open The Town That Friendship Forgot

[Samurai Equine 51,442]

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

In Level 1,
Pastel managed to successfully steal a treasure chest worth of gold and jewels, easy currency for shops and stuff. However, on a battle field, it doesn't really do much.

Elusive Facts screams as she takes on damage from Thundy and Chelsea's attack, but it's not really enough to make her go into her third phase. Perhaps Dynamo or Pastel should try an attack as well? Seems like teamwork is the fastest way to trigger that. For now, Elusive keeps swinging her chain whip around, even though it's easy to avoid at this point.

@Windy Breeze 🥧, @GeneralDirection, @ExplosionMare

In the mini-game,
Trilby and his team do their best, keeping up their attacks together. 15 becomes 10. 10 becomes 5. And finally...

MINI-GAME COMPLETE!

With the mini-game completed, the four of them are transported back in front of Sundae's shop. As reward for completing the game, they receive free upgrade items! Enough for them, and enough for their other teammates who are currently in Level 1. "...We did it? We did it! And the only one who had to suffer damage was me!" Trilby cheers and gives a round of high hooves (high fives). "My team is amazing!!"

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Samurai Equine @GeneralDirection @ExplosionMare

Shadow lifted an eyebrow, as if she was confused by their winning, realization struck her in the form of her hoof, which she put on her face “I almost forgot we are in a minigame” she muttered to herself.

When Sundae saw Trilby, Shadow and their group appear, she beamed at them “Congratulations, everypony. It looks like you guys win the minigame” she said.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Windy Breeze 🥧
Fixed some errors

[Dynamo Pad 11,312]

19 hours ago, C. Thunder Dash said:

"Sorry about that." Thundy said. "I have a feeling that either Elusive will go full mecha or employ some magic that could potentially weaken our forces and abilities." Thundy stated hoping that he would be able to dodge the next attack. 

"Sorry? Sorry about what? You didn't do anything wrong, right?" Dynamo asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion. He would have wanted to ponder on the idea, but he knew that stopping Elusive was a priority. "I'd probably go with the latter option. Knowing bosses, they either turn into a new form, gain a sort of boost in power and fighting ability, or both." 

1 hour ago, Samurai Equine said:

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

In Level 1,
Pastel managed to successfully steal a treasure chest worth of gold and jewels, easy currency for shops and stuff. However, on a battle field, it doesn't really do much.

Elusive Facts screams as she takes on damage from Thundy and Chelsea's attack, but it's not really enough to make her go into her third phase. Perhaps Dynamo or Pastel should try an attack as well? Seems like teamwork is the fastest way to trigger that. For now, Elusive keeps swinging her chain whip around, even though it's easy to avoid at this point.

@Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine @C. Thunder Dash

The gaming unicorn's ears fell as he heard Elusive scream from taking damage. Dynamo made sure to keep dodging the swinging of her chain, while taking note of the swinging patterns in her attacks. Looking over to Pastel, he noticed that she had managed to steal some treasure from their opponent. "Hey, Pastel! Do you have any kind of weaponry that can help swing at some magic attacks? I think I have an idea. Do you trust me?" 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine

"We just need to deal a little more damage before phase 3. Then once phase 3 begins, we have to go all in. We must not spend time with attacks that require us to charge energy. If we do, then we'll have to make sure we protect the one who is charging an attack, whether it's Chelsea, myself or even you Dynamo." Thundy said dodging the swinging chain. 

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

@Samurai Equine @Windy Breeze 🥧 @GeneralDirection

Pencil was teleported yet again against her will, this time back to Sundae’s shop where the minigame originated. At this point, there was no more hoping the teleportations would stop. On the plus side, the team actually won the minigame. Pencil gave out a silent clap for her and her team as congratulations.

“That was a bit of a crazy level, but I’m glad we all won! We all did pretty well together as a team, too,” Pencil remarked to Shadow, Trilby, and Silver.

Pencil was surprised again when something almost magical began to take over her paintbrush. She dropped it reflexively even though the paintbrush was not going to induce any pain. It sat on the grass, enveloping itself in a bright glow.

