersome through the thick brush. All at once a huge wagon burst through the shrubs nearly flattening the ponies pulling it.
Fluttershy felt her panic rising as the situation grew more and more beyond her control. Her little camp had gone from she and her new bunny friend, to two ponies and a filly, now there were four ponies, a filly, and a wagon. Chewing her lower lip she forced herself to calm down. She was a full fledged paladin of the order now, she couldn’t lose her head over every little thing anymore. Forcing a smile she regarded the newcomers. “Well um, I’m Fluttershy. Dame Fluttershy I suppose, but just Fluttershy is fine.”
Pinkie’s grin widened. “Hiya! I’m Pinkie Pie! This is my sister Vinyl and um… well Lyra’s probably still passed out in the wagon. She doesn’t handle excitement quite as well as we do. Oh! I almost forgot! Scootaloo come say hello!”
A tiny orange filly poked her head out of the wagon, gradually making her way down to the ground. Little wings buzzed rapidly as she jumped from the seat to the ground, slowing her fall. “Um, hello.”
The sight of another foal put the group at ease. Rarity stepped forward, allowing Sweetie Belle to do so as well. “A pleasure to meet you all. I’m Jewel, this is my little sister Sugar Cube and our friend Sifter.”
Pleasantries were exchanged all around as the adults settled in pairs around the fire, save Fluttershy who remained alone at her end. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, after the necessary niceties to the adults were made had been allowed to join Lyra in the wagon. The silence around the fire stretched into the realm of uncomfortable. Vinyl was doing her best to keep Pinkie between herself and the holy mare, actions that weren’t going unnoticed by Fluttershy.
Inside the wagon the fillies eyed one another warily. Sweetie Belle glanced around slowly taking the interior in. “So you live out of here?”
Happy that the other filly broke the silence first, Scootaloo nodded. “Yup! I’ve only been traveling with them a couple days, but they’re a lot nicer than the priest at the orphanage was.”
Sympathy welled in Sweetie’s eyes. “You lost your parents too?”
“Mmhm.” Scootaloo feigned indifference, deciding she had to look tough in front of this newcomer. “No big deal. Nothing special y’know? Folks just couldn’t afford me. Dumped me off at the church and hit the road. I’ve been pretty much takin’ care of myself ever since.” She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Sweetie Belle, who had an appropriately impressed look on her face. “What about you?”
Sweetie smiled without hesitation. Rarity had drilled their cover story into her so many times she was pretty sure she dreamed about it. “Pretty much the same! Mom and dad couldn’t afford to keep us around, so they tossed me and Jewel out. We’ve been on our own for a while now.”
The pair fell quiet again, sizing one another up. As one they decided they recognized, and liked something they saw in one another. Deciding to be the more mature of the two, Scootaloo produced something from beneath her vest. A familiar money pouch emblazoned with Sifter’s cutie mark.
Sweetie Belle’s sudden grin matched Scootaloo’s perfectly as she fished out Vinyl’s pouch from her trousers. The two looked at the pilfered coin for a minute, before breaking out into wildly delighted laughter.
***
Rarity kept her eyes glued to the wagon. The sudden peals of foalish laughter ringing out from within brought a small smile to her face. “It’s been sometime since I heard her sound so happy.”
Pinkie flashed a toothy smile at her across the fire, ignoring her sister’s prodding about her missing coin. “That’s what we do! Make ponies smile.”
Switching her focus to Pinkie Pie, Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Is that what gypsy’s do when they arrive in a new town?”
Without missing a beat the earth pony nodded firmly. “Well of course! What else would we do?”
Rarity, Sifter, and Fluttershy all had pretty varying opinions on just what it was that a gypsy got up to in a new town, but all three decided against sharing said opinions. Eyes darting from unicorn to earth pony mare, Fluttershy finally cleared her throat. “So! Um… Pinkie Pie. What brings you and your friends to Ponyville?”
“Well! We got into a little bit of trouble the other day and had to beat a hasty exit from town.” If Pinkie saw the knowing looks exchanged by the other three, she didn’t let on. “On our way out this weird mare stopped us and hired us to come perform at the Summer Sun Celebration. Soooooo… here we are!”
