• - Honesty -- Party, purified - Magic -- Party, corrupted - Loyalty -- Trenchtown, corrupted - (hint Daverwood) - Laughter -- Party, purified - Generosity -- RBO, purified - Party, purified

New Canterlot is weak. Northern provinces may well rebel. If there is a secret irongate army, might it not now turn on new canterlot instead of docktown? Of course, there's a geographical barrier, but if no one is there to hold them off at the pass, or if trenchtown airships allow a contingent to attack the pass defenders from the rear... plus NE has obstacles of its own to get to that pass (has to go around or over the crystal forest, through the lowlands) Maybe they would just choose to hold them off at the cliffs, but that is a much larger even if tactically favorable area, and then the enemy would have a foothold in the eastern dusts (occupying edge, etc)

"Ghosts" are faded draconequui. Discord's father. Too late to give back Harmony to them. No longer senses the burning anger of stoned draconequi.

Granny Smith is still alive.

New Canterlot - forest of petrified trees moved from those volcanic islands and re-erected for asthetic purposes. note to self writefashion articke mention boots out of tyle

Where does Crater Lake get its water?

Map notes 0.00188034 pixels per meter 531.819 meters per pixel

1m x 1m = 1 sq m 0.00188034 by 0.00188034 pixels = 1 sq meter 3.53568x10^-6 square pixels per square meter. 282831 square meters / 69.8891 acres per square pixel. / roughly 1 farmer per pixel sq.

Pitch Video Long, long ago... our world was lush and green. Our kind raised the sun and turned the moon; our

• immortal rulers - ruled from their castle on the highest mountain

THIS IS OUR LAND EPIC SCORE

Long, long ago, when this land was lush and green, in an age of peace and plenty, when wise rulers gave light to the world and our civilization was the beacon to which all others looked for guidance... our people possessed six great magical artifacts, each as ancient as the world itself, the Elements of Harmony. Through long centuries, the bearers of these artifacts stood steadfast between the world and ruin. And so we dared to think that there was no threat we could not overcome. But there was a sinister power rising in our midst, one pushing us to go farther than we ought to have gone, leading us to shine the light of civilization into dark places where it was not welcome. And this was why the Shadow of En-Netsusep came against us, vowing to destroy our world. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony stood against the alien god, but they were only able to destroy our Nemesis at the cost of their own lives, and the Elements were lost. Thus began the Dark Age. Without the Elements, the work of En-Netsusep was finished by others. The oceans fell, the land dried out, and the crystal forest began to spread. As resources became scarce, our years of peace were replaced by anarchy and war. As our world clung to life, we struggled on, sustained by the hope that someday, the Elements might be found again, and return Harmony to us...

-- Did we ever find the Elements of Harmony?

• No. No, but don’t worry about it... we’ve learned how to get by. This isn’t the dark age anymore, after all...

Soda Lime : glass making Ore Well: Irongate-based critic of Trenchtown

Appendix T1: Timeline Using the Founding of Equestria as the Epoch:

Mists of prehistory until 170 BE: Pre-Classical Period. Time during which the moon and sun moved naturally. -372 Unification of the Unicorn Kingdom -299 Death of Star Sparkle -298 Fancy Crown becomes king of Unicorn Kingdom -227 Twinkle Star becomes queen of UK -204: Starswirl the Bearded born. -190: Stargazer born. -160: Moon Shine becomes queen of UK

170 BE until 430 AE: Classical Period. TIme during which Unicorns collectively raised and lowered the sun and moon. -170 End of the Great Intercalary Wars -155: Stargazer becomes Queen of unicorns. -150: Founding of the Daverwoods -148: Destruction of the Grundle Kingdom -123: Stele erected. -90: Founding of the Arcane Helix -36: Golden Comet becomes king of all unicorns 0: Founding of Equestria. 37: Platinum becomes queen of all unicorns, and bringing the Unicorn Kingdom into Equestria 169: Duke Shiny Bauble becomes duke. 177: Stele re-erected for the first time, after presumably being lost. 200: Silver Swirl becomes queen of Equestria 227: Birth of Celestia 244: Galaxy becomes king of Equestria 251: Birth of Luna 320 Coming of Discord. Galaxy killed in battle with Discord. Throne vacant. 424: Elements of Harmony Discovered by Celestia and Luna 425: Discord Stoned 430: Ascension of Celestia and Luna

