open The Town That Friendship Forgot

[Dynamo Pad 11,349]

2 hours ago, Oni Equine said:

 

In Level 2,
It takes a moment for Trilby to get close to them all, but he does. He slows his raptor down and he sees the three of them facing off against... something.
They are facing off against an invisible beast, but to Trilby, they might as well be doing interpretive dance.
"...What are you all doing, charades?! Dynamo, I found the cave that'll lead us to the boss! Whatever you're all fighting, forget about it! We can lose it on the way to the cave. Just follow me, please! I think I can lead us back there."

Trilby turns his raptor around and leads the way. It might seem wreckless to just abandon this part of the level, but maybe they can lose or shake off the Rocs on the way to the cave.

@Pastel Heart @Oni Equine @CameoShadowness
As the group was continuing to face the rocs, Dynamo’s ears perked as he heard Trilby’s voice getting closer. He turned to give the cleric a reassured smile. “Trilby! I’m glad to see you. I was worried we lost you in that donut spinout.” He started, before frowning in worry at Trilby’s outburst. At the mention of the cave, Dynamo’s eyes widened in surprise. “You were able to find the cave? Good find! We need to get there as soon as possible, but we’ve kind of run into a problem.” He says, pointing up to the roc that had Pastel. “One of the rocs has captured Pastel. She was able to steal some of the potions these things were carrying around their necks. However, one of them got her in their beaks. I tried to throw a card earlier to do damage, but I don’t think it worked. What can we do. I can’t and I won’t leave Pastel-chan.”

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

@Dynamo Pad

Thankfully, Pastel landed safely on Dynamo. By some freak accident, her face smashed against his and her lips pressed against his. Opening her eyes, she quickly pulled away and blushed, swooning and holding her cheeks like some animé character.

"Eeehhh? Are gamblers always this bold? If you wanted a kiss, brave hero, you should asked~"

...Even something like this couldn't break her immersion. She's practically as brainwashed as the NPCs.

@Oni EquineUpon regaining her composure, she winded up her legs and dashes off with Trilby and Dynamo. She had enough of flying enemies for a lifetime.

[ExplosionMare 18,064]

@Oni Equine @GeneralDirection @PawelS @Windy Breeze @C. Thunder Dash

Pencil gave off a competitive smile and started running towards the blocky metal structures as soon as Elusive tore down the grassy path. She knew Elusive would get a head start advantage due to how fast she was going, so Pencil would have to work extra quick to keep up. When Pencil was only a short distance away from the tower mound, she started looking in her peripherals for any materials she could collect. She gathered a few random blocks with her magic and tossed them over towards the mound.  

Pencil got to work immediately. She was glad this was a building project because putting materials together was completely in her element. Although she did not possess her magical ability to weave materials together, she did have the video game ability to make the blocks stick together on their own. Pencil was able to get a couple of levels out of the materials she gathered and was quite pleased with herself. Building was rather simple until she came upon a puzzle.

Pencil bit her lip anxiously. Puzzles were not something she was great at. Even though it seemed like a simple tile-swap mechanism, she knew she would get hung up on it eventually and slow herself down. She attempted the puzzle and moved a few colored blocks around, hoping they would click into place. At first, she could only match a couple of blocks at a time. It took quite a while before anything matched up. Pencil was happy she could match one row up, so she promptly continued with the next row. Unfortunately, she fumbled with the next row so much that she ended up messing up the first one.

Grunting, Pencil stepped back from the puzzle for a moment to see how the rest of the team was doing. Everyone seemed to be doing moderately well from Pencil’s viewpoint. She wished she could look at how someone else did the puzzle to solve her own, but that would be cheating. Instead, she made herself go back to the colored tiles and slide them in all directions.

Eventually this thing has to be solved! Pencil figured.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Oni Equine @Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @CameoShadowness

Thundy was holding to the roc's headfeathers as tight as he could to try to get it under control. "I'm up here Trilby! Trying to...ugh...get this...roc...under control." Thundy said still upon the roc. He saw the raptor with Trilby, and Trilby trying to lead the group away from this part of the level. Thundy managed to turn the roc to face the group despite it still resisting. Fortunately, the jeep was still on autopilot, and followed the group at an appropriate distance, the turret firing at any enemies that it was able to take out. 

