The Crusaders were gathered just after breakfast. Sweetie clopped the floor lightly. "I move that we go now."
Sunflower tilted his head. "I thought you were enjoying your break?" The other Crusaders nodded their head in agreement with Sunflower.
"I was," said Sweetie, "But what I really want is to get home. It's like bad-tasting medicine. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we're done. Besides, I heard Twilight talking about Viljatown. It's a nice place! I'd much rather be waiting there, even if we have to get past nasty monsters and things."
Apple Bloom shrugged. "Can't rightly fault the argument. Ah had lots of fun yesterday, but ah could be ready to go by tomorrow if that's what ya want?"
Scootaloo thrust a hoof up. "I was always ready! Let's go find AJ and tell her."
Sunflower bounced up to his paws. "I saw her throwing horseshoes outside." And he was off, girls now far behind.
They found Applejack just releasing a shoe to land around the post with a grin. The butler was her playing partner, to their surprise. "Excellent shot, madame, but don't count me out yet." He started sizing up his shot, swinging the shoe back and forth slowly. The shoe sailed through the air and hit the post, landing close, but not was well as Applejack's had.
Apple Bloom clopped her hooves appreciatively. "Good job, sis. Got a moment?"
Applejack looked to the small mob that had formed for her and raised a brow at them all. "Are y'all about ta ask permission for somethin' dangerous?"
"Sort of." Sweetie Belle brushed her hooves over the ground. "We decided we should really get moving, instead of laying around. The sooner we get to Viljatown, the sooner we can get home."
Applejack nodded. "Well... Y'all in agreement on this?" They all nodded. "Alrighty then. Can't say ah blame ya for wantin' ta get home. Mighty eager ta see the orchard again mahself. Ah'll talk to Willow and get back to y'all." She turned to the butler and tipped her hat. "Thanks fer the game, but ya see ah got business ta deal with."
The butler gave a formal bow. "The business of a proper lady is never truly complete, madame." Then he was off on whatever chore called to him.
Applejack moved off to find Willow, and the Crusaders trailed right after her. "What? Go on! Ya got at least today off. No reason ta follow me around ah reckon."
Sweetie Belle smiled. "What if we like your company and want to be with you today?"
Applejack paused. "Well, ah guess there's... nothing wrong with that." She smiled gently. "Sorry for getting short." She lowered to the ground. "Who wants a lift?" Apple Bloom quickly took her rightful place as rider of her sister, and they were off. "Ya know, ya got heavier? Maybe ponies're bigger in Everglow."
Sunflower giggled and Apple Bloom blushed. "Sis! Are ya callin' me fat?"
Applejack shook her head quickly. "Ah'm callin' you a growing filly, who'll one day be as big and strong as ah am and buck an apple tree with no problem at all. Why, ah reckon you'll be big enough soon."
Apple Bloom tilted her head. "But what if I don't want to be an apple bucker?"
Applejack paused again, frowning with thought. "Well... Ya don't know what ya want to be yet, ah reckon. Not every Apple is a bucker. Nothin' wrong with that, ah suppose."
Apple Bloom nuzzled into Applejack's neck from behind. "Ah'm not talking 'bout leaving the farm if that's what's got ya worried. Ah can help in other ways, right? Ah'm not as big as ya were, even as a filly."
Sweetie Belle tapped the side of her head. "But you're smart!"
Scootaloo pumped a hoof as she walked. "And courageous!"
Sunflower looked uncertain a moment. "And a great leader?"
"Yeah!" agreed the other two Crusaders.
Applejack smiled as she bobbed her head. "Yer definitely all of those things. Don't ya worry none. So long as my little sister's bein' all she can be, Ah'll be prouder than a beaver on a fallen redwood."
They soon arrived at Willow's bedroom and gave a soft clopping knock. The door opened to reveal a feline form that was wreathed in flames. They all hopped back away from it in collective surprise as it chuckled, speaking in a female tone, "You have guests, mistress. The horses and your son."
Willow soon appeared at the doorway, gently brushing the flaming cat aside. "Ah, I see you have met Kalik. She is my partner and guardian."
