92 - Down on the Farm
With everything in order for the most part, the group regathered. Rainbow was released to rejoin Twilight, and they all met with Soft Mane, who had gone ahead to secure tickets at the train station. To avoid any mass pony riots, Twilight snuck to the station, sometimes submerged in the ground itself before popping up into the car where the others were settling in.
"There you are," said Rainbow, "I thought you were going to miss us."
Spike raised a brow, "Twilight, late? Then we'd really know she's dead."
Twilight rolled her spectral eyes as she settled on a chair, "Ha ha, Spike. Next step, Ponyville. It's been a while."
Soft Mane looked out the window as the train began to move, "I've never been there, what kind of town is it?"
Rainbow was suddenly beside Soft Mane, landing just next to her, "It's a cool place, a little small, but the ponies are nice. I'm not exactly Pinkie level of introductions, but I'll make sure ponies know you're awesome."
The train was swift and true, carrying them to the town of Ponyville. As they moved to depart, they ran into a pony trying to get on. "Pardon," said the orange earth pony before she blinked and tilted her head, "Rainbow? Well shoot!"
Applejack backed up and allowed them to depart with a smile until she saw Twilight and the expression turned to a frown. Standing beside Applejack was Zecora, who also took interest in the spirit alicorn she saw.
"What is this I see, is there a ghost before me?" rhymed Zecora, "Are you practicing a new spell, or is there a grand story to tell?"
"What she said," echoed Applejack, "What in tarnation's going on?"
Twilight nodded at each of them, "I'm glad you're here. I had a bit... of an accident."
"She died," provided Rainbow Dash with all her usual subtlety.
Twilight sunk a little, "Well, yes, but I'm not giving up yet. We were going to go back to Everglow to fix it."
Applejack frowned a little, "Well shucks, gonna leave me behind again?"
Spike raised a brow, "You want to abandon your farm to go to another world for some unspecified time? Who knows when we'll get back."
Applejack shuffled in place, "Be that as it may... Ah miss you, Twi. Ah don't want to just hear about what happens to you." She reached out to the shadow of Twilight, "If A'hd been there... Maybe you wouldn't be in this predicament."
Twilight took a slow breath with a gentle echoing sigh, "I won't stop you, Applejack." She smiled gently then, "I missed you too." Her gaze moved onwards to look at Zecora, "I'm glad you're safe. What brought you to the station?"
Zecora perked up, "I was going to the pony capital for you, but you came here far too soon. My plans have changed, but my purpose has not, I have a way to cure this rot. The elemental forces we can seal away, and keep their realms entirely at bay."
Soft Mane asked, "Why do you rhyme everything?"
Zecora snapped her gaze over to look at the half-pony and an expression of amazement came over her. She trotted up to Soft and began to circle around her, "What is this curious creature, Is she one of your adventure's features? My name is Zecora, little one, What name do you carry so this introduction is done?"
Applejack perked an ear as she agreed with Zecora, "Yer an interesting sight there to be sure, but that's Soft Mane. She's a right nice mare."
Soft Mane offered a hand to Zecora, "Pleased to meet you, Zecora." Zecora offered a hoof and Soft Mane shook it gently before Soft continued, "I'm not sure I'm a mare though."
Twilight perked an ear, "I think that's close enough. I suppose you could be a mare or a woman, but there isn't a specific term for a half pony."
Rainbow tapped a hoof impatiently, "Alright, so, Zecora, you should get to Celestia--"
No sooner was her name said then a bright flash of light brought Celestia into being. Standing beside her was Cadance. Celestia took in the surroundings only for an instant before her eyes fixed on Twilight. "Where are you going, Twilight?"
Twilight shrank under the question, "Oh! Hello Princess... We were going to my castle, to get back to Everglow."
Celestia raised a fine brow, "And what did you plan to do there?"
Twilight brought her fore hooves together in a nervous clapping, though they failed to make sound, "Soft Mane's sure there's somepony there that can fix me, and I believe her. They have a lot more experience with divine magic, and that's the kind that can undo this."
Cadance brushed past Celestia, eyes fixed on Soft Mane. She took in the double heart symbol on her armor's front, and her curious hybrid nature. She felt with her magic over the satyr a moment before she advanced, "We should speak."
Soft glanced over the bright pink alicorn before looking back at Twilight, "Can we wait until they're done?"
Cadance settled, joining in watching Celestia and Twilight. Celestia reached with a wing, barely brushing Twilight's immaterial form, "You are in no state to be enacting such untested magic. It was only the best, or worst, of luck that brought you there the first time. With the help of your guests, I know the spell to send you there safely, but you will need to find your own way back." She leaned in towards Twilight, "Which you will do. I will wait for you, young Twilight Sparkle." Celestia gestured at Twilight's castle with a wing, "Let us be off."
As the group trotted through the town, most pony eyes became riveted on the procession. Three pony princesses, one of which was oddly translucent, a strange half pony hybrid, a dragon they didn't recognize, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Zecora, all marching towards the castle. Though they stared, none of the ponies dared to stop the parade, and soon the group was safely within Twilight's tower of a castle, away from prying eyes.