430 AE until 808 AE: Royal Age. Time during which Celestia and Luna moved the sun and moon. 704: Arcane Helix banished. 715: First bat ponies. 734: King Sombra ascends the Crystal Throne 784: First changeling 800: King Sombra defeated by Celestia and Luna 805: Nightmare Moon

808 AE - 1808 AE: Modern Age. (Later: Solar Age) Time during which Celestia alone moved the sun and moon. Late in this period: Return of Nightmare Moon; probably that will mark a new age but nobody wants to bother fussing with the calendars on account of Luna. Poor Luna. 980: Calendrical Stele of Stargazer I re-erected in Canterlot, 550th regnal year of Celestia 1583: Birth of Granny Smith 1602: Founding of Ponyville 1785 Rarity born, Applejack born 1786 Twilight Sparkle born 1787 Fluttershy born 1788 Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash born 1796 Spike hatched 1801: Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom born 1 Harvesting 1808: return of Nightmare Moon

1808 AE - 2057 AE: Lunar Age / Golden Age (so-called by late dark age historians) 1810: Granny Smith STILL not dead. 1833 AE: The present year, 1403 regnal Year of Celestia. (and Luna, or 403rd of Luna if you don’t count when she was banished; due to such ambiguity using Luna’s regnal years isn’t advised.) 24 Grasses 1833: The Pony RPG 2012 campaign began. (See Campaign Time Log)

(Epilogue of Owen’s Campaign here)

1849: Hive begins attempting to control the Dread Dimensions in earnest. ~1920s: Hive has effective control of the nearer Dread Dimensions. 1930s: Equestrian civilization exploring (geocentric) outer space by technological and technomagical means. 1960s: Creation of the first Equus Orbital Station (i.e. the predecessor of the Great Eye) 2020s: Cult of En-Netsusep gaining prominence among Shadhavar despite efforts to suppress it. 2056: The Shadow of En-Netsusep (MAG6) manifest on Equus; begins attempting to extirpate the Changelings. 2057: War of the Shadow going badly for Hive-controlled Equestrian civilization, with the Dread Dimensions Hive extirpated in this year. Luna releases Discord unilaterally on the assumption that he will fight with En-Netsusep’s Shadow, which indeed he does. 18 Fruits 2057: Discord defeats the Shadow of En-Netsusep, with support from the Hive and other Equestrian forces..

2057 AE - 2063: Second Age of Chaos 2058-2059: Reign of Discord; no effective governance. Low-grade civil war. 8 Grasses 2059: Discord re-stoned by bearers of the elements of Harmony. 2060-2063: Equestrian Civil War after the exposure of the Hive continues, but eventually ended mostly peacefully by the EoH.

2064 AE - 2070 AE:: Interabomination period Ponies and changelings lived in an approximation of harmony during this period, with some residual distrust, but with a recognition that the changeling domination was mostly benign. A pony and changeling expedition to the Dread Dimensions finds no changeling survivors except for a few individuals who were cut off from the hive mind by injuries; it is found that En-Netsusep destroyed them by means of a memetic weapon targeting the hive mind, which caused them to become sessile and non-sentient organisms.

2070 AE: Return of En-Netsusep (MAG7 themselves, not their shadow.) A quick-thinking subset of the hive-mind fractures itself and is spared when En-Netsusep destroys the mother hive, but only by further splitting is it able to survive as En-Netsusep hunts down and exterminates changelings and anyone who gets in their way. All four major alicorns go MIA while delaying En-Netsusep while the EoH are brought to bear. The bearers of the EoH sacrifice themselves to destroy En-Netsusep and the elements are lost and scattered. Most of the changelings have been converted into the Crystal Forest, but some (who fractured from the hive mind, and their descendants) survive.

2071 AE - present: Postapocalyptic period - Dark Age

2936 AE: The oldest building in the Edge built 3220 AE: Founding of Trenchtown

3335 AE: Present day.

AEROPONY: Crew: EDGE AEROPONY SCHEDULE Arrivals Departures A Route from the Great Oasis Honesty, 18 Corn 3335 AE 10:28 A Route to Trenchtown Honesty, 18 Corn 3335 AE 13:00 C Route from Trenchtown Laughter, 21 Corn 3335 AE 10:05 C Route to the Great Oasis Laughter, 21 Corn 3335 AE 12:00 A Route from the Great Oasis Magic, 22 Corn 3335 AE 10:28 A Route to Trenchtown Magic, 22 Corn 3335 AE 13:00 C Route from Trenchtown Loyalty, 25 Corn 3335 AE 10:05 C Route to the Great Oasis Loyalty, 25 Corn 3335 AE 12:00 A Route from the Great Oasis Kindness, 26 Corn 3335 AE 10:28 A Route to Trenchtown Kindness, 26 Corn 3335 AE 13:00 C Route from Trenchtown Generosity, 29 Corn 3335 AE 10:05 C Route to the Great Oasis Generosity, 29 Corn 3335 AE 12:00

The stewards usually work as 6 during the day and 2 at night, but they are all woken up for Mooring whenever it occurs. They are pegasi.