Applejack tilted her head a little. "I didn't know ya had such a curious, uh, guardian? Why weren't they there when you were being attacked?"
Kalik sat on her haunches and licked over a flaming paw. "When my mistress slumbers, I am sent away to the plane of fire, where I await her call."
Sunflower clapped his paws together. "Why haven't I seen you before?"
Willow answered that. "Because there was no reason for it." She clucked her tongue. "Now what brings you all here? Have you decided when you wish to go?"
Scootaloo raised a hoof. "Yes ma'am! We're ready to go as soon as possible."
Willow raised a brow. "Is that so? I thought you needed more time to recover? No matter. I will have our supplies ready by sundown tomorrow, and we will depart when the sand cools. You need only bring yourselves. I will see there is an ample supply of food and water." She exited her room and moved to Sunflower. "Will you be ready?"
Sunflower quickly nodded. "Of course, Mom." He drew out his mace and showed it to her.
She laughed softly. "I have my doubts you will need a ghost-hunting mace during this journey, but it is still magic and will serve you well. Good, you keep your girls safe. Mother has work to do." She prowled off, Kalik following after her.
When they were out of sight, Applejack raised a brow at Sunflower. "Yer girls?"
Scootaloo burst into laughter, flopping onto her side. "It's a game of his. He thinks he can get a regular harem or something."
Applejack turned to face Sunflower. "That right?" She leaned in, overshadowing Sunflower. "Just a game?"
Sunflower wilted under the stern gaze. "I..."
Apple Bloom softly nudged Applejack from on her back. "Don't be a bully, Applejack. He ain't done nothin' wrong."
Applejack snorted with obvious disagreement. "Ya ain't big enough yet for that kinda thing." She pointed a hoof at Sunflower. "Get yer eyes off mah fillies."
Sweetie Belle crossed her forelegs. "I am not your filly, Applejack. Rarity taught me how to behave and I can handle myself, thank you." She turned up her little snout.
Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue. "And you taught me better than that, sis. We're not doing anything funny. Don't be angry at him for being a gentlecolt."
Scootaloo snorted, looking a little confused. "What's the big deal? He's our friend, right?" She moved over beside Sunflower and threw a leg over his neck, hugging him. "Best buds! That's what the Crusaders are all about, and he's been a good Crusader so far, right girls?"
"Right!"
"Yeah!"
Sunflower looked embarrassed in a good way at the kind words. "I'll do my best, promise."
Applejack let out a soft sigh. "Right. Well, get yer stuff packed and ready. We head out tomorrow."
It's like "bad-tasting" medicine.
He saw her throwing "horseshoes" outside.
She brushed her "hooves" over the ground.
This isn't an error, but I thought being the leader was something Sunflower was aspiring to himself?
There are two spaces between "partner" and "and."
A "ghost-hunting" mace.
5935565 Fixed!
And now I want to get my dice out and get my character sheet done O.O
Your stuff is too awesome. I'll eagerly await the next chapter :)
Ah, the third stage has been reached of an adventurer being in a place of rest, relaxation and non death.
Boredom.
Will they suffer from that other curse of adventurers before reaching Viljatown?
All those bandits beaten.
Too Much Stuff.
5935630 I was mildly surprised that Sweetie Belle was the one who wanted to move things forward, but her explanation made perfect sense. She's unhappy in Everglow, but she knows that the only way to get home will be to move forward, as unpleasant as that is. It was notable that her friends were all quite content to spend some more time playing; that says that Sweetie's state of mind is such that she can't seem to relax or enjoy herself here, at least on some level. Given that Apple Bloom is the one who almost lost her beloved sister, and Sunflower is the one who did lose his mother, it might be worth exploring why Sweetie Belle is the one who is apparently most disturbed by everything that's happened.
It was a nice little humanizing scene to see Applejack playing a game with the nameless butler. I'm still of the opinion that he and Lady Longtail mean more to each other than just master and servant, but that might be my love of shipping shining through. Still, I think that no one can really disappear into their social role so completely that they eschew basic things like a longing for companionship.
