29 - Ebonsilk
They reached the... town? of Ebonsilk the next day. The grand mansions were sprawling and huge, but also decrepit and run down. The lake to the west appeared to be leeching into the ground, creating a fetid swamp in most directions. Even the arcane constructs of horses seemed miserable as they forced their way through it. However, the sun was reaching the horizon as twilight set in. Twilight, the pony, not the time of day, not to be mistaken, shook her head, "They will fade in minutes, and it's getting late. Where are we staying tonight?"
Long Road raised a fore-hoof to point at the one mansion with a few lights in its windows, "Someone's home. Perhaps they wouldn't mind us staying the evening if we're polite."
"Polite is my middle name!" exclaimed Pinkie, hopping off her horse and bouncing from dry patch to dry patch as she rapidly approached the old looking house with the rest of the party trailing behind.
Leaving her friends behind, Pinkie danced to the door before rapping upon it thrice with a hoof, "Helloooo! Nice place you have here, misses, or mister." Grinning and swaying on her hooves, Pinkie waited. Just as her friends were catching up, the door swung open to reveal an aging mare.
"Ah, guests," she said with a strange accent, "Do come in. I have not entertained in zome time." She backed away from the door into the darkness of the entryway, lost to sight. Pinkie shrugged fearlessly and bounded inside, complimenting her host's tastes as she went.
The others were more hesitant as nervous eyes soaked in the abandoned nature of the building, despite the resident. Pinkie continued speaking without concern, "This is a really big house! Do you live here by yourself 'cause I would get lonely in a big house. Where'd everypony else go off to anyway?"
"Zat what zome time ago," spoke the elderly mare, sweeping aside the faded green hair of her mane out of her eyes. She guided the group quietly up some stairs, "Za guezt roomz are here. Do not ztray near ze wezt wing. Yuu vill nought like vaht yuu find zere."
"Okie Dokie," replied Pinkie, giving a firm bob before adding, "Thanks for the rooms. You're a nice mare!" She suddenly swept up the host in an embrace, which was tolerated silently.
With a final nod, the old mare departed, seemingly vanishing as soon as shadow overtook her form and leaving the group there at the top of the stairs, considering the rooms. Pinkie pointed to the room painted in faded red, "I want that one."
Spike shook his head, "I think I'd sleep better tonight if we all picked the same room."
Dawn nodded in agreement, "We are on task now. We should stay together and stay on guard."
Pinkie pouted, but it lasted only a moment before she sprang for the largest of the rooms. Soon everyone had picked a soft spot to bed down for the night and despite the creepy feeling of the house, were preparing for rest.
"Now is as good a time as any," spoke Dawn, "Team Friendship, really? I thought better of you."
Twilight's ears folded back, "What's wrong with that name?" she challenged hotly even as her cheeks reddened.
Long Road raised a hoof, "What about the Journeyers?"
Pinkie bounced on the mattress she had claimed, "Oooo, team laughs, or Party Express! Yes!"
Spike raised a claw, "What about the Four Gems? Or, uh, Thunder Talons?" At Twilight's expression he quickly tried another, "Equestrian Knights."
Dawn Event shook his head, "None of you are properly knights. You all appreciate the sun, why not Dawn Trotters?"
Twilight frowned in thought, "What about Returners of the Dawn?"
Pinkie was quick to bob her head, "That's not bad, cause we want to return, and Celestia, and even the Sun Queen thing they have here. It works!"
Long Road raised an ear, "I can live with that, though I have no place I wish to return to, except home when I am done. It still works as we are... light bringers."
Spike pouted a little at his ideas not being taken, but accepted it anyway. The four put their claws and hooves together, calling as one, "To the Returners of the Dawn." Dawn Event remained aside, being the client of the group and not a member.
"Now that we've settled that," he said, "We should try to get some rest."
They woke up with a start, the sound of a scream drawing them violently from their slumber. A quick glance around for most revealed it was dark, but Spike quickly noticed, "Dawn's gone!"
A lantern was quickly lit and the space Dawn was sleeping in appeared to be in disarray, his bedding dragged along the floor as if someone or something had bodily hauled Dawn from the room.