When it finished, the paintbrush was sleeker, shinier, and finer. It looked more professional than it previously did and when Pencil lifted it up, it was much more lightweight as well. Pencil spun the brush around and marveled at how much quicker it spun. She thought of testing it and creating another creature, but it felt unwise to make a creature without immediately giving it a purpose.

“My paintbrush just upgraded, how cool! What upgrades did you just get?” Pencil asked her team.

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @C. Thunder Dash

Pastel was just a little disappointed that the boss didn't go down, but oh well, that just meant more fun in the long run.

"Talk is cheap. More actions, wingboy!"

Pastel narrowed her eyes, watching the movement of the chain. Seemed slow enough that she could get past it without much effort. Perhaps if she could disable the use of that, the others could have free reign to attack...

A plan in mind, Pastel rushed forward, looking like she was about to get hit before leaping over it, right over the head of Elusive Facts. As she passed over her, she tossed a smaller dagger. It was a precise throw, and if hit, may poison the boss.. Unless it's one of those RPGs where the boss is immune from status ailments.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart

"Whoa there..." Thundy said as he watched Pastel charge at Elusive, hoping that whatever she threw at Elsive, would not only deal damage but also add a status effect, similar to pokemon games that Thundy played. 

[Samurai Equine 51,442]

@GeneralDirection, @ExplosionMare, @Windy Breeze 🥧

At the shop,
Trilby looks at his upgrade, and attaches it to his spearheaded staff. Now the opposite end of it has a solar ornament on it. "Oh, cool! My energy beam attack just got an upgrade."

He admires the upgrades Pencil, Shadow, and Silver got. "Can't wait to give the rest of the team their upgrades too." He turns to Sundae for a second and bows. "Don't worry, Sundae. For now, just keep running this in-game shop. Soon, all my friends will help set you and everyone free. We'll beat this game in no time! Bye! Take care!" He waves and leads his crew away from the shop.

"Let's wait for the others. I bet they're almost done with Level 1." Trilby explains.

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

In Level 1,
Pastel's attack was perfectly timed and precise!

Elusive Facts doubles back for a second. Her damage rate increases. Normally, it wouldn't mean much, but the bonus effect of the poison increases the damage dealt, until finally... Phase 3!
Ditching the chain whip, Elusive pulls out a microphone on a mic stand, which is hooked up to two MASSIVE speakers that emerge from the ground!

Stand back, everyone. Because with a sharp inhale, Elusive musically yells into the mic, sending out violent sound waves that will cause 21% damage if you're too close! Thankfully, there is a pattern. After every 7-10 seconds, Elusive has to take a break to catch her breath so she can keep singing into the mic.

...Combo attack, anyone?

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad

Chelsea stood in front of the group  gathered some water energy and made a temporary shield appear, rolling a dice to determine how long the shield would last. This shield prevented the whole party from taking damage. "There is one counterattack that can work...feedback...everyone cover those ears!" Thundy called out as he gathered some electricity and swung his twin swords at Elusive's setup. The swords created an electromagnetic field causing an ear splitting bout of feedback. Thundy rolled a dice. It landed on 6. The feedback dealt 20% to Elusive plus caused her to lose hearing for a few seconds. "Now's our chance guys! Pastel, lead us off with this chain attack. Dynamo, you go next. I'll go after and then Thundy will take the anchor." Chelsea called out. 

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Samurai Equine @GeneralDirection @ExplosionMare

Sundae smiled and waved at them as Trilby, Shadow and the group leave her shop “Have fun going on an adventure everypony”

Shadow smiled and waved at her in response “We will, Sundae” when they are now outside the shop, she began to wonder what kind of upgrade she got aince she saw Trilby and Pencil got their own upgrades already.

As if a cue, her left foreleg glowed, and vanished to reveal a wristband compass, despite its ordinary looks, Shadow knew it had something to do with an unknown ability. She'll try to find out what the ability is when given the opportunity.

...

Meanwhile, Keen Fan stood proudly, facing a group of metal golems, awaiting orders from her, two other similar golems stood beside her, acting as her guards.

