"Paradise Estate Lost"
In the heart of old Ponyland there was a fertile valley not very far from the coast of the Ocean of Dreams. It was once a serene place of such bucolic pleasures that the ponies who lived there even called it Paradise. Over many years they planted vineyards and built handsome buildings out of the lovely rose-streaked marble blocks they salvaged from the ancient buildings found under every odd hillock in their peaceful valley. Generation after generation grew old in the evening shadow of the great mountain at the head of the valley. But then, one night (639, LP aged 41), the idyllic merriment of a Summer's evening was cut short by a thunderous roar that shook the earth and froze the blood of the little ponies. From the mountain, an incandescent column rose to pierce the sky, as burning stone fell like rain. By morning, Paradise was no more, buried deep under volcanic ash.
Of those who survived the cataclysm, only one ever returned to that place, the old Pegasus mare Lady Paradise, who had been the feudal ruler of the valley. For a long time, she lived alone among the blasted ruins, belligerent to passerby and of unsound mind, but no one has seen her in a generation. (died 672, aged 74)
(691) You are residents of a nearby hamlet, established (643) some years after the rumblings of the mountain ceased. (640) Some young ponies from your community have gone missing, and a sibling of one said that her brother and his friends went to explore an old castle in the wastes of the valley, the young adventurers drawn by rumors of haunted ruins and buried treasures like flies to honey. Making modest preparations, you set off for the valley, and arrive around sundown...
Ponies for the one-off: Your pony will be a villager looking for some missing foals. Use the pony namer to generate a villager on your own this time: http://ferazelhosting.net/cgi-bin/ponyname2.py The date is 6 Heat 691.
Foal names: Two Flute (unicorn son of specialist smith / drill-bit maker,) Stranger Danger (earth pony daughter of prostitute), Potato Masher (earth pony son of farmer), Thistleglow (unicorn daughter of hedge mage, fillyfriend to Potato Masher), Turnip Tiller (earth pony son of farmer)
-- Find book of Horrors and have it taken to Dream Castle, where it will be secure. Jurisdiction: Archmagical Sconce of Dream Valley
In Paradise estate, the Lady Paradise became custodian of the Book of Horrors, a terrible artifact describing That which Little Ponies should not Know, found in the old ruins she had dug up to provide building materials for expanding the swimming pool.
She became fascinated with the eldritch tome, supposedly owned by a Queen Majesty ################ Unfortunately, LP was not careful with the BoH, and unleashed a volcanic cataclysm. In her escape (wings and all) she lost the BoH. Returned, wracked with guilt, she tried for years to find it, unable to enlist any help because of not wanting to accept responsibility for it.
LP dug a mess of tunnels through the volcanic ash, reenforcing them with often now-rotten wood, looking for the BoH, plus a bunch of holes and whatnot that are defacto pit traps. Sometimes her searching inadvertantly went below the level of (new) Paradise Estate, into the old ruins under it which had shared its volcanic fate in still more ancient times (??? BE).
In her old age (a. 74) she finally found the BoH, and undertook to bury it (and herself) in the deep ruins where it was found. This natch is where the foals have ended up, having pissed themselves in terror at the sight of Undeadish!LP and run the wrong way before being hurt too badly by the monster, who is really only guarding the book and did not pursue them when they left.
Remember to have pony-and human shaped cavities suitable for plaster casting. The foals were doing this. One of them (Thistleglow) read about doing it in a book written by Plony the Younger, "Investigations of the Ruins of Ponpei and Horsculenium",
"At the end of the ashen tunnel, you reach a larger chamber, in which a strange pink wall is partially excavated. The wall follows a gentle compound curve and appears completely monolithic, without seam or toolmark. Though dry, it has an unnatural specularity to it. The wall connects to a turquoise gate, which at first glance appears to be made of wrought metalwork, but oddly appears to have been cast of the same bizarre substance as the walls supporting it. A heart symbol surmounts the gate, which is ajar. What first appear to be huge lanterns are on either side of the gate, but they are apparently ornamental, the candles within them being cast as part of the supporting structure. Most curious."
Interior room: There is some sort of strange object on the ceiling, consisting of a ball about 10 cm diameter with blades coming out of it. The blades are blunt and completely horizontal. On the wall is a picture of an pony, who looks strange. Her features are somehow more primeval than yours, visibly nearer your ancient ancestors with an elongated muzzle and eyes further to the side of her head. Next to the pony is one of the alien bipedal creatures, with a conical frilled body (or possibly strange vestments) and a golden mane.
Guardian LP: Pegasus Barrow-wight Flesh is dry and grey, seemingly petrified like the ancient wood in the ash around you. It clutches a thick book in its hooves. Special attack: stunning touch. If the book is wrested from her she will immediately disintegrate.
Afterboss (book falls, releasing them.)
They must be defeated in order - higher numbered ones are invulnerable until lower numbered ones are defeated. Tinky-Winky, purple triangle (3), shoots blinding rays (d2 turns), hits to wound Dipsy, green phallus (1), shoots acid rats (continuing damage) Laa-laa, Yellow, bent line (2), shoots lightning Po, red circle (0), shoots fire
Cap Charge | knight | pink pegasus, purple mane, mare
<Matthew> I think I'm going with Dirty Hammer, Pink Unicorn Stallion, Yellow Mane, Laborer, going with worked as a lumber pony, placed second in the local lumber tree chopping competition last year, likes to fish in his spare time, illiterate and moderately distrustful of books
Name: Night Flight Sex: Mare Body: Black Mane: Indigo Job: Prostitute Spouse: Midnight Mistletoe, sex criminal
Nighty lacks experience with adventuring, and only joined the expedition because one of her foals was part of the group who went missing. She secretly hopes to find some way to escape her abusive husband and disfunctional marriage. She is generally loathed around town for the marital problems she helped cause, earning her bits by seducing stallions and the occasional mare with her scandalizing charm.
If we're going to get an inventory, I'm going to assume hers contains a number of sets of socks, panties and other eye-raising items.
Name: Flitter Finishmane Sex: Mare Body: Magenta Mane: Dark Blue Job: Weatherpony Spouse: Scoop Scoopby, merchant (magenta pegasus, pink mane, stallion)
Flitter is one of the small settlement's few weathermares and recently married to one of the hamlet's merchants. She's in the search party partly because of her physical hardiness and weather skill and partly because of her knowledge of the area from the air.