“Well that was…” Fluttershy trailed off, ears perking as she slowly rose to her hooves. Pinkie and Rarity looked on in confusion as Sifter and Vinyl likewise stopped what they were doing and stood, looking about in concern.
Laying a hoof gently against his shoulder Rarity spoke softly. “Sifter? What is it?”
The night pony's eyes darted back and forth, almost wildly. “The thing that’s been watching us? It’s coming.”
As if on cue, an unholy shriek pierced the air. The five ponies instinctively grouped closer together as thunderous steps sounded from the forest nearby. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both poked their heads from the wagon, eyes wide. “What’s going on?!”
Rarity shot a fierce glare toward her sister. “Get in the wagon! Stay low and stay quiet! Right now!”
Complying without another word Sweetie Belle ducked back down, followed swiftly by the other filly. The steps stopped and quiet descended upon the glade once more. Rarity’s blades were bared, rapier in hoof, dagger levitating at the ready. Fluttershy likewise had her shield and sword out.
Pinkie nudged Vinyl and nodded toward the wagon silently. With a nod of her own her sister stepped lightly toward their conveyance. Halfway from the wagon the sound of flapping wings sounded from every direction. “Hurry up Vinyl!”
All pretense of stealth abandoned the unicorn galloped to the wagon and sprang inside. Flipping aside a brightly colored swatch of fabric she retrieved a pair of gleaming axes. Almost as an afterthought she snatched up the wide-eyed fillies and stuffed them in the hideaway. “Keep quiet huh?”
Sweetie and Scootaloo nodded mutely. Vinyl paused to give Lyra a swift kick. “Get up! Monsters are attacking!”
One golden eye cracked open. “I know! It’s why I’m hiding here!”
Vinyl scowled. “Get your sorry flank out there and give us a hoof Lyra!”
Not waiting for her fellow unicorn to respond, Vinyl bounded back out of the wagon and into a scene out of a horror story. Hideously twisted disembodied pony heads swooped in at her companions. Each head was pallid and discolored, their teeth twisted into sharp misshapen fangs with a pair of rapidly flapping batwings sprouting from the sides of their head and keeping them aloft.
Pinkie Pie was flipping, spinning, and twirling through the air with her typical reckless abandon. The earth pony landed on her forehooves and sprang off the ground striking a pair of the monstrous heads with her hind legs, crunching teeth and bone and sending them fluttering weakly to the ground.
Rarity stuck close to Sifter, while the pair edged toward the wagon. Any of the heads that drew too near to the pair wound up skewered on one of the mare’s flashing blades, while the stallion sent out waves of invisible force with his mind, crushing the creatures to nothing with a thought.
Fluttershy was the most in trouble. The heavily armored pegasus was being swarmed from all directions. Vinyl’s first instinct was to keep as far from the holy mare as possible, but she couldn’t just sit by and watch somepony get killed. Gritting her teeth she vaulted off the wagon soaring through the air, twin axes raised. Her powerful leap carried her across the campsite, over Fluttershy’s head. As she passed she swung both blades cleaving a head in twain with each axe.
The lady knight nodded her thanks to the bardess. “Don’t let them bite you! It’s how they spread!”
Vinyl didn’t need her to elaborate on ‘spread’. She had a pretty good idea of what she meant. The two fought back to back, blades slicing through the air in a gleaming dance of death, sending bits of gore in every direction. “You know what these things are?”
Fluttershy slashed another head to pieces. “I do! They’re called vargouilles! They travel in packs but they normally never attack large groups. This is very unusual!”
The ‘why’ of the unusual attack was soon answered as the roaring began anew. As one the vargouilles rose into the air spiralling into a single massive flock. The trees behind Fluttershy and Vinyl splintered apart as a massive creature charged the knight and musician down. It towered taller than the wagon, and just as big around. It’s body was dominated primarily by a massive gaping mouth. Tiny legs that seemed too small to support its bulk tore up the ground as it sped forward with unnatural speed.
Vinyl lunged to the side, slamming into Fluttershy and sending her spiraling out of the path of the beast, only for its jaws to snap down around her and scoop her off the ground. The unicorn howled in pain as ragged fangs bit through her thick leather armor and tore into her hide drawing blood.