“Listen to all of you, my loyal golems. You shall scout the surrounding areas, if there is any intruders entering our territory, bring them to me in piece” the golems saluted and grunted in agreement.

[Dynamo Pad 11,312]

18 hours ago, C. Thunder Dash said:

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine

"We just need to deal a little more damage before phase 3. Then once phase 3 begins, we have to go all in. We must not spend time with attacks that require us to charge energy. If we do, then we'll have to make sure we protect the one who is charging an attack, whether it's Chelsea, myself or even you Dynamo." Thundy said dodging the swinging chain. 

13 hours ago, Pastel Heart said:

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @C. Thunder Dash

Pastel was just a little disappointed that the boss didn't go down, but oh well, that just meant more fun in the long run.

"Talk is cheap. More actions, wingboy!"

Pastel narrowed her eyes, watching the movement of the chain. Seemed slow enough that she could get past it without much effort. Perhaps if she could disable the use of that, the others could have free reign to attack...

A plan in mind, Pastel rushed forward, looking like she was about to get hit before leaping over it, right over the head of Elusive Facts. As she passed over her, she tossed a smaller dagger. It was a precise throw, and if hit, may poison the boss.. Unless it's one of those RPGs where the boss is immune from status ailments.

12 hours ago, C. Thunder Dash said:

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart

"Whoa there..." Thundy said as he watched Pastel charge at Elusive, hoping that whatever she threw at Elsive, would not only deal damage but also add a status effect, similar to pokemon games that Thundy played. 

 

 

"You're right. We'll all just have to work together once phase 3 begins. If we have to charge energy, then I'll be the one to do it. I'll just need a bit of backup and a way to set up the finishing strike. It's all about precision and timing." Dynamo responded, dodging more swipes of the swinging chain. The gaming unicorn's eyes widened as Pastel had simply rushed forward. He was about to call out to the young mare to watch out, but stopped as Pastel had leaped over the chain. After she had thrown a dagger, Dynamo had whistled as he was impressed by her agility and strategy. "I gotta admit that wasn't bad. With her agility, she was able to avoid her attacks and throw a weapon at Elusive's blind spot. She's really taking to her roll of class very well."

9 hours ago, Samurai Equine said:

In Level 1,
Pastel's attack was perfectly timed and precise!

Elusive Facts doubles back for a second. Her damage rate increases. Normally, it wouldn't mean much, but the bonus effect of the poison increases the damage dealt, until finally... Phase 3!
Ditching the chain whip, Elusive pulls out a microphone on a mic stand, which is hooked up to two MASSIVE speakers that emerge from the ground!

Stand back, everyone. Because with a sharp inhale, Elusive musically yells into the mic, sending out violent sound waves that will cause 21% damage if you're too close! Thankfully, there is a pattern. After every 7-10 seconds, Elusive has to take a break to catch her breath so she can keep singing into the mic.

...Combo attack, anyone?

Dynamo took notice of the poison ailment that Elusive had received from Pastel's attack. "Perfect! With that status, then that means that Elusive is put on a timer. Unless the poison wears off after a while. Either way, we have a chance." He kept dodging the chain attacks as they seemed to appear with more force behind each strike. Whether it was through desperation or the damage was stronger, Dynamo wasn't entirely sure. It wasn't until he saw Elusive ditching the chain that he realized they were in phase 3. "Be careful, you guys! We're finally getting to stage 3. We've almost gotten through this." He would say, watching as Elusive pulled out a microphone on a mic stand, while two massive speakers appeared from underground. 

8 hours ago, C. Thunder Dash said:

@Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad

Chelsea stood in front of the group  gathered some water energy and made a temporary shield appear, rolling a dice to determine how long the shield would last. This shield prevented the whole party from taking damage. "There is one counterattack that can work...feedback...everyone cover those ears!" Thundy called out as he gathered some electricity and swung his twin swords at Elusive's setup. The swords created an electromagnetic field causing an ear splitting bout of feedback. Thundy rolled a dice. It landed on 6. The feedback dealt 20% to Elusive plus caused her to lose hearing for a few seconds. "Now's our chance guys! Pastel, lead us off with this chain attack. Dynamo, you go next. I'll go after and then Thundy will take the anchor." Chelsea called out. 

@Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine @C. Thunder Dash

"Uh, oh. Everyone move!" He called out as Elusive was about to launch some sort of sound based attack. However, he stopped as Chelsea stood in front of the group, while putting up a sort of water shield. He still remained on his hooves in the off chance that he had to doge. Thankfully, the shield was able to hold for the time being. Looking over to Thundy, Dynamo raised an eyebrow at the strategy that could defeat Elusive. "Feedback? That does sound possible, but do you think that will work? How would you be able to cause that sort of sound disruption?" He wondered, he question being answered as the male griffon began to swing his blades. As the electric swing reached the setup, Dynamo immediately covered his ears to avoid any feedback to reach his ears. Especially with being in a shield of water, he wasn't sure if the feedback would be canceled out by the water. "I'll get an attack ready. I just want to make sure that her setup will either be weakened, or taken down!" He called out, his horn charging with magic as he took aim at both Elusive and her setup. "WILL-O-WISP!" He exclaimed, launching a couple of fireballs towards their targets. As Dynamo rolled a dice, it landed on a four. If the attack landed, then Elusive would take some damage, as well as her mic and speakers.

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @C. Thunder Dash

Seeing Elusive pull out a microphone and huge speakers, Pastel felt slighted, just a bit.

"Hey! You're stealin' my thunder, jabroni!"

No sooner before Pastel broke character, she saw the ultraviolent soundwaves and, thanks to her being a speedy character was able to pull back before taking any damage.

As Dynamo charged and Pastel began to pick up on her pattern, as soon as she stopped to catch her breath, Pastel dashed quick as a cat; a vulnerable Elusive Facts may take critical damage from one of these strikes. She kept Dynamo in the corner of her rogue eye, hoping to move away before the attack could catch her up in it. Pastel is deadly, but squishy, so she can't afford to take much damage. 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Pastel Heart @Dynamo Pad @Samurai Equine

"That's it! Stay with it guys! Here we go! Let's finish this!" Thundy said sending the 3 headed mecha dragon to attack followed by his infantry. Thundy a dice for the dragon and infantry. It landed on a 1 for the dragon. "Rats!" Thundy exclaimed. The other dice landed on a 6. "Well at least they dealt something." He said. The total damage was 10%. Chelsea then followed through with a water strike. She rolled a three, but the conduction bonus was added. The total damage was 20%. "Alright everyone! One final attack should do it!" Thundy said taking out his twin electro-swords again. 

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine @Windy Breeze 🥧

Silver soon joined in on the celebration with the rest of the group as the mini game completed. They were all soon returned to the front of the ice cream parlour and received their respective upgrades as a reward for completing the level. As they wait for the others, Silver smiles and silently observes the rest of his teammates as they checked out their new upgrades. He also brought the small box that he received up closer to examine its contents. It appears to contain some sort of dried food, though Silver wasn’t quite sure what it was, exactly. However, he looked over to his dragon companion perched on his shoulder, who he noticed taking quite an interest in whatever was in the box. The Kirin deduced that it must be some sort of food or treat for his dragon, which would most likely give him a status effect. He would have to wait until the next quest to try them out. Silver hung out idly with the rest of his team, waiting for the rest to come back from the main quest.

[Samurai Equine 51,442]

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

In Level 1,
It didn't matter if one attack was weak while someone else's was strong. Working together, all four of them land a blow strong enough to defeat Elusive Facts and take her down. "Aaahhh~!" Elusive cries out and falls to her knees, her mic and speakers destroyed.

LEVEL 1: CLEARED!

However, immediately after that announcement, a pop-up screen appears. It has three-options:

• Mercy: Spare Elusive Fact. She won't be a boss anymore; she'll just be converted into a basic NPC until the game is over.
• Punish: Deal the fatal blow and will finish her off. She'll be sent back to the real world, and her character won't return in-game.
• Recruit: Convert Elusive Facts from a villainous Dark character to a heroic Justice character, which will make her part of your team.

