Blah blah

It is around noon, 19 Seeds 3337 AE.

It has been about 18 months since you turned the White Army somewhere East of Nevershyed. They have been eventful months, and some of them you have spent together, effecting the purge of the crystal forest from Equus. The changelings on Equus have been either banished from this universe altogether, or agreed to be altered by the Elements to have pony-like empathy and value the existence of other sentient life. Most of the changelings within the crystal forest opted for the former solution, but most of the lone changelings and small hives still living on Equus went for the latter, often adopting new, more colorful appearances for their basic forms, living openly in symbiosis with others. It seems change is in the air - rains have become more frequent of late, and farmers are expecting bumper crops all over the Isle of Yore. The new state of Harmonia held its first presidential elections, with Numinous Spirit narrowly winning over Baron Geldbit. Construction of a Northern Friendship Railway connecting the Northeast with New Equestria and elsewhere, is well underway.

It may have been a few weeks or months since you have seen some of the other Bearers. This day finds you gathered at the Hues' country house outside of Sparkle City, to celebrate the wedding of one of your number, Gabrio, to his long-time fiance, Merihu. The wedding preparations have been of a somewhat singular character, involving, among other things, the ritual hunt of a giant worm-like creature, which has been butchered and prepared for the feasting of carnivorous guests - in a special outdoor food preparation area, at the insistence of the Hues' cook who wouldn't have such things in the kitchen.

The noontime sky overhead is partly cloudy - a phenomenon that was rare for most of your lives, but which is becoming increasingly common in recent months. Guests are arriving, and the ceremony will commence this afternoon.

The party debates how exactly to approach the White Island army to deploy the Elements. Some are in favor of feigning negotiation to get close, but others oppose using deception. A plan is finally decided on in which the party and Libby will use the AEC to fly somewhat close to the approaching army, teleport into range to deploy the Elements, teleport back to the waiting AEC, and escape.

- stone the cloaked mare

Mention the toss-up with RBO purge. !! !! !!

Akasha will be adventuring.

Shadow would be headed back to the Black Mountains to visit family and Akasha and Qotho would be invited.

Discolor: Continue working on the relationship with Lofty, and if it's working for both of them, continue it. Sort out her living situation; as I mentioned, I was thinking perhaps an estate near Sparkle City, if things work out.

Emerald - Most importantly to her, giving birth and raising a foal.

Qotho would still like to continue adventuring and traveling, most likely with Akasha.

MUSIC: The world is safe, Snake charmer

1 Gourds 3359

Dear Akasha and Qotho,

---

1 Gourds 3359

Dear Emerald,

Your friend,

Dear Discolor,

Dear Gabrio and Merihu,

There were deserts before the Catastrophe, are there are deserts still on Equus, though every year the vegetation expands, driving them back into their precatastrophic ranges. Legend says that the oldest of these is the Nameless Desert. Once the heart of ancient Ponylon, supposed to be the first Equine civilization, legends say it was cursed for the hubris and impiety of its monarchs, doomed to be forever barren. Some wind-blasted ruins break the surface of of the sand, but the train passes too fast for you to get a good look at them. Before long, the endless shifting dunes will cover them again.

"Final station for this train is the Tower of the Curatrix. Arriving on time in five minutes at eleven forty-five," says a disembodied voice overhead. Apart from your party, there are only two other ponies still in this car, a pair of curates in pointed hats who are keeping to themselves. They must have some business with the curatrix, or perhaps just with one of her staff at the Tower. Harmonia has wasted no time in reestablishing an orderly system of magical law, despite resistance to the idea from some, typically those who had long wielded the power of magic unscrupulously over those who lacked it.

The train pulls into a small station. You step out onto the elevated platform, the midday sun bright overhead. A hundred meters away, a tower rises from the desert. It's about six stories, somewhat stout as these things go - there are sconces whose archmagi have taller towers, and a dozen buildings in the new capital outclass it in height. Ah, well, none of those buildings have alicorn princesses sitting in them. The tower is surrounded by an island of greenery, drawn from the desert by alicorn magic.

(AKASHA IF ARRIVING SEPARATELY)

An aide on the platform walks up to meet you. The walk back is quiet - he knows why you are there, and it is not an occasion to make chipper comments on the state of Harmonian magical law or on the tower's groundskeeping, the sort of small talk he might make with visitors. You walk into the tower. Arches of rough-hewn standstone tower overhead. The doors are bronze, cast with Neo-Ponylonian geometric motifs. Impressive, but not grandiose, to the casual observer. A keener eye realizes that the whole structure is magic-made, grown with spellcraft and alchemy, its imitation of traditional materials and construction methods as much a subtle expression of magical mastery as an aesthetic choice.

The formal audience chamber is empty, except for a cleaning golem. The curatrix, Princess Nova, has kept her schedule clear today. You pass a stained-glass window depicting the turning of the White Army by the Elements of Harmony, and the signing of the Northern Friendship Treaty. The aide opens a door for you, into the private study.

