Twilight staggered forward towards Long Road, "Are you alright?" she asked, fatigue heavy on her voice.
Long Road was quickly pawing over the minotaur, relieving it of a few trinkets and stuffing them away. When he saw Twilight staggering forward, he stopped and met her half way. With a press of a hoof and a spark of light, Twilight felt energy renew inside of her.
"Wow, that felt great," she said with a smile, "But shouldn't we get going? Who knows what's going on with Dawn."
"First rule of adventuring," started Long, but Pinkie leaped over the both of them and resumed taking the downed minotaur's coins. He directed a hoof at Pinkie, "That. If we weren't pressed for time I'd say take the axe." He winced in memory of it crashing against him, "Pinkie, can you help with these?"
Pinkie looked up and trotted to Long's side before petting him across the withers, "Don't you worry your pretty little head. Pinkie's here to make all the boo boos go away." Despite her patronizing tone, her magic was swift, putting the donkey back together again with only stains on his armor to show he had fought for his life.
Spike was ahead of the party, peeking into the next room and looking around from the doorway, "I think I found him."
Twilight cantered up to Spike's side, "WhaaAAAAA!" she shrieked, backing up onto her haunches away from the room. Dawn Event's corpse stared at them with empty eyes, left spread across the floor to gape at whoever entered the room.
Long Road and Pinkie were in the room in an instant at Twilight's yell. Long Road winced at the sight, but Pinkie quickly approached, prodding at it with a hoof. "Pinkie!" shouted Twilight, "What are you doing?"
Pinkie flopped the body onto its back, "It's a fake. A faker fakerooni!"
The thing masquerading as Dawn's body suddenly lurched to its hooves, flesh running free as it became skeletal in short order. Spike was on it in an instant. As resistant as the minotaur was to the dragon's assault, the bones broke easily under the crushing power of his claws and gnashing teeth. It struck the dragon in his belly, forcing him to back up a step, which was all the space needed for Long Road to enter the battle with both hooves coming down. With the sound of scattering bones, the beast was smashed to the ground and stopped moving.
Pinkie easily trotted through the field of bones, ignoring them as she opened the next door, which turned out to be little more than a closet. "Ta da!" pronounced Pinkie proudly, waving at a tied up and unconscious Dawn Event stuffed away.
They hauled the sleeping cleric out, each glad to see him intact. Spike gently slapped him awake, "Come on. We should get out of here."
Scrambling to his hooves, Dawn Event looked around at the carnage, "You've been busy... thank you."
Twilight shook her head, "Shouldn't we find whatever is... doing all of this? I mean, unless it was him." She leveled a hoof at the fallen minotaur.
Dawn shook his head, "We have a mission already, even if the temptation is strong to investigate further. I doubt that fiend was much more than muscle. You did well to defeat it, all things considered." He stepped around the party, moving back towards the room they were sleeping in. "This place is more dangerous than rumored, we should leave quickly." With the others trailing behind him, Dawn collected his things and began down the stairs. When he reached for the door, the old mare was back, blocking it.
"Don't leave me here," she begged, "Don't go until morning, or wizout me. One way or ze ozer."
Long Road stepped forward, "You aren't evil, but I am guessing you are dead. Let us past, spirit."
She stood firm, eyes resolute as she stomped a hoof on the ground.
Pinkie nudged past Long and rustled in her backpack, pulling out a muffin. "Don't be sad. We're not leaving 'cause of you. You're a nice pony, uh, ghost or not." She was uncertain for a moment, but quickly her bright smile returned as she offered the muffin, "We have to go."
The mare looked between Pinkie and her offering before reaching and taking the muffin in her mouth, "You give strange gifts, pink one, but you speak wiz kindness. Go, but I will be punished." She moved to the side, watching them with sad eyes and cradling the muffin between her fore-hooves. She held it like a treasure instead of a snack.
They filed out of the building into the dark of night. As Spike left last, the door slapped shut behind him. Pained groans filled the air from the direction of the house, then the sobbing of the pale green furred mare interspersed with the crack of some whip punctuated by her wail before the sobbing resumed.
Twilight rolled her ears back, "That's... awful. Shouldn't we save her?"