Trenchtown, Greatest city in the dusts

National Anthem: “Onward, little ponies!” Please rise for the municipal anthem...

CRYSTAL FOREST, CATASTROPHE, CHRONOLOGY COSMOLOGY Princess Celestia and Luna’s control over the heavenly bodies ended with their deaths or sequestration; the sun and moon then reverted to their natural movements. This feature of their magical bond to the sun and moon was by design, in case of such an eventuality; securing the _natural_ motion of the sun and moon was actually one of the reasons Celestia and Luna took control of them from the unicorns generally in the first place.

DRINK THE SPACE MEAD BEFORE VISITING THE BOREAL EYE Otherwise bad things might happen.

-- BAT PONIES "-slightly reduced faculty with pegasus magic -strong uncanny valley effect when compared to non-batpony ponies -/+enhanced hearing in terms of both gain and frequency range (useful in general and needed for echolocation but increases vulnerability to sonic attack) +vocal system capable of producing echolocation pings outside the normal pony vocal and hearing ranges, brain set to process echolocation data +enhanced low-light vision and fast-acting slit pupils (less vulnerability to sudden changes in lighting) +enhanced reflexes/dexterity +suction/injection fangs and nonproductive venom sacs capable of storing a variety of liquids"

The Element of Honesty is secured in a machine that allows visions to be daguerreotyped. Since the players do not have the plates necessary, and since most of the photos Queen Meridian took were removed, this is pretty much just for decoration and exposition.

CHANGELINGS. (Present-day) Typical hive size: mean 12 individuals st.dev. 4. Typical magic level: individual 2, hive 3 (sometimes 4, larger hives)

Contemporary modes of operation: some changeling families (mini-hives) live openly as changelings (although usually in pony form, to make it easier to get love directed at them), some try to survive on 3rd party love with cloaking (mostly larger hives who have sufficiently efficient cloaking, uncommon), others live secretly as ponies but do not behave malevolently per se (in the disorganized postapocalyptic world, there is nothing unusual about a new pony showing up in town with no official identity documents, which are mostly local anyway). Another subset of changelings actively replaces ponies with their own, typically replacing children with changelings and raising the taken children. (They do not generally harm the children kidnapped, because they are a source of love.) Finally, feral or beastial changelings, sometimes surviving individuals not associated with a hive mind, which may also be intellectually undeveloped, will kill sentient beings and devour their love. Most such changelings have been killed since the apocalypse.

Changelings can hibernate as an alternative to starvation, but many who might have survived the apocalypse by doing so did not in the hope that their situation would soon change (by the reformation of the hive mind) or out of fear that they would be found and destroyed while hibernating.

Changeling reproduction is via a queen, which most of the mini-hives are not large enough to support. Fecundity in the post-apocalyptic milieu is low because in general hatchlings do not survive - the ‘software’ for their developmental program was lost with the Mother Hive. Some mini-hives have occasionally managed to partially recreate this and have had progeny survive, but they are often defective and have low long-term survival rates. An alternative theoretical means of changeling reproduction is to assimilate other beings, but this technology has been lost probably.

Changelings can fly with insect-like wings, and bite with their formidable fangs. The fangs and wings can be easily deployed even from a transformed pony form, although they would require explicit cloaking to avoid being conspicuous evidence of changelinghood. (And a flying earth pony is still apt to be questioned.) Changelings can perform pony-type-specific magic in the appropriate form, and can perform their normal changeling magic, which relates mainly to disguise and love-acquisition, in any form or their native form. Changeling queens have more versatile native magic.

The tower of chimes is a sort of towers of hanoi thing (although very clockpunk and sonic-magical, there shuld be a shadhavar connection - perhaps it is a huge artificial shadhavar horn using a piece of crystal forest they are modifying and propagating as the ersatz-hornstar). Counting down to the end of the world or something. Or maybe the tower is mainly there to understand - perhaps even control - the growth of the crystal forest. Yeah, that’s cool, let’s go with that.