@FuntimeMare @Windy Breeze @GeneralDirection @PawelS

"Ooh, this should be fun..." Chelsea said as she listened to the directions of the game. She sent her water dragon to scout for materials while she started to build what she could, taking some time to solve the puzzles. Chelsea was going at a nice and brisk pace. Her water dragon soon returned with some materials. Chelsea continued to build her tower. 

[Windy Breeze 15,190]

@Oni Equine @GeneralDirection @C. Thunder Dash @FuntimeMare 

Shadow followed her group into the portal, then she found herself in what it seems to be a beautiful green grassland, with hills, a ravine, two lakes, and some houses seen in the distance, however. What really took her attention is the three big blocky mounds which stood in the center of the minecraft-like open world.

Hearing Elusive's cheerful statement, anxiety went back to Shadow, however, she kept it to herself, not wanting to show her nervousness to her teammates. She looked back at her jetpack, which she hasn't used yet, she found a button and a slide switch. Gulping, she decided to push the button and shut her eyes, expecting something to happen like getting blast off into space. However, when she opened her eyes, she was floating a few meters off the solid ground, the two jet engines facing upward.

She smiled happily, but she decided to be cautious. She spread her wings and with the support of the jetpack, she flew toward the mounds and after inspecting one of the mounds which caught her attention, she began to get metal blocks and some other blocks. At this point, she already built two walls for her tower.

[Samurai Equine 51,722]

@Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @C. Thunder Dash, @CameoShadowness

In Level 2,
Trilby was about to help Dynamo with Pastel, but the situation seems to have resolved itself. With a kiss, no less!
Trilby gives them a thumbs up. ... Is he approving the shipping, or approving Pastel being safe now? Either way, he approves.

However, Thundy was a different case. "Curse me for not picking a flight-capable character..."
Taking a page from a mustachioed plumber, Trilby makes his raptor run up to a tree at full speed, and then bounce off it to get as much height at possible. At the top of the raptor's jump, Trilby leaps off it like a trampoline, gaining even more height! He may have had to ditch the raptor, but it somehow pays off! Just barely, though... Trilby almost missed. But he got close enough to Thundy that he was able to grab him by the leg, pull up his power shield, and have a safe-ish landing down below. Thundy is now Roc free!

Spoiler

The jump was basically this, minus the bottomless pits.

And for good measure, Trilby drops the shield and heals Thundy. "Don't ever ask me to do that again because that was SCARY~!!" Trilby shows his true colors, quaking in his character's boots before chasing down the raptor he ditched earlier.

Once more, from the top, to the cave they go!

@ExplosionMare. @Windy Breeze, @C. Thunder Dash, @GeneralDirection, @PawelS

In the bonus level,
Elusive was quickly running out of places where material blocks were just out in the open. She would have to do some deeper digging/mining to get them; something she really didn't want to do. "Tch..." Then she sees a ravine and notices some blocks in their. Eh, what else has she got to lose? Rolling up on the shore, she summons her giant speaks and microphone, and gives an ear-piercing screech; wailing out those screaming tones! And with the speakers amplifying her voice, somehow it works! The blast of sound makes the water bounce up into the air. And before it can come down, Elusive Facts makes the speakers and mic disappear, rides down to the ravine bed on her motorcycle, collects blocks with her whip, and gets out of the way just in time to avoid the water as it comes splashing down!

She rides over to her own personal tower mount once more and places the blocks, but she is noticing a bunch of those puzzles attacked to the tower as well. "Ugh... Critical thinking?" Elusive pouts. She looks at the towers the others are working on. At least Pencil is making SOME progress with the puzzles! Way more than she was... "RAAHH!!!" She tries smacking the puzzle with her microphone stand and a few kicks. Nothing. "...I hate puzzles."

[Windy Breeze 15,190]

@Oni Equine @PawelS @GeneralDirection @FuntimeMare @C. Thunder Dash

Despite having some good progress, Shadow soon found herself in a similar situation as Elusive, the puzzle don't help too as she struggle to match some blocks. She went to the place where material blocks are out in the open, sadly they are running out of blocks. Shadow began to desperately use Gust Blade to alice the ground, continuing until the newly created hole become deep enough to reach the rocky part of the earth; the mantle. She went back to her personal tower, carrying several blocks on her forelegs and began her construction once again.

