Ponies of Might and Magic A story about Ponies that are Heroes! “Why on earth do you think I would be crazy enough to do that?” asked Silver Sky, in mid-contemplation over his modest meal, they were in a hurry, so most of their provisions were left behind in RustHoof Town, aptly named because of the plague that hits every ten years on the towns populace. Or their rations were left to be eaten by magical forest creatures or ordinary wildlife. The only things that Silver Sky took with him were: 1. A week’s worth of food “rations”. 2. A small satchel, containing… 3. A journal, calligraphy feather pen, and 20 inks in spill-proof bottles. 4. A sleeping bag “travel”. 5. A sword, though Sky hoped he never would have to use it. Trotting Roads: “Because you are reckless Sky! Everybody knows that! Even total strangers that aren’t oblivious to rumors know you don’t worry about being hopelessly outnumbered or dangerously near death, you are your own worst enemy! I had to tell a contingent of royal elites, ELITES!!! That you were trying to slay a dragon by yourself!” Silver Sky: “I did slay that dragon, remember… he was a threat! And I did do it by myself, those glory hogs claimed they came to my aid and slayed the brute!” Trotting Roads: “Yes you did, and yeah they did claimed all the glory… but that isn’t the point, I also remember you started to have a crush on that harpy that hangs around the graveyard in RustHoof, I know more than anyone that if the other towns ponies were wandering near the graveyard and found you while you were-” Silver Sky: “Trotting Roads!” Trotting Roads: “Yes, Silver Sky?” Silver Sky: “Shut it.” The two ponies walked on in awkward silence, the sound of birds chirping magnifying as the sound of the clopping of their hooves became deafening. They were on a mountainside, facing the timber-wolf woods and rabbit meadow and lodestone valley, along with the town they just visited, RustHoof Town. The sky was clear, tinted periwinkle, the stars were beginning to come out now. Trotting Roads: “We should set up camp now…” Silver Sky: “Agreed, it is getting dark out. I’ll find us a spot.” Silver Sky is if anything a wonderful spotter, he can spot a target up to 2 miles away without a telescope, add to that the fact that he could fly, and it didn’t take long for him to find some shelter. Silver Sky: “There’s a cave just a trot uphill from here.” Trotting Roads: “okay, thanks Sky… I sure hope we have enough firewood.” But firewood was the least of their worries, as the cave they were fixing to enter wasn’t unoccupied, it was home to something far more malevolent than the two of them have ever encountered before. As Trotting Roads used her magic to ignite the cords of wood into a proper fire, Silver Sky prepared the rations for cooking. Then the two of them set up their sleeping bags and began to talk to one another. Trotting Roads: “So… remember that time we tried to steal that phoenix’s egg for a travelling merchant?” Silver Sky: “Yeah... the cliff face was so steep! And when we got to the top, there was no eggs in the nest, but the phoenix was there waiting for us, wasn’t she Trots?” That was the nickname that he gave her, and it kind of stuck. The conversation went on for a little while, but it only started to go downhill from there. Trotting Roads: “That merchant cheated us out of a deal, and only because you failed to get an egg!” Silver Sky: “well genius, if you paid attention at all for the past 5 years, there was no eggs in that nest, just a very territorial phoenix!” Trotting Roads: “I’m not stupid!” Silver Sky: “I never said you were Trots, but now that I ponder on the thought, better to keep one’s mouth shut and appear intelligent than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt...” Trotting Roads: “Ever Look in a mirror Sky?” Things continued this way, but not on their own account, they were being influenced by something, not-normal. This thing would jump back and forth between their shadows, making them hate each other where they would normally love or like. Finally the fire burned out, the two of them sitting there incensed with one another in the dark. Silver Sky: “I’m hitting the sack, you good for nothing!” Trotting Roads: “I’m hitting the hay also… Not that you care!” But their troubles were only beginning, for the unknown assailant was now closer than ever. [there is a large maze of hedgerows, the statuary looks distorted despite lacking any broken off parts or cracked areas. It’s as if the statues were warped by the very fabric of time. A dense fog covers the ground up to Trotting Road’s knees.] { Trotting Roads: “Hello? Anyone there? Eeeek! Oh it’s just a cute bunny! Come here and let me give you a big hug… huh? Ahhh!!!!” } [The bunny was hardly cute, it turned around to reveal a hideously malformed face with 7 eyes, 2 mouths with double rows of razor sharp teeth, and it had one ear bigger than the other, as well as one foot bigger than the other, and it’s skin was oozing purple slime on the bunny’s belly.] At first Trotting Roads felt sympathy, then fear, then terror. { Trotting Roads: “what happened to you? Ahhh! Get away from me!!!! Ahhh! Eeeek!” } Trotting roads woke up in a cold sweat, a terrible feeling coming over her, then she tried getting up, but she felt weighed down… like she was being smothered. Trotting roads: “Silver Sky! Heeelp!!!” [But Silver Sky was having problems of his own, a very familiar set of hedgerows, with the same strange statues and eerie fog.] { Silver Sky: “what odd statues… huh? What’s this? Is that Trotting Roads?” } [In front of Silver Sky he saw the assailant, but what he saw was an illusion the assailant created with her own body, depicting Trotting Roads in the most beautiful, seductive appearance imaginable.] { Silver Sky: “Well this is a wonderful turn of events!” } Silver Sky trotted up to her and began to make love to her, but not really, he only dreamt that he did so. And as he did so the seductress transformed into a hideous, sludge covered hulk, complete with moldy spots. {Silver Sky: “What on earth… yuck!!! Gag!!! Bleah!!! Barf!!! Gaaackkkk!!!!!”