TOWER OF CHIMES

CRYSTAL FOREST: This is a sessile autotroph made of fused changelings reconfigured by the memetic virus of En-Netsusep. It grows like a plant in the sun and its growth is retarded by water. Collectively, the crystal forest still has the network connection of its hive mind - it just doesn’t have any sentient thoughts of its own except thoughts of the virus (sort of an al-zahir for it).

Many changeling mini-hives are aware of the basic nature of the crystal forest, although it’s not something they discuss with outsiders, as they are afraid it might lead them to attack the crystal forest. Many changelings believe (correctly, as it happens) that the crystal forest still contains the trapped memories of all the changelings who died in the periapocalyptic period and it is sort of sacred to them.

The changelings have greeted the recent expansion of the crystal forest with ambivalence - hope that it portends something positive, but fear that it will draw the attention of non-changelings to the forest, and in particular that it might lead them to destroy it, to unknown consequences.

Changelings who go into the crystal forest (which is just as hazardous for them as for other creatures, although they are on average better equipped to survive its rigors) sometimes report hearing the thoughts of others who have done the same thing, sporadically.

The crystal forest is hazardous to enter. It contains “changed” wildlife which is vicious and unusually fast and tough. The forest is also unnaturally cold and dry.

EN-NETSUSEP A dead god, once worshiped by the Shadhavar in the Dread Dimensions, the corpse of which lies in the abyssal trenches of the Dusts, where it fell after its apocalyptic battle with the Elements of Harmony and their bearers. En-Netsusep is dead and will stay dead. He will not rise again when the stars are right. He will not be resurrected by cultists. He will not reincarnate. He’s not pining for the outer planes, and he’s not passed on either, ‘cuz he never had a soul. This is an ex-deity. However, like a cosmic whale-fall, the corpse of En-Netsusep has allowed the Trench Horrors to breed and proliferate.

En-Netsusep was a huge, dragon-like creature, styled “Bane of the Subtle” and “Manifold Scourge of Deceivers.”

THE SUN Luminous magical sphere (dimensions, orbit etc TBD) orbiting Equus outside the orbit of the moon, and of similar (somewhat larger) size. the sun is diameter is 280075 km distance is 28000000 km sun natural orbital period: 57.078 years !! The universe is centered on Equus, a nearly perfect sphere of mixed rock and cavities with a diameter of 12,400,080 meters at the equator. (slightly smaller than earth.) The planet has an average density of 5.5g/cm^{3 (slightly lower than earth) The mass of Equus is 5.49x10}24 kg.

Equus is orbited by the Moon, a rocky spherical body of 1811km radius at a distance of 383,600 km from Equus. Its orbital period is 30 days because of magical forces between it and Equus. Its mass is 9.64x10^{12 kg for a density of 3.1g/cm}2. It may be partially hollow.

Equus is also orbited by the Sun, a gaseous spherical body of 280075 km diameter, the distance is 28000000 km from Equus. Its orbital period is 360 days (rather than many years) because of magical forces between it and Equus.

equus gravitational parameter: 274962 moon natural orbital period: 32.95 days

mass 4.12x10^24 kg the moon is 383,600 km from Equus and 1811 km in diameter.

THE MOON Luminous magical sphere orbiting Equus inside the orbit of the sun, and of similar but somewhat smaller size.

THE BOREAL EYE (Space station) A derelict space station orbiting Equus, inside the orbit of the moon, in a polar orbit. It is overgrown with crystal forest, as many of the crew were changelings. They were, in fact, the first to be so affected, as En Netsusep encountered them first in approaching Equus.

The Boreal Eye is the name used by a religious movement which worships it. “The Great Eye watches and judges.”

THE EDGE (Town) A pony settlement on the edge of the cliffs, located near a favorable path to ascend or descend the cliffside. Founded in 2936, It is comparatively prosperous for its era. The economy is based on trade (45%), light industry mainly in support of agriculture (25%), services (20%), and agriculture (10%) predominantly of herbs and vegetables. It is governed by a democratically elected mayor, currently Parchment Scroll III. Inhabitants are eligible to vote after one year of residence.

TRENCHTOWN (Town) A pony settlement near an abyssal trench. Founded in 3280 AE, it has a fairly austere but reliable standard of living. The economy is based on the hunting and processing of Trench Whales (45%), industry (35%), trade (15%) and services (5%). The Premier of Trenchtown is Train Oil, an “earth pony” (Actually a changeling.) The minister of science and industry is a “unicorn,” Sky Glow. (Also actually a changeling.) The minister of natural resources is Captain Pinehoof, a pegasus. (Trenchtown has contested primary elections but is a one-party state under the Progressive Ponyist Party and is generally oligarchical.