Her ears swiveled when she heard a loud splash, she decided not to investigate, It could possibly be her teammates making some smart ideas how to get more blocks to use. She let out sigh.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Windy Breeze

[Dynamo Pad 11,349]

On 10/27/2020 at 8:23 AM, Pastel Heart said:

 

Thankfully, Pastel landed safely on Dynamo. By some freak accident, her face smashed against his and her lips pressed against his. Opening her eyes, she quickly pulled away and blushed, swooning and holding her cheeks like some animé character.

"Eeehhh? Are gamblers always this bold? If you wanted a kiss, brave hero, you should asked~"

...Even something like this couldn't break her immersion. She's practically as brainwashed as the NPCs.

Upon regaining her composure, she winded up her legs and dashes off with Trilby and Dynamo. She had enough of flying enemies for a lifetime.

As he caught her, he suddenly fell backwards due to the velocity at which Pastel fell. Dynamo landed on his back, while taking the brunt of the fall to help break Pastel's fall. As he landed, he closed his eyes as he had taken a hard hit to his back. He open his eyes and groaned as he wondered what had happened, while hoping that the young mare was okay. Dynamo's eyes soon widened in shock as he and Pastel had their lips pressed together in a kiss. His cheeks blushed as he stood their frozen as if time had suddenly stopped. He quickly pulled away, but his face remained frozen in shock. Hearing her remark, Dynamo could only drop his jaw in surprise and awe. "N-No. I mean, y-yes. No, wait I mean, m-maybe. I-I don't know." He stuttered as he tried to find the right words to say. It didn't help that his heart was pounding like a drum a mile a minute. He didn't know why he had felt this way. 'I wish I could talk about this to Pencil and Astral. Oh, I wish Sam was here right now. Maybe he'd know what to say.' He thought, as she and Trilby had began to dash off. "Hey! Don't leave me behind!" He called out as he dashed off with the others.

7 hours ago, Oni Equine said:

@Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @C. Thunder Dash, @CameoShadowness

In Level 2,
Trilby was about to help Dynamo with Pastel, but the situation seems to have resolved itself. With a kiss, no less!
Trilby gives them a thumbs up. ... Is he approving the shipping, or approving Pastel being safe now? Either way, he approves.

However, Thundy was a different case. "Curse me for not picking a flight-capable character..."
Taking a page from a mustachioed plumber, Trilby makes his raptor run up to a tree at full speed, and then bounce off it to get as much height at possible. At the top of the raptor's jump, Trilby leaps off it like a trampoline, gaining even more height! He may have had to ditch the raptor, but it somehow pays off! Just barely, though... Trilby almost missed. But he got close enough to Thundy that he was able to grab him by the leg, pull up his power shield, and have a safe-ish landing down below. Thundy is now Roc free!

  Reveal hidden contents

The jump was basically this, minus the bottomless pits.

And for good measure, Trilby drops the shield and heals Thundy. "Don't ever ask me to do that again because that was SCARY~!!" Trilby shows his true colors, quaking in his character's boots before chasing down the raptor he ditched earlier.

Once more, from the top, to the cave they go!

@Pastel Heart @Oni Equine @CameoShadowness

Seeing Triby give a thumbs up to the blue unicorn and pink earth pony, Dynamo wasn't sure if he approved of what had happed. If not, then he must have approved that Pastel was safe from harm. Either way, he knew that maybe he could ask Trilby and Shadow too. He seemed to recall that the two of them were a couple. So, maybe it would be better to get some advice or their thoughts on the matter. In the meantime, it was better to stay focused on the game and task at hoof. "You're a unicorn, right, Trilby? Aren't you able to use any spells that can cause you to fly briefly?" Dynamo asks, trying to help after hearing the cleric's remark. He was surprised from the sudden run up to a tree and jumped as high as possible. He gave a whistle at the unicorn's stunt, while feeling impressed at being able to help Thundy. "Now that was pretty impressive. Did you use magic into that run and jump, or was that all natural? Gave me some Mario vibes." He says, giving their cleric a reassuring look as he felt that same fear. 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Oni Equine @Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @CameoShadowness

Thundy let out quite the loud squawk when Trilby pulled him by the leg from the roc. "Could've warned me next time if you were gonna do that..." He said as he flapped his wings and landed back in the driver's seat of the jeep. "Argh...and I almost had it too..." Thundy added a little disappointed, still looking at the roc. "A roc on our side would be great but oh well..." He stated as he took over the controls of the jeep again, the other velociraptor riders following. "So, do we have the slightest hint as to what this next boss will be?" Thundy asked. 