Pinkie, Rarity, and Sifter were still busy holding off the massive swarm of undead heads, leaving Fluttershy the only one free to assist Vinyl with the huge beast. Channeling holy might into her sword she lunged forward driving her blade to its hilt in the things side. The monster shrieked and thrashed away to get free of the horridly stinging blade, tearing the gash in its side open wider as it trundled backwards and the paladin wrenched her sword free.
Vinyl tumbled from its mouth and landed heavily on the ground. Fluttershy moved to heal the wounded mare but stopped in her tracks. Vinyl’s goggles had been shaken free revealing blazing ruby colored eyes. Sharp fangs glinted in her mouth as she let out a feral hiss and lunged bare hooved at the beast, biting, bucking, and thrashing like a pony possessed.
Across the camp near the wagon, the two mares and stallion braced themselves, preparing for the oncoming flock. “Can’t you do something useful Sifter?!”
Eye twitching in annoyance at Rarity’s piercing shriek in his ear, Sifter took a deep breath. “Get low, I can try something!”
Pinkie and Rarity obliged, ducking low to the ground as Sifter’s eyes shone with psionic power. A massive wall of crackling flame sprang to life in the air above the three ponies, intercepting the diving undead flock. The bulk of them had too much momentum to stop, and flitted helplessly into the blazing flames, burning to ash in seconds.
Only the vargouilles closest to the rear of the flock survived, and they were swiftly being picked off by Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The three fighters didn’t notice one lone creature darting into the wagon behind them.
Fluttershy backed away as Vinyl’s frenzied assault brought the largest creature to the ground. Even when it stopped moving the monstrous pony continued to hammer it with her hooves, hissing and growling like an animal. The paladin’s eyes widened as Vinyl abruptly stopped and whirled, focusing on her. Red eyes locked with teal as the vampiric mare’s fangs glistened with blood and gore. Raising her blade and preparing to defend herself, she tensed as Vinyl lunged.
The pegasus mare yelped as she was slammed in the side by Pinkie Pie, sending her sprawling to the ground. Pinkie made no move to defend herself as Vinyl clamped her forelegs tightly around the earth pony, and brought her fangs down into Pinkie’s neck. Already the others were bearing down on the duo, but were halted as Pinkie raised a hoof.
“I--it’s alright! She’ll… she’ll be fine in… in a jiffy. Just… just make sure everypony else is okay…”
Neither Rarity, Sifter, or Fluttershy looked particularly pleased at the prospect of leaving Pinkie alone with her sister feeding off her like a giant mosquito. A shrill scream from the wagon made up their minds. Rarity was the first to arrive, nearly ripping the door from the rear as she swung it open with her magic.
The pegasus filly, Scootaloo was standing over one of the monster heads, her small dagger embedded between its eyes still clutched tightly in her hooves. Lyra was fretting over Sweetie Belle, who had broken out into a heavy sweat and was thrashing on the ground. A small bite mark was clearly visible on her foreleg.
Rushing forward Rarity knelt beside her sister. “What’s happening to her?! What’s wrong?!” She gasped as she noticed a thin seam forming around Sweetie’s neck, her head squirming about at an unnatural angle.
Fluttershy bodily shoved Sifter away from the door as she forced her way into the wagon. “Move away from her! I need space to purge the disease!”
Reluctantly Rarity stepped back, allowing the paladin to stand over her sister. Fluttershy gently laid one hoof against her holy symbol, the other against the thrashing filly. Fluttershy’s eyes were closed in deep concentration as everypony in the wagon held their breath. A warm glow filled the wagon as holy magics flowed from Fluttershy and into Sweetie Belle. The filly’s thrashings eased into weak squirming, and finally exhausted rest.
Fluttershy stepped back breathing a sigh of relief. “We made it in time. I’ve purged the disease and she’ll be just fine… with plenty of bed rest. It’s an exhausting ordeal. She’ll likely sleep the day through tomorrow.”
Rarity gingerly levitated Sweetie into one of the hammocks in the wagon, casting Lyra a passing glance. “I take it you don’t mind her using one of these?”