Trenchtown is, as one might expect, administered mostly for the love-farming efforts of its resident changeling hive (21 individuals). Ironically, a strict policy of forbidding changelings from Trenchtown is in effect, with much hilariously ineffective security theater at entrances to the town. (Completely ignoring for example the fact that most changelings can fly and many can turn invisible, information which is suppressed by the government.)

DAVERWOODS (Village) A fungus gnome settlement, quite ancient, founded in 150 BE, attributed to The Mystic Moochick. It has a small population who enjoy an idyllic life among the pines of the Daverwood, which were protected in the periapocalyptic period by the primal magic of the fungus gnomes. They trade with ponies (although they are self-sufficient in necessities). Medicines, magical items and luxury goods are the main exports; imports are tools and finished metal goods and fine foods. (Fungus gnomes can live on pine nuts alone, but do not want to!) The leader of the village is a fungus gnome, The Elder Eastmumsie the Everliving. The senior apothecary, and deputy leader is The Learned Leatherbean. Eastmumsie is dying due to the side effects of the spell she cast on the Element of Loyalty, and is expected to name a successor within the next few decades.

PENNA PLAIN (Village) An agricultural pony settlement, founded in 2950 AE effectively in support of the Edge, its primary trading partner. Economy is based on agriculture and export of agricultural products, with a small amount of services, light and cottage industries. The farms are privately owned by established families, several of which trace their origins to the founding of Edge. Community matters are handled by the Penna Grange, the Master of which is elected by the heads of the landholding families every year, and customarily rotates between them. The incumbent in 3335 is Spade Plough.

RUINS OF FINOPOLIS (Abandoned seapony city) This city, situated on a former reef before the oceans fell, was inhabited by sea ponies of the second race, immigrants from the dread dimensions. (Imported by the Equestrian Republic in the late 20th century AE.) It was a significant local city, pleasant and prosperous, sustainably supported by the riches of the sea. It was destroyed by the Shadow of En-Netsusep, and never recovered; when the seas fell, it was wholly abandoned.

There is a statue of Eldritch Lore in the ruins of the Memorial Library of Finopolis, bearing the inscription: “ELDRITCH LORE. Loremaster of the Arcane Helix (date). Illustrious Ancestor of all of the Second Race of Seaponies and Patroness of Learning.” (The books in the great library are, of course, waterproof.)

TRENCH WHALE (syn. TRENCH HORROR) (Animal) The adult, reproductive phase of life of an organism native to the Dread Dimensions. When En-Netsusep perished, his scales had eggs of Trench Whales on them, which would have been removed by normal hygiene. When he was killed, though, the eggs were able to hatch and the trench whale larvae burrowed into the corpse. After many centuries, they are starting to emerge from their metamorphosis as gas-filled pelagic trench-whales. The trench whales have been spawning and releasing eggs, but there are no suitable hosts. (A trench whale egg is about 2cm across and would certainly not remain attached to a pony long enough to hatch, nor would a dead pony be sufficient nourishment for it to reach adulthood by about 3 orders of magnitude.)

The trench whale is lofted by flammable gas (hydrogen with traces of hydrocarbons) and its flesh contains valuable oil and chemical industry feedstock (coal tar like substances.)

IRONGATE Newcloven - a goat engineer who has built solar-powered steam engines in Irongate. Ore Well - a unicorn highly critical of Trenchtown.