@FuntimeMare @Windy Breeze

Chelsea struggled a little with the puzzles, which slowed her down a little with the tower building. She had a circular tower going. She tried to create some extra stuff seeing as she too was running out of blocks, finding that materials she formed from water weren't as sturdy. 

[Silly Druid 7,005]

@Oni Equine @FuntimeMare @Windy Breeze @C. Thunder Dash @GeneralDirection

Tree Song tries to enter the portal again and this time, to her relief, it allows her to get through. Behind it there is a large and blocky landscape. For some time she flies around it, admiring the sights. She missed the level announcement, so at first she doesn't know what it's about. But then she sees that the players started to build some kind of towers by gathering materials, putting them together, and solving puzzles. There is no place for her to build her own tower, so she decides to help someone with their efforts. "Anypony wants to team up with me?" She asks.

[Windy Breeze 15,190]

@PawelS

Shadow's ears perked up when she heard Tree offering her help, she wasn't sure if it's against the rules to team up with somebody else, but if someone teamed up with Tree, then there will be a problem for her.

”Me!” she yelled, not letting the opportunity go to the others “You can help me build my tower”

Edited October 28, 2020 by Windy Breeze

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

@Oni Equine @Dynamo Pad @C. Thunder Dash

"Heeyy! Don't leave me behind either! I like, just scored or something!"

Saying something she probably shouldn't, she almost made a dash, but remembering what class she was, she smirked cockily and activated her cloak, disappearing from site in rogue fashion. She wouldn't be far behind...

[Silly Druid 7,005]

@Oni Equine @FuntimeMare @Windy Breeze @C. Thunder Dash @GeneralDirection

46 minutes ago, Windy Breeze said:

@PawelS

Shadow's ears perked up when she heard Tree offering her help, she wasn't sure if it's against the rules to team up with somebody else, but if someone teamed up with Tree, then there will be a problem for her.

”Me!” she yelled, not letting the opportunity go to the others “You can help me build my tower”

"OK" Tree Song answered. "Just tell me what you need help with."

[Windy Breeze 15,190]

5 hours ago, PawelS said:

@Oni Equine @FuntimeMare @Windy Breeze @C. Thunder Dash @GeneralDirection

"OK" Tree Song answered. "Just tell me what you need help with."

Shadow smiled “You can help me get more blocks from the hole I made” she said, referring to the hole she dug to get more blocks “Or you can join me here solving puzzles”

Edited October 29, 2020 by Windy Breeze

[ExplosionMare 18,064]

@PawelS @Windy Breeze @Oni Equine @GeneralDirection @C. Thunder Dash

Pencil, to her surprise, actually managed to complete some of the puzzles. It took quite a while and only left her with a couple of tower levels, but it was a start. Pencil sighed in relief and was glad the puzzles were gone for now as she looked up at the rest of the blocky structure. Now she could gather materials, which was much more her speed. Pencil quickly trotted off towards one of the hills to gather anything she could find.

As she edged closer towards the hill, she could hear a distant screeching noise that forced her to cover her ears. Pencil grimaced at the sound and shut her eyes in mild annoyance. Thankfully, the sound did not last long, so she could easily return to her material-gathering without any further distractions. Pencil found a variety of grey and green stones lining the cliffs, which she piled together in a small hoard. She also found a few twigs that had fallen off the thin trees surrounding the hill.

Once Pencil found all she could on that small hilltop, she smushed the rocks and twigs together to create a collection of tower blocks. The feeling was a bit odd, taking two things that would never stick together in real life and merging them in the game world. Pencil decided not to ponder on this too much and instead carried the blocks with her back to her tower, pushing thoughts of merging object abominations towards the back of her mind.