Lyra shook her head rapidly. “N--no! No I uh… I don’t mind. I’m sure Pinkie won’t either.” Shame mixed with sorrow in the bardess’ eyes and she couldn’t hold Rarity’s gaze for long.
Carefully tucking a blanket around the slumbering filly, Rarity then looked to Scootaloo and Fluttershy. “As for you two, I cannot thank you enough. My little sister is my entire world. You saved her life tonight, and I can never repay you for that. If there’s ever anything either of you need that is within my capacity to provide, I will gladly give it.”
Both ponies shuffled looking more than a little embarrassed. Scootaloo spoke first. “It was nothin’. We’re friends after all, I can’t let like… my first friend ever turn into a creepy undead monster head.”
“It was my pleasure to help. Technically it’s my duty too, but really I do what I do to help ponies in need. No thanks is necessary, Jewel. You’d do the same for anypony else I’m sure.”
Now it was Rarity who couldn’t hold Fluttershy’s gaze. “...yes, of course. Well. Now that that’s settled… I believe we have the matter of Miss Pie’s sister gorging herself on her blood.”
Lyra sighed. “It happened again?”
***
Pinkie stood protectively in front of Vinyl before the rest of the group. The intimidation factor was somewhat marred by how pale and wobbly she was on her hooves. Vinyl for her part looked more ashamed than anything.
Fluttershy approached slowly, making it clear her weapon was put away. “Um… thank you for your help against that thing Vinyl.”
Vinyl looked up, her goggles still missing so her blood red eyes were on display for everypony to see. “...that’s it?”
Her smile faltering a little Fluttershy shrank back slightly. “Um… thank you very much for your help?”
Pinkie Pie and Vinyl exchanged equally confused looks. “You guys don’t want to uh, chase us away with torches and pitchforks?”
“Heavens no darling! Nopony is perfect. We all have our… eccentricities.” Rarity offered an encouraging smile. “Some of us more than others, but deep down we’re all good ponies aren’t we?”
Nodding softly Fluttershy gently took Pinkie by the hoof, leading her to the wagon. “I think you should lay down Miss Pie. You lost a lot of blood.”
Pinkie didn’t speak until she and Fluttershy were nearer the wagon. The earth pony’s grip tightened slightly on Fluttershy, and the young knight halted. “...thank you. For… understanding.”
Fluttershy smiled gently. “I can’t claim to understand fully, but she’s your family. We’d do anything for the ponies we love, right?”
Nodding, and looking exhausted Pinkie allowed herself to be helped into a hammock next to the slumbering Sweetie Belle. “Yeah. She normally has it under control, just if she gets really hurt or really angry…”
“I see. Is it safe for her to come into town? My understanding can only go so far. The ponies of Ponyville are going to be under my protection soon and I can’t turn a blind eye to something as dangerous as a vampire, even a half-vampire running loose.”
Pinkie sighed. “I’ll make sure she’s well fed. If she’s full she doesn’t lose control unless her life is really threatened. It’ll be fine, I’ll be by her side the whole time. Alright? Just… please. Please let her go into town. Every time somepony learns the truth about her they treat her like a monster. She’s not… she’s a pony like you or me, she just has different circumstances.”
Fluttershy looked to the pair of fillies sleeping in the hammock nearby. Scootaloo had climbed up to nestle in against her friend. Gazing from the front back at the others, Fluttershy could see them gathered around Vinyl chatting, even laughing. If she hadn’t seen the unicorn’s vampiric side with her own eyes she’d never think something was amiss with her. “Alright Miss Pie. I’m trusting you.”
The weary earth pony smiled as brightly as she could given her exhaustion. “We’re friends now, it’s just Pinkie to my friends.”
Fluttershy moved to the door, looking back she found Pinkie already asleep. “Rest well then Pinkie.”
***
Sweetie Belle blinked groggily as she felt her bed swaying beneath her. Opening her eyes and looking about in confusion she realized she was in the wagon alone. Rolling over she dropped to the floor with a little grunt. Animated chatter and laughter from outside drew her attention, and she climbed up toward the front.