TRAIN OIL Premier of Trenchtown. An Earth Pony. She’s young, fat and greasy. The daughter of Olive Oil and the revolutionary Wild Strike, “Beloved Guide of the Revolution”. Trail Oil is mostly the puppet of several ministers who are actually changelings, with whom Wild Strike made a deal to support the ponyist revolution in exchange for such positions. Before his death, Wild Strike did everything in his power to ensure that power passed to his only child instead of to the changeling ministers. He sought the council of Eastmumsie the Everliving and received from her the Element of Loyalty, which had been sitting in Eastmumsie’s potato bin since the 25th century. Eastmumsie did this because she distrusts the changelings and sees trenchtown as a resurgence of the paradigm that led to the Catastrophe. Eastmumsie cast a spell to “turn the Element inside out” and make people loyal to the bearer, as well as binding it to the young Train Oil and any future descendents. Thus, the Changelings are unable to assassinate or overtly harm Train Oil; the changelings have settled into the idea of waiting for her to die of natural causes without children (which they facilitate by providing abundant doughnuts) but she doesn’t know that. Another factor is that Eastmumsie’s spell will eventually run out (to change the true nature of the EoH is far outside even Eastmumsie’s abilities) and leave Train Oil vulnerable. An act of gross disloyalty on her part could immediately sever the bond as well. Train Oil is a pale pink pony with brown eyes and the cutie mark of a brown doughnut. Her special talent is making doughnuts, but the ministers have convinced her that it is eating them, not making them. She wears the Element of Loyalty as an ever-present necklace; it is in the form of a red torus (to match her cutie mark while remaining ambiguous.) It being magical, it does _not_ dig into her fat neck, which might be a subtle tipoff as to its nature since her other clothes are ill-fitting.

--

ELEMENTS OF HARMONY: Kindness - Owen - Discolor (Batpony) Laughter - Nate - Sugar Shock (Unicorn) Generosity - Jelle - Ivy League (Earth) Honesty - Jon - (??) Magic - Winston - Emerald Hues (Unicorn) Loyalty - Lauren - Sprocket Torque (Mechanical Pegasus)

Each EoH is currently in a situation or with a master reflecting a distortion of its quality. The physical incarnations of the elements were twisted by En-Netsusep in the final battle, bringing about this situation, and the bearers scattered the elements themselves, contrary to popular belief, in an attempt to prevent them being reunited and bringing about the end of the world. Twilight Sparkle could not destroy or (in her weakened state) repair the elements, so instead she cast a spell to scatter them to the far corners of Equus. Unfortunately, she died before explaining that to anypony, and so instead of them being individually found and purged, the Dark Age happened. The elements, however, are still drawn together by the forces of destiny, and over long centuries they have all come to be within the Dusts. The party will at some point presumably be deliberately trying to reunite them.

The Twisted Elements can’t be successfully used to save the world; they need to be purified first. Unpurified elements will: destroy the crystal forest (rather than turning it back into Changelings); and flood the world (rather than bringing back an appropriate quantity of water gradually), not to mention their potentially negative influence on their bearers.

The elements will need to be purified before proper use. An act exemplifying the true nature of the element by the bearer will purify it.

Reverse chronological order vision seen by ponies:

• World melting Elements used Individual element vision showing where the element is.

Laughter - malicious prankster - probably a lesser draconequus. Seapony ruins near the edge. Honesty - YOU CANNOT COMPREHEND THE TRUE FORM, so look at it anyway! Sucks to be you. Also nopony loves you and you are not as cute as the other ponies. Divination gone wrong in New Canterlot, on the islands NW of the Western Dusts. Maybe a total perspective vortex like thing?

Loyalty - police state? probably Trenchtown. stubborn affection for a concept (and bound by Eastmumsie, see above)

Kindness - love-bombing cultists in Docktown.

Magic - some kind of dark, lonely sorcery. Possibly the tower of chimes.

Generosity - some sort of lotus eater machine gives ponies everything they ever wanted in the idyllic countryside of one of the more distant Hayminnow Islands

(New Canterlot theme: War is Coming, Epic Score.) New Canterlot - settlement NW of the Western Dusts, near the Lake (it’s called simply “the Lake,” for it has no substantial competitors), ruled by Daybreak, Prince of the Morning Star (Pegasus, grey-blue coat, black mane), and Nightfall, Princess of the Evening Star (Unicorn, purple coat, white mane). Daybreak and Nightfall are the children of Queen Meridian (Pegacorn, yellow coat, white mane), who is insane and not fit to rule; Daybreak and Nightfall rule jointly in her stead.

New Canterlot was a cloistered wizard-state founded sixty years after the Catastrophe around the tower of Bluestar the Brilliant, great-grandfather of Queen Meridian. Its cloister fell five hundred years ago after the death of Bluestar, who was suffering from advanced complications of pseudo-immortality. It was spared the worst of the Dark Age, due to the cloister and its geographical isolation, but for the latter reason, trade is still not extensive and New Canterlot and its dependencies are mostly self-sufficient.

Queen Meridian went insane from using the Twisted element of Honesty for divination, seeing the ruin of her kingdom and the apparently-inevitable slow death of the world.