"Alright, everypony, don't panic," stated Twilight as she got up to her hooves. "It's our job to get Dawn back."
Spike peeked down from where he had been resting on an armoire, "That's a little creepy. I didn't hear anypony come in or go out until he screamed."
Long Road shook his head as he quickly got his armor back into place and strapped his sword on, "Creepy or not, he's counting on us. He'd do the same for us."
The group departed as one, emerging onto the darkened stairs. The sound of rain pitter pattering on the roof became audible in an intensifying rush. The shadows of the room bobbed dangerously as the only light was the lantern held in Pinkie's jaw as she bounded along. "Do you think he went in here?" asked Pinkie, directing attention towards the door to the West, which hung slightly ajar.
Twilight rolled her eyes, "Of course he's there," she grumbled before swallowing, "I hope."
As they pushed through, they saw several suits of pony armor on wheeled pedestals lining the hallway, but no sign of Dawn yet. There was a closed door on the right side of the room and a slighty opened door in front of them. They pressed forward through it, nerves on edge, when Pinkie let out a sudden yelp, light dancing dangerously. She had hopped to the side just in time to avoid the hammer like fist of one of the suit's, flailing its hooves at her as its wheeled base approached her.
Twilight hopped to the side and let loose with a thunderous blast of electricity, catching three sets of armor at once. Though they crackled and burned, it did not seem to slow them in the slightest. Spike batted the hooves of one as it approached him, then moved in under them, lashing with claws, teeth and long horns, but the armor seemed barely inconvenienced, only scratches and dings left behind, "These things are tough!"
Pinkie began a new song, "Stomp on the dishes, break all the chairs, punch all the statues, everything that's there. We've gotta get through the furniture. Dawn Event's waiting for us all! No time to lose, no time to waste, grab that armor and give it a shake!" She sing songed as she focused on avoiding the oncoming menace with well-timed bounds and leaps.
"They're not evil," announced Long Road, "Just furniture, like the song." He swung his entire body into the nearest clanking suit, leaving a mark across it, "We can get them."
Twilight opened her mouth to speak when one of the suits clubbed her across the snout, then started to fold over her. Quite suddenly she was wearing the suit, being forced along as it wheeled towards Spike. "Hey let go of her!" cried Spike as he landed on the suit and began prying it apart, giving enough room for a frantic Twilight to squeeze free. She snarled and spat out an angry mystic word, bolts of force rattling against the already lightning scorched suit before it fell to the ground in pieces.
Long Road made two quick slashes, dispatching another lightning scorched dummy before turning to face the last of those caught in Twilight's blast, "Let's not waste anymore time." Though toughened, the creatures were not much of a match for their concentrated attack, and soon all five were reduced to rubble under their collective heels.
Pinkie stopped singing with a grin and bounded forward to peek into the next room before skidding away from it in a hurried scamper. The ajar door exploded towards the party as a great figure with the head of a bull and the body of a life-long weightlifter approached, great axe at the ready. Its eyes shone with a baleful red light and small bits of fire seemed to come with every ground-shaking step it took.
Long Road surged to the front, "In the name of the light, I will strike you down," he declared. The beast raised its axe, pointing at Long Road. It said no words, but the donkey shivered as the intent felt crystal clear. He had been smitten just as he smote. Their paths made clear, donkey and minotaur charged at one another.
Twilight spat out words of fire as she raised a hoof, sending thin rays of destructive energy at the beast, only to find it fizzling inches away from its hide. The minotaur ignored Twilight in favor of bringing its axe down on the Donkey, knocking him to his knees in a terrifying blow. Long's bones snapped audibly as bones were fractured like dry twigs, but he smiled through it, pushing his sword deeper into the minotaur's side in defiance.
Spike was there in an instant, clamping his teeth down on one of the minotaur's arms, trying to force the axe free. The beast seemed unphazed, bleeding from the bite but only barely as it raised the axe up and took a half step back off of the blade stuck in it. "Die." It spoke, one syllable of unarguable meaning as it brought the axe down, forcing Long back further. It snapped its teeth at Spike and shook its head, catching him with one of its horns and throwing him free with an oof.