"Your highness," spoke Zecora, "I know how to banish these elemental woes. We will send away all of Equestria's foes. It will require magic and herb, but you will see the results most superb."
Celestia gave a soft smile, "Then you have my full support. I will bring you back to Canterlot after I am finished here."
Twilight's wings shot out, "You mean I didn't have to do all that?!"
Zecora shook her head, "There is a limit to Zebrican tricks, our efforts must intermix. With the balance turned our way, it is time to end their stay."
Cadance approached Soft Mane again, speaking gently to her, "You are... exploding with love. I've never felt anything like it. It's not just inside you." She leveled a hoof at Soft, "But coming from somewhere else. What is it?"
Soft smiled gently at Cadance, "I didn't mean to alarm you, your highness. You are a highness, right?"
Cadance nodded, "Princess of the Crystal Empire."
"Who's the Queen?" asked Soft curiously.
Cadance seemed confused by the question, "I am the ruling monarch. But tell me, please, what is that other?"
Soft let the question drop and gathered the energy of Lashtada into her hands, making them glow a soft pink hue, "This is Lashtada, a goddess of love and togetherness. I'm a vessel for her power."
Cadance felt the soft waves of energy emanate from those pinkened hands and nodded her head, "I would very much like to meet this Lashtada. We're very alike. Is she also an alicorn?" Soft shook her head, "Pegasus?" Soft shook her head again. "Is she at least a pony?"
Soft smiled, amused a little at Cadance's confusion, "She's an earth-bound pony, with short adorable legs and a shaggy mane that hangs over her eyes. Cutest goddess I ever saw. I don't have a drawing to show you though, and I'm not that good at drawing myself."
Cadance smiled at Soft, "She sounds nice. Please, keep Twilight safe. She's very precious to me."
Soft asked, "What is she to you?"
"Sister-in-law," replied Cadance, "And the foal I used to watch when I was a filly. I love her dearly. Seeing her this way, it's hard. Bring her back to us."
Rainbow suddenly landed in the middle of the conversation. She set her hooves on Soft and began pushing her over to where the others waited, "Sorry, gotta go. Take it easy Cadance!" said Rainbow as she put Soft in the right spot. The party was assembled, with Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, Soft, and Applejack gathered around Celestia.
Celestia spread her wings out over those gathered as her horn began to glow. The soft humming tone of Everglow's song began to ring and the world faded out around them. Applejack suddenly called out, "Tell mah family where ah went!" And then she was gone.
They all landed on soft grass in the mid afternoon. Rainbow rose to her hooves, flapping her altered wings, "Cool!" She looked over her longer limbs, wider wings, and other subtler changes to her physique, "I bet I can fly even faster!" She took off into the sky, eager to test her skills.
Applejack was slower to celebrate, looking herself over as well. She was a solidly built pony, though it seemed much more obvious now than it had been before. "Twi?" She glanced around. Twilight emerged from the ground, soon standing before her, "Shoot girl, Ahm not used to ponies coming out like that," she said, backpedalling.
"Is everypony OK?" asked Twilight, looking around. No one looked injured.
"Home sweet home," said Soft Mane, throwing her hands wide and taking a slow breath of familiar air. She went stiff as scaled arms wrapped around her. Spike squeezed her quietly and she almost went into shock. Slowly, her hands moved for his back, and she returned the embrace carefully. They stood there together, with Twilight watching with a content smile, and Applejack looking away with a faint blush.
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Huh. I wasn't expecting the anatomical adaptation to take place when using a conventional plane shift. I don't know why I keep getting surprised by this, but I do. Go figure. I do wonder how it's affected Dash's abilities. Sonic rainbooms don't seem like something you should be able to do at eighth level.
Zecora will strike while the iron is hot to end this most troubling imbalance plot. Her alchemist talents, with alicorn might, will no doubt result in the end of this plight.
I'm very glad that Soft Mane and Cadance got to interact. All the love. All of it. (Indeed, Lashtada may have found a most fortuitous devotee, assuming that Cadance is still mortal.)
I only found one thing lost in transplanar translation:
It may be rhetorical, but it's still a question.
you missed the chance for an epic lyra freak out with soft mane
5656355 The poor demons and mephits got translated and they didn't even plane shift in.
Are you sure that should have a question mark? I mean, it's... not a question, or said as a question.
5656356 But Lyra did freak out about Soft Mane.
Well, Spike. I see you didn't even mention it was going to happen, preferring to just ambush her. The word carefully in the last one makes me wonder whether this is going to go well or not...
5656376 She either has hesitations, or Spike is.., spiky.
Oh your God. Cadence is going to be Equestria's first Cleric of Lashtada, I know it.
5656358
Hmm... I'm honestly not sure. Who knows? You could be right.
5656753 Doing extensive Google research, apparently it can be OK either way in this case, with some folks getting really worked up about it.
"Rainbow's sheet should now be considered locked in."
Without her traits and drawbacks? You do her an injustice, sirrah!