When she arrived back at her tower, Pencil noticed another pony, specifically Tree Song, had just recently joined the game. Pencil was glad Tree Song could join, but was curious as to where she would go considering all the towers were taken. Her curiosity was soon quelled as she saw Shadow invite Tree Song over to her tower.

Pencil mentally moaned, slightly envious she didn’t have a teammate of her own. It would make the gathering and puzzle solving go a lot quicker with someone else around to help. However, Pencil knew it would be unlikely that someone teamed up with her and that it was better to focus on completing her tower on her own. Refocusing on her building blocks, Pencil began to rapidly place them around the tower ascend its walls the higher she built.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@FuntimeMare @Oni Equine (Just tagged you so you know I'm back)

Silver wasn’t quite sure what had happened. He had just taken a minute to look around at the scenery least he had thought so, and the next minute nearly everypony was gone through the portal. Silver quickly ran through and was soon greeted by the next level. A bonus game, some sort of tower building puzzle it seemed. The terrain before hm was composed of a mix of grassy plains, dense forests, and rolling hills. He could also see three large mounds in the center, where his teammates had ventured to and began their building. He noticed that Shadow and a new pony he hadn’t met yet had decided to team up, and with the head start everypony else had, Silver figured it would be best if he did the same.

Since he had met her earlier, Silver quickly made his way towards the tower that Pencil was working on and stopped beside her.

“Hey, Pencil!” He greeted after catching his breath for a moment. “Looks like you’re doing a pretty good job here so far. I noticed some of the other were teaming up, and I got here late, would you mind if I joined in and helped you out?” He asked with a smile.  

[Samurai Equine 51,722]

@Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @C. Thunder Dash

In Level 2,
It takes him a hot second, but Trilby re-mounts his raptor and leads the way again. Along the way, he answers questions.

First, he shrugs when Thundy asks him a about the boss. "No idea. I didn't look in the cave. I was afraid that if I spotted the boss, it would trigger the fight, and I don't want to get stuck in a boss fight all by myself." Trilby explains. "In good news... I was right! I used my staff as a homing beacon, and I can feel myself getting closer to it! We'll be back at that cave in no time."

He also turns to Dynamo to answer his questions. "I do have magic, but it seems to be suppressed in this video game. I'm limited only to what this Cleric character can do. And even if that wasn't the case, I don't know much magic outside of this game, just enough to keep being a haberdasher. I would have used up all my magic reserves LONG ago if that's all I had in this game." Trilby explains.

The cave is waiting for them. It is a downward shaft with rounded walls. And occasionally, spikes pop out of the walls in random places. Not impossible to avoid, but they might tear up a few vehicle tires if you're not careful.
Daring Decor is waiting for them at the end of the cave. "They're getting closer, I can feel it..."

@ExplosionMare. @Windy Breeze, @C. Thunder Dash, @GeneralDirection, @PawelS

In the bonus level,
It seems everyone was teaming up.

Elusive Facts had a pretty good start, collecting the proper construction bricks that were in plain sight and a few that were hidden. But now she is slowing down because she hates to get her hooves dirty. For some reason, a random villager has a block that she needs for her tower, and he's trying to barter for it. "Oof." He says. "What do you mean, you want two diamond blocks for it?!" Elusive asks. "Oof." He explains. "What do you mean you're giving away free obsidian?! How does that help me right now?" She asks. "Oof." He explains. "I don't... Really? I'd get three chickens out of it? I suppose that's not a bad deal. But what about the cow?" She continues to barter with him.

At least Chelsea is better at puzzles that she is. They are sharing a tower, so that helps, but they aren't in the lead anymore, but only by a small difference.

Pencil and Silver have all ready begun to surpass Elusive and Chelsea's progress. At this point, the two of them might finish their towers first!
And since Tree Song just got started, the tower she and Shadow share is falling behind. But the game isn't over yet! With enough resourcefulness and with enough desperation, anyone could change the outcome of this race!

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @Oni Equine

Thundy prepared the jeep for the cave by turning on the night lights. The lights illuminated the cave so that most of the spikes were visible. "Hey Trilby, how often are you able to use that wand of yours in a level?" He asked. 

@FuntimeMare @PawelS @GeneralDirection

Chelsea continued to work on her tower. Her water dragon helped by scouting for other items and pointing at which direction they were at. Chelsea started to get more  of a rhyhtm, though she was working on her own. 