It is a large room, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Shelves of books line the walls, where they are not covered by charts and maps. Light is admitted through the wall opposite the entrance, which is made of small glass bricks of various shapes. In front of them is a desk. A white alicorn sits there, still known privately to her friends not as Princess Nova, but by the nick-name you gave her years ago - Libby.

...

Libby will talk to the party a little before taking them out of the tower. She is in a somewhat somber mood. She will mention Flint as her husband (e.g. if asked where Flint is, 'my husband is already visiting Elly.')

You walk out of the sandstone halls of the Tower, and into the surrounding gardens. You pass the occasional statue - some ancient ones recovered from the ruins, others more recent, mostly ponies. A few camels, some other creatures. Many well-watered and carefully groomed plants. You reach a residential structure, about 150 meters away from the tower, a two-storey building in an architectural style consistent with the Tower itself. Libby knocks at the door, and Flint Spark answers. They embrace briefly, and you enter.

Elly has grown slightly from Libby in appearance; her mane is different, she's a bit heavier than her sister. They're both a little taller than when you first saw them over twenty years ago, but don't appear to have any signs of aging. Looking at Elly, it's easy to forget why you're here - she looks as physically healthy and youthful as the last time you saw her, though her eyes are a little red. She is sitting on the floor of her parlour, surrounded by stacks of books, dusty boxes containing some combination of priceless relics and tokens of mere sentimental value. Flint and Libby both sit down next to her, and exchange nuzzles. Flint doesn't look as young as he used to, but he's either aged very well or has been partaking lightly of some magical life-extension measures. Hard to tell.

... Ghosts of Things to Come, The Last Man, Stay With Me

Elly has her memoirs, which she wishes Akasha to edit and publish ("don't leave out the parts when I was a jerk.") She also has research notes for Emerald, "for the Hues' archive," and a box of books. She's leaving most of the books from her adventures to the Senatorial Library in New Ponylon, but has a few that might be of more particular interest to the family. She has some souvenirs of their shared adventures for Akasha, Shadow, Qotho. She gives the antimagic sword, Spelltaker, to Gabrio, though she acknowledges that swords are not really his thing, it would just end up sitting in a box in the basement of the National Museum otherwise and she wants him to have it. (It protects against magic.)

She will talk a bit with the party members, before telling them that she wants them to see something else.

Her symptoms, if asked about : mainly memory loss and difficulty thinking clearly sometimes.

She will send everyone but Emerald and Libby away with Flint, asking Flint to take them to 'the ruins site' - she has something she'd like them to see there. When they are gone, Elly and Emerald will switch bodies and travel separately to the portal. They might explain that at this point, the body switching thing.

The site, underground:

After a short journey across the desert sands by an open-topped automotive of some sort, you reach a cluster of temporary buildings. They surround something that looks like a mine shaft. There are a gaggle of ponies around, all wearing the vestments of the Innominate Curacy. They seem to be expecting your arrival, and watch you as you reach the elevator at the top of the shaft. You descend into darkness...

The elevator reaches the bottom. Your eyes have adjusted, and when you step out, you find yourself in a scene of ruined grandeur. Ancient ruins of fallen Ponylon all around you, the subterranean vaults of some great palace or temple now covered by sands above. There are great statues of Ponylonian kings and queens, supporting the great arched ceiling with their strong backs. Each of their stone hooves is twice the size of a living pony.

There to meet you is Glassy Fracture, still in the service of Elly and Libby, though in a different capacity now. She greets you.

There are a number of other ponies around, some of them quite formidable-looking security types.

Some of the technicians are setting up other DP artifacts and equipment to monitor them.

...

Glassy will explain that these ruins are at a nexus of ley lines that were shaped by earth pony ritual magic, to protect this space from... certain kinds of intrusion. She will stall pretty much until Libby, Elly (in Emerald) and Emerald (in Elly's body) arrive. At that point, Libby will explain that Elly has unfinished business in the Dread Dimensions, and will be leaving forthwith via a one-way single-pony portal.

'Friends. Together, you've protected Equus and its peoples from many threats in the last two decades. My sister and I have been honored to assist you in some of these cases. You turned back the White Army, and saved us from the Crystal Forest. You brought peace between ponies and good-hearted changelings. But the sword of the Dread Pantheon still hangs over Equus. And over my sister and I in particular. We have developed a plan to remove this threat, but it will require somepony to travel to the Dread Dimensions to execute her part of it. Somepony who will very quickly come to the notice of the Dread Pantheon in the course of its execute. Thanks to Scion, well, it might as well be me. If this works, you'll know soon enough. Goodbye.'

Death is a Disease, First Snow, Together We Will Live Forever

Death is the Road to Awe,

HorVall?

Victory Is in Our Grasp

Someday I'll Be Redeemed - Atonement Damnum et Triumphus

Closing Narration:

You returned to your homes and families, continuing to keep in touch. It is a time for reflection, for all of you. Perhaps a time of sharing stories with children who are now old enough to hear them, or of retelling them now that they're old enough to really understand them. You will see each other again, many times in the coming years, as friends and as the Elements, addressing the needs of a recovering world, and showing the power of friendship to all the peoples of Equus.

GMEnding (last edited 2018-04-20 03:26:23 by Bryce)