5656355 Sonic rainbooms would be completely impossible in a strict Pathfinder system. A level 20 pegasus monk that applied its speed bonus to flight, took dashing flyer 4 times, wore the horseshoes of speed, used ki speed and used the run feat would have a speed of [30+60+(4x10)+30+20]*5 = 900 feet. 900 feet in 6 seconds = 150 feet per second (102 mph). The speed of sound at sea level is 1116 feet per second (760 mph). Fortunately, Dash is too awesome to let rules get in her way, whether they are game mechanics or laws of physics.
Extra space after "I bet"
Didn't you say in previous chapters that using the tuning fork method of travel did not include a body change? If it does include a body change, why didn't Pinkie, Twilight and Spike change back to their old forms when they first returned to Equestria?
5657547 I didn't see a tuning fork. Did you?
5657572
It certainly wasn't Twilight's spell
5657232 Fixed!
Things with the system work out easier when you see the simplified maths. Levels and bonuses are exponential. Not sure atwhat log multiplier though, base exponant. That is, standard combat rules are, if you have two identically formed groups, in abilities and equipment, then the chance of succeeding for a given group is a function of the square of the numbers. Pathfinders log system means the progression is linear in value. As in 1 player, value 1. Two +1, four, +2, eight +3 etc.
When they use the plane shift teleport, do they appear at a randome place, at a fairly constant area, or at the identical place each time?
5657582 Nope, it was Celestia improvising using the knowledge given to her. She has not learned the Everglow method of magic, in writing, memorization, or casting(casting without a horn? Madness!)
5657602 If you use the spell, you can pick a target, but you veer off of it by a random amount.
5657498
[Disclaimer: the following is meant completely tongue in cheek. Please do not hit me with virtual copies of the Ponyfinder Campaign Setting or any other sourcebook.]
Clearly the solution is not to make the pony faster beyond a certain point (going fast is, of course, its own reward), but to make the air in front of her colder or thinner. Mach 1 drops along with air temperature and pressure. To do this, we can abuse the crap out of the wording of the Weather Pony feat, which reads: "You may, as a move action, move a cloud, fog, or other gaseous effect up to your movement rate in any direction you can move yourself. You move with the cloud, which must be within your reach when you start and end. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity."
Take air to be a "gaseous effect." Air is not a "cloud," so it needn't "move with" the pony or remain "within [her] reach," but can instead be moved "in any direction" the pony could move herself, "up to [her] movement rate." So a pony with this feat could thin the air in front of her by pushing it off to the sides.
[/disclaimer]
A more legit solution would be to craft a Sonic Rainboom feat with prerequisites including, but not necessarily limited to, 70 ft. fly speed, perfect maneuverability, and Run.
5657599
I don't mean to be a bother, but they still don't appear on the .pdf.
5657947 What's not in the pdf?
5657997
Rainbow Dash's traits. Her entry skips from Feats to Gear. So, for that matter, does Soft Mane's.
5658020 Very odd, seeing as I just picked out some traits for the Dash. Hero Lab, why?!
5658020 They're there now! Guess I just had to export again.
5658029
Huzzah!
A minor nitpick - I noticed that the original characters don't have biographic details (e.g. their age, height, and weight) on their character sheets, whereas most of the established characters do. That seems backward somehow; it should be easier to give us details on original characters, shouldn't it?
(And I'll anticipate ahead of time the question of whether a listed age for Long Road takes into account his ten-year aging or not.)
5659153 The answer is depressingly banal. Basic pony types have age charts so I can hit the random button, while donkies and pony satyrs don't have age/weight charts.
5657947 That's it! Just reduce the density of the air until the speed of sound is 102 mph (about 1/50th of the air density at sea level). I suppose you could also get a little extra speed with the alternate monk feat "slow time" which lets you spend ki to get 3 standard actions in a turn instead of one. That would allow you to run twice, for a total of 1600 feet, or 181 mph.
5658007 The timeline is still in flux after chapter 89
I think Rainbow is in for an unpleasant surprise. Cartoony characters are always much more powerful than realistic ones. She might find it significantly more painful to ram her head clear through a tree than she did back in Equestria, and if Applejack tries to buck apples with those legs she'll probably cripple herself.
5659959 She is still a grade A earth pony. She could knock a tree down with her hooves, but shaking the apples free is not happening.
Wait a minute, AJ is only 17? But you put Pinkie's age at 19 which would make Fluttershy 20(and a little old for high school). They all seem to have been fillies of similar age at the same time.
5659984 Equestrian pones are not high schoolers, though I did not select ages, thing went and randomly assigned them.
5659988
Not as such, but Twilight has been to both worlds and is apparently the same age as a high schooler (even though that is clearly old enough to be a full adult in Equestria). You included references to that world in your story, so you can't completely ignore it. Flutters being a year older than Pinkie - and therefore 20 years old - is just what I extrapolate from the comment she made to Pinkie in "Griffon the Brush-off".
5660008 All your logic is true, except I never had them announce their age. The number on the sheets are the result of the random number gods.
5660014 I wouldn't trust the random number gods; they are facetious and cruel, always ready to smite the unwary with a natural 1.
They didn't bring her body. You'd think that'd be kind of important...
Rainbow's so fast, her name squished into one word.
6774095 Darn speedsters!