I frowned a little at Sunflower saying that Apple Bloom was the leader of their group. I mention that because Sunflower's driving goal, now that his mother is back, is to establish that the fillies are his pride, with him as the alpha male. Given that such a status would seem to necessitate leadership, this seems like him admitting that he's not up for the role. I'm going to assume that it was intended to simply be a statement of recognition of the current group dynamic, rather than his endorsement of said dynamic, hence his mixed attitude towards what he said. Hopefully, he's not giving up on that particular dream; you've still got plenty of chances to prove yourself to the fillies, Sunflower!
Insofar as Willow being a summoner...I haven't read Pathfinder Unchained yet - I almost certainly won't pick up a copy until Gen Con - so maybe this is addressed in there, but this creates a bit of a narrative disconnect for me, in terms of this being the first time we've ever seen her bring out her eidolon. While the story does try to address this, what with Sunflower asking why he's never seen "Kalik" before, it's still hard to imagine her never having used any class abilities - no summons, no spellcasting, no powers or abilities whatsoever - during the debacle with the train wreck. I suppose you can chalk this one up to her never having had a chance to use them, but I seem to recall Lex specifically asking if anyone had special abilities while he was leading them to safety, this after he and Sonata had reunited the mother and son, so why didn't she speak up then? This is one of the problems with giving characters special powers ex post facto.
That said, it was cute how Willow casually recognized - and approved - of Sunflower's designs towards the girls. That said, the offhanded way that this was treated was somewhat maddening, since it eschewed the character exposition that I so desperately want to see in this regard; as it stands now, we don't even know how Willow found out about that (unless she's just assuming?), let alone what she thinks of it beyond (rather distant) approval.
What was more interesting was how the other characters took it. Applejack, unsurprisingly, not only didn't approve of the entire notion, but also became very protective of the girls. While it's easy to chalk that up to various purrsians treating them as jailbait, I strongly suspect that her attitude has less to do with current circumstances and more to do with an instinctive dislike of "harems," as Scootaloo put it, as well as an even more ingrained protectiveness towards the fillies in general, and her sister in particular. Old habits die hard, after all.
Insofar as the girls themselves were concerned, their take on the situation had less to do with Sunflower, and more to do with shaking off Applejack's protective attitude. In that regard, it's not hard to understand where they're coming from; they've been taking care of themselves, with relatively little support from Applejack, for a little while now. Between the giant scorpion, and the bearded devil, they've even saved her twice now. While they don't seem to consciously realize it, they're very cognizant of how their roles with relation to her are changing; they've earned the right to be treated as equals, which includes rejecting the implicit claim of authority that Applejack made over them. They're not her fillies, nor anyone else's. While they're still young in several important respects, they're not going to be told what to do, or what not to do, simply as a matter of course.
That said, it was telling that they had the stronger reaction to that than to the issue of Sunflower's pride. That Scootaloo laughed the entire thing off was sure to sting Sunflower's pride, though hopefully he recognizes that she was being incredulous of the entire idea of a multi-partner arrangement than indicting his worthiness, something she demonstrated with her gesture of friendship (even if friendship isn't the same thing as affection). This fell in line with her previous hints of interest towards Sunflower before, when she was protesting too much about how she didn't think of him as a boyfriend. Just as notable was how Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had no reaction at all to the idea. Hopefully that was them simply not wanting to deal with it rather than being entirely dismissive of the concept - after all, both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo noted how Sunflower was sweet on Sweetie Belle before.
In the end, it may be that Applejack is right, and the entire lot of them are too young for that. But then, they're too young for placing themselves into mortal danger either, and they're doing a surprisingly good job of that.
5935967 Willow does not trust easily. She didn't reveal her powers? Pretty standard. Unless her power results in her immediate profit or protection, there's no reason to reveal that card. As she told Sunflower, he never saw it because there was never a good enough reason for him to see it. She's not an adventurer by trade, so there was little reason to show off her arcane training.