Miss Elusive looks at them all with a sad, defeated look. "Please, feel free to choose whatever you like. I have no right to bargain for my fate. I deserve whatever you think is best... The game made me act like a boss. I didn't even want to fight any of you, but all boss characters are compelled to fight the heroes. The others will be the same."

What will you choose?

@PawelS

Meanwhile outside of Friendshire,
We can see the entire city is a glowing mass of white light right now with random multicolored lights shining through the main mass. It's so bright that the sky around the town looks black by comparison. The light is only held back by the many tall, protective walls forming a border around the town. You'll be fine if you don't look directly at it, but if you're wondering around the area, it's kind of hard to ignore it.

Something about this light has a strange magic aura to it. Like a hex or a curse, but without any malicious intent. If anything, it feels like a temporary enchantment. Powerful, but temporary none the less.

Edited September 17, 2020 by Samurai Equine

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine

"I'd say we welcome her to the team. Besides, with how strong she was, we could certainly use some extra firepower." Thundy said. "I agree. Why waste this opportunity to have an extra ally on our team." Chelsea said extending her talon towards Elusive compassionately. 

[Silly Druid 6,980]

@Samurai Equine

After many days of traveling, two ponies were finally nearing their destination. The druid had noticed many residual effects of strong magic in the wilderness: strange behavior of animals, a twisted tree here and there, unusual lights at night... It was all leading to that place. The maps didn't indicate anything special there, but for an experienced observer the clues were clear: there must be something highly magical at that location. They climbed on a hill, from which they had a good view of the area in question.

"WHAT. IS. THIS. THING?" Tree Song asked, pointing at intense light emanating from what appeared to be some kind of a walled structure.

"I don't know, but it looks like we found what we were looking for. A magical anomaly, and a big one at that."

"It looks so overwhelming! Have you seen anything like it before?"

"No. It can be a trap, so we need to be extra careful. But we must get closer to find out what it is."

And so they did.

Edited September 18, 2020 by PawelS

[Astral Vision 286]

@Samurai Equine @Pastel Heart

After a long, gruelling battle, Elusive Facts had finally been defeated. Astral had seen the fight play out through the party's eyes, and was pleased to see their victory, not holding a single doubt for what they could accomplish together.

"Well my King, it seems our champions were victorious against the first boss, so we may very well have a new member in our ranks. As for Mayor Black, I will speak with him myself... eventually. For the moment, I want to wait and see if he reveals anything, or at least until we learn of his location. After all, outplaying him should make him more open to formal discussion. I've seen way too many movies where the hero tries to reason with the villain, and gets struck down by running headfirst. Come to think of it, I hope Pastel doesn't try anything. That filly has more energy than a power plant."

[Samurai Equine 51,442]

@PawelS

Outside of Friendshire,
As the two of them get closer, an elderly unicorn pony rounds the corner of the town barriers, and walks up to the two of them. "Oh, hello there!" He has a massive, long, fluffy beard with many random pieces of clutter stuck inside it. Along his front two legs/arms are multiple wrist watches, and he is wearing a coat with many different kinds of time pieces attached to it. Clocks, watches, pocket watches, stop watches, sun dials, analogue and digital pieces, etc. "You must be new in town. Welcome, travelers. This place is called Friendshire, and I'm not sure I'd enter if I were you. It could be dangerous."

If either of them are able to detect magic, they would be sensing a strong amount of temporal magic coming from him. Still, he gives a friendly bow. "My name is Final Premonition. I use to be the first citizen of this great town. ...I don't quite recognize either of you, so I must be meeting you for the first time. What are your names?"

Edited September 19, 2020 by Samurai Equine

[Silly Druid 6,980]

@Samurai Equine

The old earth pony bows back. "I'm sorry I won't tell you my name, but I have a policy of giving out as little information as possible. There are records of me before I became who I am now, and my enemies could use that information against me. The less they know, the better. For the same reason I don't use magic unless absolutely necessary. All magic leaves traces. Anyway, I'm a druid and I'm usually known as 'nopony', so you can call me that. And here is my apprentice, who doesn't have any objections to revealing her identity."

"Hello, I'm Tree Song. Nice to meet you."