Long rose up on shaking hooves, brushing one of his hooves against his own chest. There was a soft glow, some of the worst wounds fading from him as he re-entered the fray. His sword found the minotaur's leg, bringing the beast down in a partial stumble as it cut deep into the tender flesh.
Twilight had read about creatures like that, that could throw off the weave of magic entirely. This was the first such creature she had faced and her mind whirred with possibilities even as Pinkie began to sing her song of hope for them. Hope... She focused her magic and lowered her horn. A bolt of purple magic struck the beast in the chest, barely holding cohesion through its native resistance as it slammed into it like a stiff punch.
The minotaur howled its indignation, bringing its axe to bear in a deadly one-two side-sweep. Long ducked under the first, catching the second and looking dizzy and faint. He gave his own roar of defiance, light flaring around him as he partially recovered and remained standing in time for Spike to zip over his head and latch onto the minotaur's head, biting and ripping, even as most of the wounds he caused seemed to close up as quickly as he opened them.
Watching Long Road struggle through the terrible wounds, Twilight winced, then took a slow breath. "Now or Never." she said to herself, lifting from the ground as she allowed the magic within her to flow freely. Eyes lit with her power, each word of the fire spell seemed to shake through the air. The twin lances made her body drift backwards with force, striking the minotaur with the sound of sizzling flesh as it connected with ribs and snout. Its flame hardened flesh could not resist the lavender alicorn's spell, crumpling backwards under the assault just in time for Long Road to strike true, sword sliding into its throat with a wet gargle before the beast fell to the ground and came to a rest.
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Wow! you used my suggestions!
Thank you! I am happy that you used my ideas in your story. I can see you changed spikes to better go with the story, but who cares I'm happy that my post made a difference. I have to ask did the team name Returners of the Dawn come from a amalgam of my suggestions or did you always intend for it to be that.
Oh and great chapter I have to finish reading it now had to post how glad you used my suggestions first.
"Frey" should be "fray."
The Beauty and the Beast references are strong with this chapter.
I think I like 'Team Friendship' better.
[ROD]?
5484838 Hey, one of the first outright typo reports, thanks and fixed.
I'll have you know D&D/Pathfinder have been doing animated objects long before certain Disney movies... in actuality I used... a random encounter generator. The shame! I did decide on the shape of the objects and gave them the grappling ability they rudely surprised Twilight with.
5484715 Maybe a certain book horse is trying to butter up a certain religious horse so he's not super mad.
Unless the minotaur's complaining about its lack of funds, I think you meant "indignation."
In any case, a fiend and animated objects? Definitely a caster of some kind, and a potent one at that. I wonder if Dawn's pantheism covers the less pleasant gods, and if so, how they feel about not having the exclusivity they're used to.
I loved the smite fight and the party's new name. Looking forward to more.
5487491 Adjusted, thanks! I should get back to typing so we can find out what's going on in this crazy place.
The smite fight was fun, if extremely painful for the poor donkey. He had to use hero's defiance to avoid falling over bleeding. Twilight made good use of a class ability to help power through that spell resistance. I'm not rolling this out, note, but bearing in mind the tools they have and the obstacle in question is a lot of fun and I hope leads to more interesting battles.
Did you mean thrice?
That sounds a little akward in my head. How about "Alright everypony, don't panic," or "Allright, nopony panic,"?
but no sign of Dawn yet.
Sounds weird. How do you like "There was a closed door on the right side of the room and a slighty opened door in front of them."
5977834 Fixes applied with love.
Ponyfinder Campaign Setting:
Does it count as plagiarism if you steal from yourself?
6761999 Nope.
why the minotaure can smite ? Does it have the fiendish Template ? Minotaur have spell resistance in ponyfinder ? It is rare on a PC race
P.S : is it a PC race ?
7919104 Fiendish, not PC.
I did not expect them to take their Returners of Dawn name so literally.
6761999 He mentioned getting permission from himself in the disclaimer.
Oh god, it's the Swamp of Sorrows xD
I thought it was Dianne?
unfazed