[ExplosionMare 18,064]

@GeneralDirection

Pencil beamed at Silver. She was more than happy she was actually getting a teammate. She clapped her hooves together and said,

“Of course you can help me out! I was actually hoping for a teammate since everyone seemed to be teaming up,”

She looked around for something Silver could do. She had a decent amount of materials, at least for now, and it would be quite a while before the tower required puzzle-solving again. The only thing left was the tower building itself. Pencil would have to teach Silver how it worked, but she was confident he would learn fairly quickly.

“We don’t need materials or anything right now, so do you wanna help me build on the tower? It’s really easy, all you gotta do is take some materials here-” she offered, pausing to gather the rest of the rocks and twigs. “-then you merge them together to create blocks. After you make the blocks you just place them on this tower,”

Pencil grunted as she stretched to place the group of bricks on the fourth layer of her tower. It was getting to be past her height, so she had to really reach to get the blocks on the top of the tower. Once she was finished, she scooted the rest of the materials over to Silver. Kindly, she asked,

“Do you wanna try now?”

[Dynamo Pad 11,349]

23 hours ago, C. Thunder Dash said:

@Oni Equine @Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @CameoShadowness

Thundy let out quite the loud squawk when Trilby pulled him by the leg from the roc. "Could've warned me next time if you were gonna do that..." He said as he flapped his wings and landed back in the driver's seat of the jeep. "Argh...and I almost had it too..." Thundy added a little disappointed, still looking at the roc. "A roc on our side would be great but oh well..." He stated as he took over the controls of the jeep again, the other velociraptor riders following. "So, do we have the slightest hint as to what this next boss will be?" Thundy asked. 

Dynamo's ears fell as he heard the squawk of the male griffon, before he was set free from their cleric. "Just be grateful you were saved. With an invisible enemy like that, it's going to be difficult to fight these things." He says, frowning as he could imagine how disappointed Thundy was. "Maybe there will be other opportunities. In the meantime, it's better to try and get to the main objective. We need to find that cave that Trilby had found. That's what the game was telling me to do, but thankfully our teammate beat us to the task. Plus, who knows how many more archers there will be. They might have sent the rocs, or the rocs attacked because we were in their territory. We are pretty strong as a team, anyway. That, and we thankfully have some backup in these pterodactyls and raptors. Better to count our blessings and have it be better than nothing." He says, trying to look on the brighter side of things.

15 hours ago, Pastel Heart said:

@Oni Equine @Dynamo Pad @C. Thunder Dash

"Heeyy! Don't leave me behind either! I like, just scored or something!"

Saying something she probably shouldn't, she almost made a dash, but remembering what class she was, she smirked cockily and activated her cloak, disappearing from site in rogue fashion. She wouldn't be far behind...

Hearing the young mare's remark, Dynamo turned towards her. However, she suddenly disappeared as she activated her class ability. "I know I wouldn't leave you behind, Pastel-chan! Just make sure not to leave us behind. Just leave a clue to make sure that you're still with us, okay?" He asks, hoping they wouldn't lose her. After everything that happened, he knew he didn't want anything to happen to his teammate/friend.

6 hours ago, Oni Equine said:

In Level 2,
It takes him a hot second, but Trilby re-mounts his raptor and leads the way again. Along the way, he answers questions.

First, he shrugs when Thundy asks him a about the boss. "No idea. I didn't look in the cave. I was afraid that if I spotted the boss, it would trigger the fight, and I don't want to get stuck in a boss fight all by myself." Trilby explains. "In good news... I was right! I used my staff as a homing beacon, and I can feel myself getting closer to it! We'll be back at that cave in no time."

He also turns to Dynamo to answer his questions. "I do have magic, but it seems to be suppressed in this video game. I'm limited only to what this Cleric character can do. And even if that wasn't the case, I don't know much magic outside of this game, just enough to keep being a haberdasher. I would have used up all my magic reserves LONG ago if that's all I had in this game." Trilby explains.

The cave is waiting for them. It is a downward shaft with rounded walls. And occasionally, spikes pop out of the walls in random places. Not impossible to avoid, but they might tear up a few vehicle tires if you're not careful.
Daring Decor is waiting for them at the end of the cave. "They're getting closer, I can feel it..."