} It only was a second before Silver Sky was trotting for his life to find a water source, he found one- a shallow puddle and dove into it splayed out, trying desperately to wash. But as he did so he noticed to his horror the water had turned into black sludge. He woke in a cold sweat as well. Silver Sky: “Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!! My kingdom for a bar of soap, my world for a clean, hot bath!” The two of them came running out of the cave, more than a little freaked and grossed out. The two of them were only rescued when Diamond Stride heard their ill-fated cries. Diamond Stride: “Don’t distress, I’m coming!!!!” Diamond Stride said as he burst onto the scene. He recognized the telltale signs of his enemy, the cascading strangeness, the rising darkness, and the withering visions. Luckily for him, the enemy was not immune to his diamond hooves. The nightmare launched an attack on Diamond Stride, but he bucked with his diamond hooves, which proved more than effective. As he dodged and dove and ducked out of the way of the nightmare’s attacks, he only ran into trouble when it used it’s flaming poison laden breath. The nightmare bit down with razor sharp teeth dripping with acid. The fight wasn’t over yet, and Diamond Stride wasn’t quite dead yet, so he gave one last good kick, hoping against hope that it would kill the wretched thing. It apparently worked really well, it was all that was needed to incinerate the Nightmare into limbo. But it came at a great cost, huge acid and poison-fire burns raged across his body. One of the pony’s limbs were badly eaten away, almost to the point of not being repairable, luckily for Diamond Stride, one of the ponies he rescued knew healing magic. Trotting Roads: “Uuuuuhhaahhhh….. wha… Hey! This pony saved us! And he needs medical attention ASAP! Get over here, Silver Sky!” Silver Sky shook off the shadow holding him at the moment, and rushed to Diamond Stride’s aid. After the first aid was applied, they camped outside the cave entrance, being careful to keep the newly made campfire alive. Silver Sky: “ Is our liberator awake yet?” Trotting Roads: “Not yet, but when he does wake up I have a few questions for the hero.” Silver Sky: “Oh yeah, like what?” Trotting Roads: “Like first of all, why would he go out of his way to help the two of us? Why?” Silver Sky: “He must have his reasons… Granted, most Pegasus ponies don’t ever have associations with unicorn ponies, you and me being the exception and not the rule. Maybe he saw us and thought we were inspirational or something…“ Chapter one Make Way for Origin Silver Sky spent the earliest hours of the morning flying around the perimeter in progressively larger loops around the mountain’s airspace. Finding no threat in the immediate area, he returned to his usual flying route, when the Harpy from RustHoof town accidentally flew straight into him. Origin: “Aaaaaahhhh!!! Oomph!!!!!” Silver Sky: “Ooomph!!!! Sorry about that- Hey! Your that harpy that I met in RustHoof!!!” Origin: “Yes! And might I say, you’re not the worst pony I ever fell in love with.” Silver Sky: “I’m not!!!” Silver Sky was a little more than disconcerted by the thought that he might not be the first pony, or even the first of any prospect, that the Harpy ever fell in love with. Silver Sky: “We will be talking about this later!” Origin: “Sure thing! Wait, wha-?!” The two of them flew back to the campsite, Silver Sky was relieved to see that the other two weren’t awake yet… he wasn’t too sure how to break it to them that he was dating a harpy. But the inevitable happened, Diamond Hooves awoke, and began attacking Origin. Origin: “SQUAWK!!!!!!!! Hey!!! We are on the same side here!!! Hey!!!!!!!!!!” Trotting Roads, bleary eyed and kind of surprised, only just figured out what was going on long enough to cast a quick spell. Trotting Roads: “Mirth!!!” And like that, the fighting ceased… at least for now, as for Trotting Roads- {who was now wide awake} she had this much to say. Trotting Roads: “Is there anything else you immature scamps have to fight about? No? Then stop this nonsense!” Diamond Hooves: “Okay…” Trotting Roads: “Good. The next destination on our map is a town called New Foal Town, and an Inn called the Blue Goose, where we are supposed to meet a friend.” Silver Sky: “Isn’t that way running square through Razor Chasm?” Trotting Roads: “Y-yes but I was trying to avoid mentioning it, thanks Sky… for that wonderful picture you painted, I was hoping we could handle it when we get there, but it looks like you had other plans!” Diamond Hooves: “I’m coming with.” Everyone else: “NO!!!!!!” Diamond Hooves: “Aw come on! I didn’t kill the filthy harpy, now did I?” Origin: “Filthy?!” Silver Sky: “Shut it Diamond!!!” Trotting Roads: “Guuuuys!!!!! And harpy-“ Origin: “Squawk!” Trotting Roads: “Mmm…Yes well, we won’t get anywhere if we keep fighting like this!” !! Razor Chasm !! Watch Your Step Origin: “Well, that’s kinda’ obvious, what a stupid sign!” Trotting Roads: “Hey, it isn’t stupid! It points out the obvious, just in case…” Chapter Eighteen White Noise Basin So... any ideas? I will be happy with any help/ criticism I recieve.