Her sister was walking beside the nice paladin, Fluttershy chatting happily. Sweetie couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Rarity look like she was having fun with anypony like that. Sifter and Vinyl were apparently comparing notes on the best way to keep the sun out of one’s eyes, while Pinkie and Lyra were pulling the wagon. “Um… good morning everypony?”
The group came to an abrupt halt at her words. Sweetie was bowled over as Rarity leapt up and scooped her into a tight embrace. “I was so worried!”
Squirming in her sister’s hooves, noting an amused Scootaloo watching with a big grin, Sweetie turned bright red in embarrassment. “I’m fine Jewel!
Rarity cupped the filly’s cheeks, eyes shining with joy. “I know. I know you are, you’re such a strong filly. Be sure to thank Fluttershy. It was her magic that cured you of that horrid disease.”
Happy to be free of her overbearing sister’s grip, Sweetie jumped to the ground trotting up to Fluttershy. “Thanks for saving me Miss Fluttershy.”
Giving the filly a gentle nuzzle, Fluttershy smiled. “It was my pleasure. I’m just glad you’re going to be okay.”
Scootaloo came charging up not long after. “Hey Sugar Cube! We’re close to the town. Pinkie said I could go on ahead, wanna come with me?”
Sweetie looked up to her sister, and was shocked to find her nodding. “Go on then. But be careful…”
“I will Jewel! I promise!” Laughing together the pair of fillies charged off down the clearly well traveled path.
Rarity sighed watching her go. Part of her wanted to rush after her, but she knew she couldn’t keep Sweetie Belle locked up her whole life. If they were going to start a proper life together, she needed to start giving her sister a little trust.
It turned out, the town was closer than any of them expected. Not ten minutes passed before the trees began to thin out, and the sound of civilization reached their ears. As the group cleared the treeline they got their first view of Ponyville.
Town may be a generous description for the tiny little hamlet. It was more a small collection of homes, with what appeared to be two or three shops. They could see what was likely every building that made up Ponyville from their position just outside the forest. Two dozen homes filled a very large clearing that must have been cut by the settlers themselves. Ponyville was abuzz with activity however. Ponies coming and going hanging various decorations from their humble abodes.
A large, hastily constructed stage stood in the center of the town. A banner reading ‘Welcome Lady Celest” was hung above the stage itself. The sight brought a snicker to most of the arriving travelers. Sifter was doing his best not to break into open laughter. “Didn’t plan that one out did they?”
Rarity huffed. “Oh hush. The poor dears are doing their best. I’m sure just the fact that they’re going to all this trouble for her will make Lady Celestia happy.”
Fluttershy took in the sight of the town with a soft sigh of relief. Such a tiny town couldn’t be that hard to look after. She spotted a building that looked very newly constructed. Made of the pristine white stone all of Celestia’s temple’s were crafted from, the citizens of Ponyville must have gone to great expense to bring it to their humble settlement. “Well everypony, it’s been wonderful getting to know you but I should check in at the temple and let the Mayor know I’ve arrived. I hope to see you all again soon.”
Bidding the paladin a fond farewell, Pinkie looked to Rarity. “So! Where ya stayin’?”
Rarity blinked at the sudden question. “Ah… we planned to find an inn. If none is available I suppose we’ll be camping out. Sugar would enjoy that I’m sure.”
Pinkie scoffed. “You can stick with us then! We’re only gonna be in town for the festival, but as long as we’re here we might as well stick together right? Besides Scoots looks like she’s best friends with your sister already.”
Rarity watched the fillies pointing and gushing over every little thing that caught their eye. “...it is nice to see her happy. I suppose we could share one another’s company for a little longer.”
Smile never faltering, Pinkie started forward. “Oh, but keep your psion out of my head. Next time I might not be so gentle.”
Sifter gulped. It was a warning he most certainly intended to follow.
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That was awesome! Also I hate those damned things! Stupid flying hard to hit pieces of garbage!
Wonderful for the other half of the main cast to finally meet. Both the meetup with the characters and the fight were great and I'm really looking forward to when the whole group finally meet each other.