Dawn took a soft breath, "She is already dead, and the evil of this place is beyond the means of us. If you are concerned, make it a point to return when you are stronger, or have stronger friends." He looked up at the night sky, moon hanging high, "Until then, this place is lost to the night, and we should not tarry."
Twilight conjured the horses and flopped onto hers, looking dispirited as they rode away from the... cursed? haunted? manor and its unfortunate door keeper.
Spike drifted alongside Dawn, "Why did we go this way anyway? It's nothing but swamp and ghosts!"
He shook his head, "I was hoping we would pass it before sunset, and that the rumors were grossly out of proportion with reality. It was my error, and one that almost cost me a most dire price."
Pinkie rode up alongside, a grin on her face, "A good thing we returned the dawn, huh?"
Dawn Event glared at her a moment before her infectious attitude became too much and he cracked a smile, "Thank you for that. I know it's late, and you are all likely tired still, but it's important we get back to civilization."
Twilight shook her head, "Strange thing, but I don't feel tired at all anymore."
Long Road raised a hoof, "That would be my fault. When I lay my hooves of healing on someone, it banishes any tiredness along the way, unless they were severely exhausted. I can still feel that fiend's axe, but I'm not tired either."
Pinkie did not complain of fatigue, but if she was capable of being tired, none of her friends were aware of it. Spike let out a soft yawn, but flying remained easy, especially with the horses still powering through the swamp at a slow rate.
The sun rose to greet the party as they moved along the lake. They had broken free of the swamplands and now moved swiftly northwards. "With fortune," spoke Dawn Event, "We should arrive in two days in the town of Turves. They have a rail station there we will take."
Spike huffed softly, "Does that include actually getting some sleep and maybe a breakfast break?"
Dawn glanced up at the rising sun, then turned his horse to the side, guiding the group to a copse of trees that they began setting up camp in. While everyone ate, Pinkie moved over to Twilight and sat herself down.
"So," said Pinkie, "This world. It's kind of crazy, huh?"
"You can say that again," agreed Twilight as she drank eagerly of the flask of water, "It's not all bad though."
Pinkie tilted her head, "The ponies are good, uh, people, but they don't have a Celestia to watch over them."
"Or the elements of harmony," noted Twilight.
"Or that. I think they're doing a super keen job, considering." argued Pinkie.
"Are you telling that to me?" asked Twilight, a hoof at her chest, "Or yourself." She pointed the hoof at Pinkie before beeping her on the nose, drawing a giggle from the pink pony.
"Maybe both!" exclaimed Pinkie. "That mean minotaur wanted to kill Long Road. I could feel his bad vibes from across the hallway."
"We killed him," pointed out Twilight.
"He deserved it," retorted Pinkie, crossing her arms and looking pouty.
Twilight gently nudged Pinkie with a wing, "I'm not arguing that. He was a bad cow."
Spike suddenly appeared between the two, but didn't join the conversation as he finished landing, curled up besides Twilight and was out like a light. Pinkie smiled at Spike's form, giving an almost silent 'awww'. "He has the right idea." She suddenly flopped over, half sprawled on top of Spike and asleep instantly.
Twilight looked over the camp and saw only herself and Long Road were awake. She drew out her spellbook and began to make new notes in the margins, describing what had happened that evening to the best of her ability. She felt a new presence and looked up, seeing Long Road had settled in beside the pony pile.
"Thank you," he said.
"For what?" asked Twilight, one ear perked at him.
"For giving me this chance, even if it is painful. I... am glad to follow my dream, through the highs and lows, and I couldn't ask for better company while I do it." He reached out a hoof, which Twilight met with a soft tap.
"You're quite welcome," replied Twilight. "You've already saved us, I think. I don't want to imagine Spike being... attacked like that, even if he says he's ready for it, and if that thing was in front of me..."
"You would run away," spoke the Donkey with a half smile.
"Buck yea," she agreed quickly, bobbing her head, "I wouldn't even look back. But when I saw you there... taking it on... I had to help. I was so scared, but... I couldn't just leave you."
Long Road shuffled closer and bumped his forehead against Twilight's, mindful of her horn, "That is because you are a true friend. I won't forget it."