"So, we were tracking potentially dangerous magical anomalies, and that brought us here. You're dealing with temporal magic, I presume? You seem to be familiar with this place, so what can you tell us about it?"

"And why do you have so many clocks?"

[Dynamo Pad 11,312]

On 9/17/2020 at 6:44 PM, Samurai Equine said:

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

In Level 1,
It didn't matter if one attack was weak while someone else's was strong. Working together, all four of them land a blow strong enough to defeat Elusive Facts and take her down. "Aaahhh~!" Elusive cries out and falls to her knees, her mic and speakers destroyed.

LEVEL 1: CLEARED!

However, immediately after that announcement, a pop-up screen appears. It has three-options:

• Mercy: Spare Elusive Fact. She won't be a boss anymore; she'll just be converted into a basic NPC until the game is over.
• Punish: Deal the fatal blow and will finish her off. She'll be sent back to the real world, and her character won't return in-game.
• Recruit: Convert Elusive Facts from a villainous Dark character to a heroic Justice character, which will make her part of your team.

Miss Elusive looks at them all with a sad, defeated look. "Please, feel free to choose whatever you like. I have no right to bargain for my fate. I deserve whatever you think is best... The game made me act like a boss. I didn't even want to fight any of you, but all boss characters are compelled to fight the heroes. The others will be the same."

What will you choose?

@Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine @C. Thunder Dash 

As all of the attacks had collided and made their target, Dynamo grinned as his attack managed to destroy Elusive's music equipment. As the final strike was made, he watched as Elusive fell to her knees in defeat. All the while, his ears perked as he heard the announcement of level 1 being completed. "That's a relief. The boss wasn't as difficult, but that's only because it was level 1. I can only imagine it'll only get tougher as time goes on." He would say, taking notice of a pop-up screen. Seeing each option gave the group the choice of what to do with their defeated boss. Hearing Elusive's tone and expression caused the gaming unicorn to give a look of sympathy. Taking a deep breath, he sighed as he tried to weigh each option. "What do you think, you guys? I mean, without her mic and stereo, Elusive isn't that much of a threat. I can imagine we could gain some information if we choose to spare her." He says, knowing that they could gain some valuable information to get to the next levels. That, or gain info on what they could be on the lookout for in the future.

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @C. Thunder Dash

Pastel shrugged. It couldn't hurt to have another ally. If anything, that makes her less of a target.

"Well, if you guys think so, I won't object! If anything else, now we got more ponypower! But... um, where did you get that microphone? C'mon, fill in your new roguish friend~"

[Samurai Equine 51,442]

@PawelS

Outside of Friendshire,
"Pleasure to meet you both." Final Premonition says. He listens to their questions and then gladly points at them. "Now those are questions I can definitely answer. At least while I still have time." He checks one of his wrist watches. "Yes. Still have time." He nods.

"You are right about one thing. I deal in temporal magic. Because of that, the next time you see me, I may act completely different. You might see a younger version of myself that doesn't even know you; or you might see an older version of me that all ready knows everything about you, including your real name, Mr. Nopony. But time magic is not a common thing. It's practically forbidden, and it is said that even Princess Twilight only knew about one or two time-related spells. I've been researching it my whole life, but time is not an easy magic to work with. It can be wild and lead you to random moments through history. That's why I have all these many time pieces, you see. I have channeled all of my time magic research into them, and they help me keep track of different moments in time. Like this yellow wrist watch, this one represents the year I was born." He shows it off. "Or this time piece! Oh, this is a special one. It helps me keep track of the year before Celestia and Luna appeared in this world." He pulls out an antique clock from his beard and puts it back. "And there's... Oh, sorry, I'm rattling on and wasting my limited time here. I think you get the idea." Final has a bit of a laugh at himself.

He takes a moment to look at Friendshire. "As for this town... Two mayors reside over it, but they've both become aloof when it comes to their mayoring duties. They wanted this town to become a great locale for friendship to grow and thrive. Instead, it became forgotten, overshadowed by places like Ponyville and so on. In fact, most map-makers have forgotten this place still exists, assuming it must have been abandoned ages ago. The mayors have lost hope, many of the town's leaders and organizers have left, and Friendshire has become a shell of its former self. ...But there is still hope." He looks back at the two ponies before him. "There have been newcomers entering the town. Using left over clues and a magic puzzle box, they've slowly been bringing life and optimism back to this town. The fact that this town isn't saved by now means that I failed to save it myself..."