1 hour ago, C. Thunder Dash said:

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @Oni Equine

Thundy prepared the jeep for the cave by turning on the night lights. The lights illuminated the cave so that most of the spikes were visible. "Hey Trilby, how often are you able to use that wand of yours in a level?" He asked. 

@FuntimeMare @PawelS @GeneralDirection

Chelsea continued to work on her tower. Her water dragon helped by scouting for other items and pointing at which direction they were at. Chelsea started to get more  of a rhyhtm, though she was working on her own. 

 

@Pastel Heart @Oni Equine @CameoShadowness @C. Thunder Dash

Hearing Trilby's concern of the cave, Dynamo could only nod in agreement. "I can see what you mean. You don't want to walk too far in one area of a level. If so, then you'll trip the sort of beams that trigger a cutscene that leads to a fight. It happens all the time whenever I think I'm okay to save the game. If you triggered the fight, then you might be out-ponies one to two. It was a good thing you found the cave. Better to regroup, so we could come up with a plan." He responded, smiling as Trilby's staff was a homing beacon to the cave. If they kept up an even pace, then they'd be there in no time. 

"It's the same for me. I don't know if my magic is suppressed or super charged while being in this game. You see, I don't really know what my magic is. I've learned that I can use elemental magic, but I coined it as gaming magic. Since I love video games and it gave me my mark and magic, then I suppose that being in this game is helping me to discover what I'm capable of. I'm not too certain, but it's better for me to keep testing and understand just who I am." He explains, holding up a deck of cards. "When Pastel-chan was going for those bottles the rocs were carrying, I tried to help out. I found a deck of cards in my possession, but I guess it's a part of my class. I'm not entirely sure if I can use these as a weapon or throwing item, but I guess time will tell." He noted, before seeing the cave was getting closer. As the lights in the jeep were turned on, Dynamo took note of the cave as spikes were visible. "Do you guys think we should leave the vehicle outside of the cave? We might have to look for the boss entrance on hoof. That, and I guess I'm worried the sound of the engine would alert the boss." He wasn't sure if the boss was alert of them coming towards them, but he thought they could plan a sort of sneak attack or plan.

[Silly Druid 7,005]

@Oni Equine @FuntimeMare @Windy Breeze @C. Thunder Dash @GeneralDirection

20 hours ago, Windy Breeze said:

Shadow smiled “You can help me get more blocks from the hole I made” she said, referring to the hole she dug to get more blocks “Or you can join me here solving puzzles”

"I'll check that hole." Tree Song replies. She flies into the hole made by Shadow Trail, and notices that there are lots of blocks available there. Normally she wouldn't be able to retrieve rocks from the earth with her bare hooves, but the game physics works differently from real world physics, and it is possible to just remove the blocks. They are quite heavy though, so she is able to carry only a few of them at a time and deliver them to Shadow. After doing it several times, she feels exhausted.

"I'm... really... tired." Tree catches her breath. "Let me try the puzzles now." she says and looks at one of them. At first she tries to move the pieces randomly, but it doesn't really make her get closer to finding a solution. Then she remembers the lessons she got from her teacher about solving magical mysteries, and decides that a more systematic approach is a better idea. She makes some test moves very carefully, trying to figure out the general rules that govern this kind of puzzles. Then she uses what she has learned to actually solve it. It takes some time, but finally it's done. "See? That's how you do it!" she says happily.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@FuntimeMare

Silver was delighted to hear that Pencil was looking for a teammate and listened intently as she explained how this world worked. It seemed that Pencil had already gathered a significant amount of resources, so all that was left to do was build.  From what he could see, all one needed to do was merge the materials together to create the blocks needed for the tower. A bit strange, Silver thought, but they were in a video game world after all.  After watching Pencil for a bit, the Kirin understood what needed to be done, and was eager to start helping.

“Yep, sure thing, Pencil” He replied. Silver’s horn pattern lit up and he quickly got to work grabbing materials, producing blocks, and lifting them up into place with his magic. He glanced over in Pencil’s direction momentarily and noticed her struggling somewhat to get blocks into place because of how high the tower was getting.