The TE Honesty is in the form of a crystal apple, kept in the Liminal Keep, in a transparent dome under the lake, connected to the castle by an underground passage. Anyone who stares into it will see visions of the future. If any of the PCs do so, they will see the general location of the world being violently remade, the use of the elements of harmony, and the general location of their element. The way to TE honesty will is protected by some puzzles.

Against the wishes of Daybreak, Nightfall has been secretly consulting the TEH, and is very overstressed about what she has seen. She has seen the identities of the player characters, and believes that they can somehow prevent the death of the world, but she does not know how.

Nightfall sends for each of the player characters with letters (or a messenger) under various pretenses. They are to travel to the Edge, where they will meet a pegasus-cart-based transport (a relic of the golden age) to take them to New Canterlot.

In accordance with the Law of Adventure, their vehicle will be attacked and destroyed by the Wirewind above the crystal forest (the crystal forest, through the fog of its clouded hive-mind, can nontheless foresee the threat the Twisted Elements present to it), leaving them stranded south of the Hoofmount (the westernmost peak of the Dusty Mountains), near the abandoned ruins of a golden-age city, mostly covered by dusts and scrubbrush. It nontheless affords some shelter... which is why there are monsters infesting it. Perhaps they wake up in the actual crystal forest to receive their visions?

The party can bond and make their way north to New Canterlot, where they will be cautiously welcomed by Daybreak, who will explain that his sister has got a little batty, like their mother, and that is why she probably sent out the letters. Although he will be hospitable and even wish to compensate them for their trouble, he will initially expect the players to move on quickly. (If they show signs of actually doing so, a dissident hoofmaiden of Nightfall, Twinkle Star, might rein them in.)

They can then proceed to investigate the nature and circumstances of Nightfall’s, and her mother’s, madness; through a combination of talking to ponies and investigating the setting, they should be able to make their way to the crystal apple artifact of Honesty. It will go with the pony who is the element of Honesty. Sneaking it out of New Canterlot has no particular effect, but openly telling Daybreak about it (he will grant permission of them to take it) will Purify the element. The purified element is no good for divination.

In either case, they will be opposed by Evil Vizier (tm) Night Shade and her acolyte Shadow Veil. Night Shade is a changeling who has also looked into the TEH and seen the destruction of the crystal forest. She has foreseen the party’s actions as well, and will thus intercept them _after_ they have helpfully removed the TEH from New Canterlot, when the are isolated but near the crystal forest.

Bosses: New Canterlot (Honesty, Unnamed Zebra, LG)

• Boss: Night Shade (changeling mage f LN), Shadow Veil (changeling f LN).

After New Canterlot, they could go to: Trenchtown (Loyalty, Sprocket Torque, LN)

• Boss: Ministers of Train Oil (changelings, various NN)

Docktown (Kindness, Discolor, NG)

• Boss: Millennial Dawn (unicorn healer, f, NE; magical ventriloquism), cultists This is a poor people cult (M. Dawn herself is somewhat more sophisticated) with lots of “miracles” and enthusiasm. MD is a former mostly white collar criminal, now allegedly on the straight and narrow.

Ruins of Finniopolis (Laughter, Sugar Shock, LG)

• Boss: Clamor (draconequus, m, CE) <- maybe Clatter?

Hayminnow Islands (Generosity, Ivy League, CN)

• Boss: Narein (zebra alchemist, m, NE) and minions

Any order is fine. the sun is diameter is 280075 km distance is 28000000 km the moon is 383,600 km from Equus and 1811 km in diameter. the boreal eye is 1500 m in diameter and orbits Equus at a distance of 3000 km. It After gathering all the others, Tower of Chimes (Magic, Emerald Hues, NN)

• Boss: Starsong (shadhavar wizard, m, CN), the crystal choir (v).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/The_Belfry_Ghent.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salzburg_Glockenspiel_01.jpg

The Tower of Chimes monks/nuns became interested in steampunkish technology after the collapse of technological civilization. When was the ToC founded? After the cataclysm?