They remained together in companionable quiet with only the soft scratching of Twilight's quill against her book to break the silence.
Rested and fed, they made good time across the plains. They left the lakeside and started inland, soon losing it to sight over the horizon as they went. "Be wary," said Dawn, "We are perilously close to gnoll territory. The gem gnolls in particular love to make strikes against pony lands when they think they can get away with it."
Spike raised a scaled brow, "Gem gnolls?"
"Great shaggy creatures," explained Dawn, "Hyenas, two legs. They love gems to an unhealthy obsession and decorate their mangy pelts with them. They're passably intelligent, so they wear armor and use weapons."
The dragon snorted, "Sounds like diamond dogs, and I've shown them a thing or two in the past. They kidnapped a, uh, friend of mine."
Twilight shook her head at Spike, "It was a team effort. We all went after Rarity, though she hardly needed any of our help. She had everything well in hoof."
"Your friend, Rarity, must be a fierce warrior," said Dawn with a curious tone.
Spike failed to hold in a loud laugh, claws over his mouth. Twilight rolled her eyes and filled in for the increasingly confused looking Dawn, "She's a seamstress and a fashionista, but she has a tongue as sharp as a whip when she wants to. She had them begging for her to go, and take the gems with her."
"I don't think the gem gnolls would ever part with their gems for any price short of blood," said Dawn, "But I have heard of them trading them, if the offer is tempting enough, and can get more gems. Release of a hostage is not likely to qualify unless it was in return for access to a mine."
Pinkie joined the conversation, "They're not the same thing, just kinda similar. I bet I could get them to loosen up if I saw any though! Nopony wants to be a meany mean-face, they just don't know how to have a good time."
Neither Dawn nor Long cared to argue with the optimistic bard, and they rode on.
Great chapter!
I'm sure they'll come back to the manor when there ready.
And interpersonal time helps a story in the long run it makes them seam more real, and gives them definition.
I knew Long Road would be a good match for them. Good to see that the team now has someone to show them the basics that every adventurer knows like looting. I am looking forward to when they use that money to upgrade Pinkie and or Long Road's equipment. Or maybe they will wait until they have more and just upgrade everyone's equipment at once.
That mansion was clearly level-appropriate, They should have cleaned it out!
5487796 Don't forget they're on a schedule of sorts, with Luminace's scheduled appearance looming ahead of them.
5487783 Pinkie's operating with still basically no equipment. Good thing she's handy anyway. Spike learned the frustrations of damage reduction the hard way, and Twilight met her first both SR and energy resistant foe. A worthy challenge for the group as a whole.
And Pinkie remains the only one that brought actual rations with her. She gets to nibble on dried snacks while everyone else eats bland summoned stuff. To say nothing of the sudden value of muffin sacrifices.
Poor ghost hostess. Sadly, there are some things that a muffin just can't fix. But it'll help a little. I'm sure the party will come back when they don't have a divine time constraint looming over their heads. Of course, that gives their adversary time to prepare. And there's the trip back to consider. Will they have enough time to go around?
Ah, mercies. The cherries on top of the lay-on-hands sundae.
Some very good interpersonal moments. The Equestrians are dealing with the considerably higher violence of this world as best they can, and Long Road is happy to have his hooves back on the path of righteousness.
Looking forward to more, gnolls and beyond.
And now to smite typos:
"Boo boos" is a plural, not a possessive, and thus doesn't need an apostrophe.
Was.
5487875 So the next one to get a equipment upgrade will be Pinkie huh.
Oh and yeah it was definitely a fine battle. And it proves that a good fighter will never be out of place on an adventuring team.
5488364
Equipment? We don't need no steenking equipment
If she doesn't pick something up in the course of their adventures, though, I wouldn't be surprised if Twi made a circlet of persuasion for her.
5488157 Thanks for the reports, all fixed! Amazing what gets past you when you disgorge 4k words a day without planning.
5488598 True! True! It's been so long I almost forgot. When Adventuring finding new and better equipment is almost a guaranty.
Nice to see Ebonsilk get some screen time, as well as one possible explanation for the west wing. I wonder if certain other towns will be visited?