Final Premonition takes a moment to stretch. "Ah~ As a matter of fact, of all the newcomers, there was a champion who was really excited about fixing the town. He was a soldier named Samurai Equine. Currently, he has left the town to help out with a bigger problem, but he may return some day. Speaking of current events, right now the entire town is trapped in a video-game magically come to life, which explains the light show. It's not a malicious curse or anything. The spell will be undone when the game is completed. If you walk into that light right now, you'll also be absorbed into the game. I cannot say for sure what you'll see in there. But the choice to go in or not is yours."

After that long explanation, Final checks his pocket watch. "...Almost time for me to head back to my timeline. If you have any further questions about the town or the mayors, you can always go into the video-game and ask the citizens yourself. You'll find them easily, I'm sure. Otherwise, you can stay put out here. But if you have any questions about me personally, I have time for one last question."

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

In Level 1,
Elusive Facts looks up at Pastel Heart inquisitively. "Are you interviewing me? Well... The mic and speakers are just standard weapons that came with this character I selected. Same with the bike. They are gone now, but if you Recruit me, I'll have access to that arsenal again. However, if you Mercy me, the only way I'd be able to use them again is if I re-join the villain side, which I don't want to do while I'm trapped here." Elusive explains.

Well, that's it. Pastel, Chelsea, and Thundy have said their peace on on the matter.
Looks like everyone wants Dynamo to make the final decision and press the button. Recruit her into the team, put her on the side-lines and risk the dark characters re-recruiting her, or send her back to reality? It's all up to Dynamo now.

[Ragland Tiger 3,392]

 

(Once Upon A Time - Night by Ryan Bliss [detail])

On 9/9/2020 at 11:44 PM, Samurai Equine said:

At the Dark Castle,
As they leave together, Tempest reassures Bluebell as best she can, putting a shadow tentacle on her shoulder. "To be honest, I'm still trying to figure it all out. This game has given me more magic powers than I've had in a LONG time! It feels marvelous. But don't worry, Bluebell. I won't let anyone harm you. I'll be your guardian. Hmm... Although, I guess we are suppose to be villain characters, so I guess that makes you more like a princess that I've captured." Tempest gives a slight chuckle, making a joke to lighten the mood. "Either way, if it comes down to it, I'll do all the tough stuff. You just worry about being my back up."

As they travel further, Tempest sees something. "Let's leave these dark lands. I think we should set up space in the next land over, the one with all the ancient ruins. At least that land seems a bit more... full of life." 

@Samurai Equine

The land of the ruins was a lush green place. Many of the structures were surrounded by grass, flowers, and other plant life.  It was almost like something out of a fairy tale. An abandoned rook on a grassy ridge was flanked by what looked like ancient cannons that had long stood idle.  A large beautiful tree in a meadow had a flock of blue butterflies resting among its leaves.

Spoiler

("Rook")

("Relics")

Images by Ryan Bliss / Digital Blasphemy

Among all the things there, Bluebell had found - a mousetrap.  She recoiled at it, as it was a rather cruel looking device.  But she figured that if anything deserved to be a destructive weapon, this would be it.  She tentatively waved her gloved hoof over it, and it magically morphed into - a slightly larger mousetrap.  "I-I w-will get th-th-the-the hang of-of th-this sooner or later."

She tried waving her hoof over it once more, and it shook and grew into a huge catapult, loaded with a cluster bomb.  Bluebell's jaw dropped in terrified awe.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Dynamo Pad @Pastel Heart @Samurai Equine

"Come on Dynamo, welcome her to the team. She could really be a valuable asset..." Chelsea urged wanting Dynamo to recruit Elusive. "You saw all the firepower that Elusive has. I mean heck, combione that with my infantry, Pastel's rogue and all the other stuff we have, and we will be a force to be reckoned with." Thundy said.