Tower of Chimes Puzzle Riddle

Under the light of the sun at noon, (lines unknown to the shadhavar above) Under the face of the elder moon, Seen by five stars set by rune, and locked away by their ancient tune, (lines below unknown to the shadhavar) to save the world from an end too soon, (missing lines from all copies below) Under the light of the sun at noon - refers to the time of day at which the tune must be played, solar noon with the sun at zenith. Over the shine of the elder moon - refers to the position of the moon at which the tune must be played (when it is directly opposite the sun, at nadir in this case) Seen by five stars set in runes - refers to the starlight that must fall on the stone locked away by their ancient tune - refers to the music that must be played etc. to save the world from an end too soon <- note that the poem actually says the element was locked away to PREVENT the premature end of the world!! longitude: 144 18 17 latitude: 0 40 29 altitude: 1029.0026 fixed on the night of 3 Corn 87, being 26 minutes past the 6th hour of the Night. This monument placed by order of Princess Luna, 87th year of Equestria, Month of Corn, 3rd day. Whosoever finds this monument in disrepair and sets it right and true shall be welcome at her table; but whosoever molests this monument shall be cursed forever and driven from all the land that is under the light of the stars.

The mass of Equus is 5.4x10^24 kg.

Loss of elements - Twilight, the only bearer still alive after the defeat of En-Netsusep, realized the elements had been twisted and that there was no living mage able to purify them, as she was too weak and was dying already, so she cast a spell to scatter the other five elements, intending to take the element of magic to her apprentice Star Cluster for safe-keeping. Unfortunately, after telepathically messaging Star Cluster, Twilight succumbed to her injuries and fell into the water into which En-Netsusep fell, her body getting sucked into the Dread Dimensions eventually.

Star Cluster (and Spike) spent nearly fifty years looking for it, before recovering it from the Shadhavar. Star Cluster returned it to Equus, settling in the Dusts. She joined a society of cloistered magi in the Tower of Chimes, who safeguarded the Element for centuries, before it was tracked down by Starsong, who took over the Tower.

PUZZLES - TOWER OF CHIMES The Twisted Element of Magic is within the Tower of Chimes. It is locked in a reliquary, into which it was put by Star Cluster, Twilight Sparkle’s apprentice, who retrieved it from the Dread Dimensions from the Shadhavar who had found it there. The reliquary was made by the original order of magi who also built the tower of chimes.

Star Cluster knew that the Element was corrupted, but was unable to purify it, and believed that no mage able to do so would arise for many years. Knowing what harm it could inflict, she sealed the Reliquary with a musico-astronomical lock. The Reliquary can only be opened when the sun is at the zenith (Thus it can only be opened in the tropics, and only within the ‘lunar tropics’ as well) simultaneously, producing a solar eclipse of sufficient duration for the whole key-song to play. The element is also now built into the Tower of Chimes in its reliquary, for security.

The tower of chimes musical equipment can be used to play the key-song, although in principle another musical instrument could be used. Similarly, the reliquary does not have to be in the tower of chimes, any location with a suitably long eclipse could be workable.

The Element is located near the bottom of the central tower, set into its (modified) foundations, with a long tube above it allowing sunlight to fall on it twice per year, when the sun is at zenith. Diameter of the pipe: 50 cm. Length of pipe: 30m. 0.4774537773095774 degrees

• Viewing angle of pipe: 0°28’39”.

INTERESTING POSSIBLE COMPLICATION: perhaps the eclipse came and went without the box being unlocked due to the Shadhavar takeover. The puzzle would then require taking it out of the tower and putting it somewhere with an appropriate eclipse.

ALTERNATE IDEA: The box can be opened twice a year (on the sun-at-zenith days at the ToC) but requires alignment toward specific stars and possibly the moon, which can be effected with an adjustable mount. This would require the players to figure out the astronomy, because the stars cannot be looked for during the day, their positions would have to be predicted. > Why wouldn’t Star Cluster have told someone the stars before she died? Perhaps she had a falling out with the abbot of the tower over the occasion of opening (he wanted to open it for somepony she thought was a charlatan) >The music code was known to them (they built the lock) but was destroyed by the last abbotess in the Shadhavar takeover to prevent it falling into the wrong hooves. >The shadhavar have since been working on figuring out the musical code, using their expertise and the equipment in the ToC.

COMPLICATIONS OF SHADHAVAR DIET The shadhavar are obligate carnivores. In the past, the monks in the tower would collect fruit and vegetable offerings from eahc village round about the Tower that would be left for them on an offering stone to minimize the need to interact (in accordance with their enclosure.) However, these offerings have gone untouched for many years now, and have been reduced to a token custom by the villages.

-- Maybe the ponies somewhere have a literal underground railroad, built pre-catastrophe, now used to bypass wasteland or expanded everfree on the old equestrian continent?

-- some kind of theater organ or player piano puzzle (maybe that’s how the ToC works)

-- pneumatic amplifiers

-- Pony legends relating to the constellations identify each one with an element of harmony.