One of the small issues I have with this fanon is the fact that Celestia is being so blatantly manipulative, in the eyes of the reader. She's not even bothering to use a proxy for half (if any) of the ponies she's delegating to Ponyville. And when they all compare notes near the end of the whole confrontation, more than one of them are gonna have questions.
are you sure it didn't hurt your muse? Punching someone i the stomach may or may not have cause some unexpected consequences
Other than that, the action sequence is ok, nothing exceptional nor horrible. The entire chapter is just . . . average when I first go through it.
Gets on Fimfiction to check for updates before heading to bed> ALMOST ALL HIS FAVORITE FICS HAVE SOME UPDATES
That's okay, I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyways
Vargouilles? Man i don't see them enough in campaigns... I should do something about that.
Anyway, a nice chapter! I'm liking how Fluttershy is willing to give ground on the Vampony thing, but is also putting a definite line in the sand along with a clear threat of what she'll do if it's crossed. I quite like this for her, it shows both her inherent kindness in how much she's willing to bend as well as her upbringing in that she's simply not going to accept a danger to the ponies she's going to be protecting.
Meanwhile with two rogue types and one wizard the CMC are going to be such an unbalanced party.
"The sight of another foal put the group at east. Rarity stepped forward, allowing Sweetie Belle to do so as well. “A pleasure to meet you all. I’m Jewel, this is my little sister Sugar Cube and our friend Sifter.”
I'm not sure but I think that's meant to be ease, besides that great chapter can't wait to see what's next.
also first
Was that a xorn that Vinyl tore open like a bag of chips on Sunday night football?
Gonna say that I'm torn between Sifter and Vinyl being my favorite character of the day. Psionics or unholy strength?
Tough choice.
I really liked the interaction that passed between the characters and the fighting was well done.
Can't wait for the next chapter.
Well, I was going to say that the other half of the soon-to-be gang has arrived at Ponyville, but Knight, you beat me to it. Ah, well.
Anyway, that being said, I'm anxious and eager to find out what the reactions of Twilight, Applejack and Company will be to Rarity, Fluttershy and they rest of their companions will be when the Harmony finally arrives in town, too. Especially about what AJ's and Fluttershy's reactions to each other will be. Something just tells me that the fat's gonna hit the fire on that one, and that Apple Bloom will find out what AJ's been unwilling to tell her about her brand, and why she has it. Should be interesting.
Hopefully, Granny Smith will show up and calm things down before too much damage is done to the sister's relationship. I hope.
Thats why nopony tries to figure out pinkie pie. Its just freakin terrifying
I've never been so happy to sift through vomit! Seriously, this is great.
Gypsy Pinkie is best Pinkie!
pinkie scares the crap out of me... she's equal to applejack at this point.
I was just wondering how the hell PInkie managed to be a monk, and i must not be very fast because I just only just figured something out. Seriously if it's what I think, it is beyond brilliant and I can't wait to see how it happened
Fantastic! Another great chapter, great to see this group meeting and vargouilles, little bastard skull monsters. Fluttershy is showing what a Paladin should be; the good in 'lawful good'. Can't wait for more.
I think this should be "her new bunny friend and her"
3381305
I got freakin sick of those things playing Planescape:Torment
Vargouilles! I haven't seen them in ages, thank you for bringing up such an obscure D&D monster!
Also I would like to know what that big monster was please, I don't recognize it.
Is Sweetie the lowest leveled of those who would become Crusaders?
Stiiiill lovin' it!
I'd say keep on that muse of yours, but violence is only the answer most of the time. Occasionally you need chocolates and fine wine followed by violence to get them to give results.
Fillies and Gentlecolts, we have found our Usopp.
Guess Pinkie has the Hostile Mind feat.
3381519 Agreed, and urgh, ive seen enough of those cruddy flying skulls to last a lifetime.
Im feeling so bad, but laughing so much at poor sifter. (Being what I love about psionically oriented character) Nothing breaches the mind of pinkie, she'd drive a gibbering mouther sane. But this was nice to see someone treat vinyl, and the half vampire by that respect with a medium of kindness, and its the paladin just drives home how rare a good paladin is.
Awesome!!
Truly what is best about your story is the identities of the ponies. Pinkie is a gypsy and Vinyl is a vampire, which have become somewhat cliché, but in this setting just feels so inspired. Another great thing about this story is the pairings, some of which come out of left field. Like scootaloo joining up with Pinkies crew, or Twilight and Apple Bloom.