“If you want, I could position the blocks and you could keep making more. It’s a bit easier for me to do, because, you know, magic and all.” He suggested. He hoped that she wouldn’t take it the wrong way and think that he was bragging or anything.

[ExplosionMare 18,064]

@GeneralDirection

Pencil blushed, embarrassed that she herself didn’t use much magic now that Silver had mentioned using his own. Theoretically, she could use her magic, but the game world would reduce it to its most basic state. She wasn’t very strong and it pained her not to have her regular abilities which would be so perfect for this activity. Alas, she would just have to work with what she has. Climbing back down from the tower, Pencil spouted her thoughts to Silver.

“I’d be glad if you used your magic to help! Hmm, now that I think about it, I could probably use my own as well, heh! It’s just different out here cause I don’t have my paintbrush or my special abilities I have in real life, so I’ve been a little reluctant to use any magic. I just didn’t wanna feel disappointed, you know? I guess, though, I could still use it to keep myself from falling. Okay, so let’s both remember try and use our magic to lift the rest of these bricks up!” she spoke. Upon mentioning the bricks, she huffed as she heaved them up in the air with a bright pink glow. The objects shook in her magical grasp at first, but soon they were able merge onto the tower and create half of another level. Satisfied with her work, she looked at Silver and waited for him to give it a try.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@FuntimeMare

“Ah, right on.” He replied with a smile. “I’m never quite sure of what I’m capable of in this game world, either.”

He watched Pencil as she lifted another stack of blocks into place and quickly merged with the rest of the tower to create half of a level. Taking his cue, he levitated another stack of blocks up, which soon joined and formed the other half of the level. Silver glanced over at the other towers to find they were keeping up well with the others at this point.

“You’ve been doing a good job here, Pencil. Now with the both of us here, I think we stand a pretty good chance of finishing first. Though I’m not even sure what it is that we’ll win. Do you happen to know?” The Kirin asked as he started putting more blocks together.  

[Samurai Equine 51,722]

@Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @C. Thunder Dash

In Level 2,
As they approach the cave, Trilby sees his staff waiting for him at the entrance. He grabs it and then leaps into Thundy's vehicle, discarding the raptor. The less vehicles, the better, probably.

Making himself comfortable, Trilby isn't sure what Thundy means by the question. "It's not a wand, it's a bladed staff. And when it comes to my character's powers? I guess I can use them as often as I want. I haven't discovered a limit or a counter so far..." Trilby explains.

Diving down the cave is simple enough. Easy to avoid the spikes that randomly pop up. But Trilby spots poison dart blowpipes slowly coming out of the walls as well. "...!! Thundy, LOOK OUT!!" Unable to sit still, Trilby reaches over and grabs the wheel, trying to steer the vehicle. It only results in the two of them fighting for control, and the vehicle itself driving up the walls and the ceiling. But... It's working? Somehow, they are managing to avoid any spikes and poison darts... Though just barely.

@ExplosionMare. @Windy Breeze, @C. Thunder Dash, @GeneralDirection, @PawelS

In the bonus level,
Elusive returns with three blocks, some chickens, a cat, and 2 different wood blocks. ...By the time she reaches the tower that she and Chelsea share, Elusive realizes just how silly she looks right now, and gets rid of all the extra stuff they don't need. She puts the blocks she collected in their proper place. "Good work on the tower, Ms. Chelsea. I can see you have really helped in solving those pesky puzzles. I never was good at stuff like that..." Elusive Facts says. However, their conversation is cut short.

BONUS GAME COMPLETE!

Somewhere between Pencil and Silver's efforts, the last brick is placed and the last puzzle is solve. Their tower suddenly turns into a fountain, spraying waves of sparkling water in every color of the rainbow. A sense of peace and serenity spreads throughout the land. The players can feel in in their core. The sun feels like it's shining a little brighter. The sounds of nature seem a little more melodic. There's even a sweet, soothing victory jingle playing in the background. Whatever is happening feels so powerful, it could force a gruesome war into a peaceful end in an instant.

Our champions are given just enough time to enjoy this before they are transported back to the skybound hub world. That's when the prize floats in front of Pencil for winning the game. It's an icon called "The Wrath of the Creator". It's description simply states that it allows the team to skip the next level, but only if everyone in the party agrees to it.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Oni Equine