5698679 I can't promise anything, but I'm glad you like what we did with Ebonsilk!
So much for Dawn and Long Road being veteran adventurers. Setting up a rotating watch in unknown territory is Adventurer 101.
Did they at least bring a ten foot pole and some rope?
5862110 One can only pray to the gods!
5488157 Yeah, poor Night Fog.
7499531 Yeah, that does seem right for what I'm seeing.
Still story IS getting better. Still some iffy bits. Twi's reaction to finding out Pinkie was in Everglow too was... rather underwhelming, and the whole bit about her getting called out on summoning Luminance early.. good scene but the emotions in it kind of jumped all over the place rather quickly.
Speaking of, LOVED the scene between Twilight and Luminance, though.. with those stats.. Twi would make one very very poor Cleric... unless she takes that unicorn feat that lets them use Int in place of Wis for Divine spells. But the idea is still kind of great. So was the exchange. And they are on a quest now, thing really have picked up.
Oh and I should hate you for getting me a lot of really odd looks at work (read on my Kindle) since story made me rather loudly squeeeee when it revealed what they are searching for.
Also, can't help but note a lot of things I love, mostly for how they remind me of my own campaign.. including a possible meeting with one of Aether's ancestors. (Was a post-Empire setting, and Aether was a.... quite promiscuous pegasi.) And, hope to many weren't upset with Ember for getting a one on one with Luminance and spoiling their once a year thing.... though it was kind of extenuating circumstances, and even had her mention she was bending some rules in doing this... because a certain other deity had already kind of decided 'rules? what rules? Rules are boring'
Pinkie.... pretty good take on Pink Pony... and has to be nice being in a 'verse where her friends can just say "She's a Bard" and people could shrug and chalk it up to bards being bards, without having to know Pinkie to get It's just Pinkie being Pinkie.
Minotaur fight was fun... though I'm wondering if part of the reason I can't REALLY get into the fight scenes as much as I'd like (They are still great just, not that immersive to me) is knowing to much about the game. And so everything getting translated into moves, spells, knowing what effects and abilities are being used. Granted reading OotS does not help, since all I could think when Twi's scorching Rays failed to hit was
But.. that said, the fights do feel like what they are, narratively done fights in a game, which is kind of a good thing and works very well thematically with the setting, while still being so very VERY well done on making the mechanics feel natural and fit into the narrative. Kind of jealous my fights aren't that epicly described.....
Biggest issue is still the pacing being so fast, no really buildup, no setting the atmosphere for the haunted house, but that's covered in what's already been said. Oh few other oddities, Pinkie claimed the whole, being reshaped by entry into another verse was familiar... I will not call this a plot hole, because I 100% buy that scene from the 'bloober' real of Friendship Games is true, and the Pinkies routinely swaps worlds just for the hell of it. Though, bit after that, it's said a "Familiar voice" called out to the Seekers who had been sent to find Pinkie.. how is her voice familiar to them? But yes minor nit picks. Not a fan of the whole Donkey racism is an issue back in Equestria thing, haven't really seen any sign that is..... in Everglow, yeah it works, Equestria... bit more ehhhhhh about it.
Still minor nitpicks, and the story really is picking up and getting better.
Oh right, and you can totally see these are NOT you normal PC's...... utter lack of paranoia, and actually sticking to their main goal when an obvious side quest pops up in their path? What new spore of madness is this!?
rode
That is called Courage. That despite being scared, despite feeling the impulse to run, you help anyway, because it's what's right.
I keep getting this feeling that the Equestrian characters aren't really reacting to all this violence and death the way they should. Sure they've been in tough situations before. But no one has died, and excepting the Storm King (which I don't think has happened to these characters?) they haven't killed anyone either. And yet Spike shrugs off the death of children, Twilight mostly does the same, and then they both kill everything they go up against without a second thought. About the only point where I really felt they were completely in-character was after their first mission when they buried the monster. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think they're completely out of character, otherwise I wouldn't still be reading, it's just a feeling that they're a little off. Even if it doesn't improve, the further we get into the story the more experience they'll have with this world, and the more their reactions will fit.
9551505
I'm reading through this chapter and not seeing what you appear to be writing about? I see Twilight screaming and being miserable in two places.