“You have to be more careful! If Sifter had heard-”
Um, Rarity, the guy is a bloody mind reader, just what do you think you're hiding from him? If he doesn't know your real name it would be a bloody miracle.
As one they decided they recognized, and liked something they saw in one another. Deciding to be the more mature of the two, Scootaloo produced something from beneath her vest. A familiar money pouch emblazoned with Sifter’s cutie mark.
Sweetie Belle’s sudden grin matched Scootaloo’s perfectly as she fished out Vinyl’s pouch from her trousers. The two looked at the pilfered coin for a minute, before breaking out into wildly delighted laughter.
This was so cute!
You sir have inspired me to do something similar to this premise, but with World of Darkness instead.
Pinkie... What!? That ending... Was pinkie pie-ey to say the least.
Fairly sure vargouille's kiss is what turns others not the bite. other then that good chapter.
I am loving this story. It brings back so many memories of campaigns I created and ran; I even had something like this where I played with multiple small groups and eventually drew them all together for a massive fight once I thought they were ready. I do have to point this out though:
I think you mean to keep Pinkie between herself and the holy mare.
Ah vargouilles. How I hate them. And I must say, their interactions with each other seemed a little more tame than I expected.
They still have a poisonous bite, and the author as far as I can tell is taking some artistic license in telling this that I am finding to make for a very interesting story (I myself am surprised that they are not using pathfinder (aka dnd 3.75))
And then Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle meet up with Apple Bloom and form Ponyville's first thieves guild.
Great chapter. Looking forward to more.
*ease
3382218
Do that i will read the hell out of kindred and/or garou ponies
If this keeps going as good as it started, I may have to change my stance that it's impossible to write a good D&D based story. I especially like what you've done with Rainbow Dash.
Now that's how you paladin. Nice response to Vinyl, Fluttershy.
I wish my muse was so cooperative...
3382924
I'm using the New World of Darkness.
3381271
Poor vargouilles. No one likes them. :o
3376653
Heh, thanks. It was fun to write.
3381275
Pretty soon! Now that the opening is finished, things are going to snowball quickly.
3381293
Celestia pretty much doesn't care if they find out how manipulative she's being. She has a reason for not caring, that will become evident soon.
3381298
Yeah I wasn't as happy with it as I was the ones before it. I really like the stuff with Scoots and Sweetie, I like everything with Vinyl and Sifter too.
3381301
Sleep is for the weak!
3381305
Well the CMC have two rogues, a wizard, a cleric, and a fighter. Though Sweetie's probly gonna branch into bard at some point.
3381308
Should be at ease, thanks.
3381381
Sifter is shaping up to be a pretty fun character for me. My favorite part of doing OCs or background ponies is I can more or less do whatever I want with them.
3381393
AJ and Flutters probably aren't going to be as explosive as folks are expecting. Applejack's been out of the order for a while now, she got booted for a good reason and doesn't hold a grudge. For Fluttershy, she doesn't really hold grudged or prejudices against anyone. If anything it'd be more awkward than spicy.
3381396
Yeah I imagine hers is one noggin you don't want to go poking through.
3381421
What's great is that avatar. Seriously it's one of the best on here.
3381448
Mission accomplished!
3381506
The idea came mostly from her canon background in the series.
3381519
Far too often I see paladin's protrayed as rigid, unfeeling, and uncaring law upholding thugs. To me the good should come before the lawful.
3381533
Oh Torment, why can't they make a game as good as you again?
3381536
It's a homebrew monster. I'm very fond of creating my own baddies and throwing them in a campaign. I called it a Vargouille Lord, my players called it the Vargouille Vomiter.
3381610
They're all level 1 for the most part.
3381616
True, in the end however violence solves everything.
3381627
Ha ha, someone has to be the Usopp.
3381670
Poking around in Pinkie's head I expect is akin to trying to read the mind of an Old One.
3381678
When I play a paladin it's always more about being good and right than being strict and lawful.
3381837
3381839
I've never seen vampire Vinyl in the past, apparently it's a big thing? XD
3381906
Well if he reads more than surface thoughts it's generally pretty noticeable. And the Sweetie meeting Scootaloo part was POSSIBLY my favorite bit in the chapter. XD
3382144
The details are the worst for me, mostly because I find them boring. When I read I skim over scene descriptors and such, so I have the terrible habit of trimming them down when I write. The hardest part to me was just starting it. My advice is to just sit down and start typing, see what comes out. It's what I do, I plan very little ahead of time. My initial plot idea for this was 'what if Celestia was a cake obsessed Elminster?' XD;;
3382218
Coolio. I was actually going to post a comment in my A/N in regards to seeing if there'd be interest in folks writing in the DnP universe, sort of like the Lunaverse deal where a bunch of authors contribute 'episodes' to the season.
3382246
Thanks! I think?
3382367
So it is! It's been a while since I DM'd a 3rd ed campaign.
3382530
Yup! Need to fix it.
3382732
Well it's not as though Sifter and Rarity are trumpeting their criminal backgrounds to everypony. And any interaction with Fluttershy is usually pretty tame.
3382738
Never played Pathfinder, so that's why I'm not usin it. XD
3382750
Cutie Mark Crusader Thieves Guild!
3382848
Fixed!
3383077
Honestly I find it hard to believe one can write a bad DnD based story for ponies. They already live in a magic rich high fantasy world, just slap some char classes on the ponies, throw some monsters in there and you got a story.
3383219
Thanks!
3383221
Violence. It solves everything.
There were a few minor errors, but otherwise the chapter was great. Good luck with your writer's block.
3384395 Ah, I see. Well, that works, too.
Hey, I never said that my hunches were 100% right, ya know. They're usually about...oh...40% right. Sometimes.
Anyways, I can't wait til the next chapter comes out to find out what happens! Any idea when you'll be posting it?
No rush; I'm just basically curious.
3384414
Thanks, and yeah I stink at following writing rules and stuff. I'm a DM, we're above such petty concerns as grammar!
3384422
Nope! I'm probly gonna work on a couple of my other stories. Heart Divided and Celestial Mix-up before I come back around to this. Now that Five Score is wrapping up, I need to finish my tie in to that too.
3384434 Ah, okay. Like I said, I was just basically curious anyway. If you're workin' on your other stories, that's cool, too.
Heck, I've got s few others of my own that I seriously need to be rolling on myself (a couple of which aren't exactly MLP ones) besides the one that I'm currently actively working on.
The thing is, the summaries/details/character logs of the majority of them are sitting on the HD of my desktop PC, and it's currently sitting in the basement (which also has my bro-in-law's home-office in it, so it's clean, dry and nice) stuck in what Steve (my aforementioned bro-in-law) said is some kinda reboot-loop. So I'm likely gonna hafta take it to a local comp-repair place if he can't figure out what the heck is wrong with it.
*sighs* Yet another expense. Lucky me.
3384395
Thank you! I actually get a lot of compliments about it. However, I can't take credit for it, as I just found it with a Google image search.
You realize that you missed a golden opportunity to have Vinyl put on her shades before she said that, right? I can't hold you using this line against you. I'd have done the same. I love that song. Could you identify that large monster? The description was a bit too vague for me to identify it.
Wow, sounds like your relationship with your muse is as dysfunctional as mine; only in the opposite direction. Mine is really abusive...
3381381
I don't think so. No mention of trilateral symmetry, and vargouilles and xorns have vastly different habitats, so would almost never cross paths, nor have any reason to fight each other or team-up. Just on the description, I would say a bullete, but it's a bit too vague to be sure, also, see my comments on the xorn earlier.
3385589
It's a home made monster. I call it the Vargouille Lord. My Players call it the Vargouille Vomiter. I love creating new monsters to hurl at my PCs.
Aaahhh, now it makes sense. Could do with a bit more description, but I can't wait to see more new monsters.
3384395 3381519 Yes, yes, oh god yes, yes times one thousand. That is the type of paladin I try to play. A paladin isn't some sort of rule-lawyering, holy-scripture-of-whatever-god-you-worship thumping, Judge Dread type character. And if you do try to play that type of paladin, your DM should make sure that you don't stay one for very long.