On the other hoof, she is warming a tiny bit. These ponies are good folk, and have failed to disappoint her so far. They may be worth keeping company with, and if her boy is hanging around with some pony girls, well, there certainly is worse company out there that he could be associating with. Go get 'em son. A significant step up from the hooligans he was hanging around with before.
Applejack is trying to be a good big sister, which is hard work with her little sister and friends growing up before her eyes into something amazing and worrying. She's a mixed ball of pride and fear. She just wants to do the right thing. Her heart is definitely in the right place.
As for Sunflower, well... he probably shouldn't have said that in front of Applejack, but it could have gone worse. The girls know, without a doubt, that he is interested in them. They confessed as much. Scootaloo is brushing it off as friendshipping. Apple Bloom is keeping herself distant from it, and Sweetie loves being loved. He is her personal knight in shining armor and she's milking it with a skill Rarity would find familiar. None of them are ready for true love, Sunflower included. It's all an awkward childish courtship that is adorable.
5936025
But you have already put her in life-threatening situations where she appeared helpless. When Sunflower was missing after the train wreck, she acted all helpless when she apparently could have sent her minion to look for him. It doesn't seem plausible that she would care if a couple random strangers she would probably never meet again saw her use her magic. She was behaving like a rogue up until this point, and if she isn't, where did Sunflower learn to pick locks?
Edit: Also, how do you get 4 1/2 on will saves?
5936274 New rules allow for fractional BaB and Saves, for much better multiclassing. She isn't multiclassing, but there you go.
You can only send said minion so far away before it gets pathetically weak, and since she didn't know where he was...
5936299 What use are fractional numbers, don't you still have to match a number to succeed? You can't roll fractions on a die.
5936309 Round down, but let's say, for instance, you are a level 1 wizard and a level 1 rogue. In the old system, your base attack bonus would be +0, which is less than a level 2 wizard or a level 2 rogue. That's pretty unfair. Instead you get +1/2 from wizard and +3/4 from rogue, which adds together to 1 and change, or +1 bab, which is equal to a level 2 wizard or rogue, yay!
5936331 So now classes that used to get a point every other level get half a point every level? I guess that makes a certain amount of sense. Unfortunately, one of the weaknesses of the Pathfinder system is that there is too much math. At high levels it feels less like war and more like accounting.
5936344 This is why I love Hero Lab. Accounting begone!
Unchained is out? Well, that's what I get for not following the release schedules.
In any case, Willow's a summoner? Can't say I saw that one coming. Should be interesting to see her in action, especially as we move to the next stage of the plot.
One typo's enjoying a lazy Sunday:
Belle.
5936632 Fixed, thanks!
things are looking up.
the real track is right in front of our little group.
looking good David Silver
5936299 Yeah, "new" rules that allow for fractional bonuses. Because we haven't had that since 2004 with Unearthed Arcana.
You'll have to forgive my cynicism here; while I do think that the idea of fractional values is a good one, it strikes me as a band-aid that only treats a symptom of the larger problem(s) that go along with exception-based class-level progression. This isn't to say that class-based character progression is an inherently bad idea, but I don't think that it works very well for the universalism that the d20 System clearly wants to usher in (it works much better, in my opinion, in a system that makes no bones about restricting character choices from the get-go...which is sort of what earlier editions of D&D did). It's not so much a question of math as it is of having so many moving parts that interact with other moving parts, all with their own exception-based designs.
The end result is that you end up either coming up with character ideas after taking mechanical limits into account - which strikes me as backward, at least for a system whose credo is "options, not restrictions" - or you have to go through a truckload of different sources in order to kludge together something that reasonably resembles your idea.
This is why I turned to a d20 System book that allowed for point-buy character design, and I'm far and away happier for it.
y'all
somethin'
wantin'
callin'
callin'
Nothin'
ya
bein'
nothin'
5939106 Fixes applied, may it protect them in the coming journey.
Cutie Mark Crusaders Harem Mares YAY!
If you don't take an anti ghost weapon with you while traveling you're certainly going to encounter ghosts. I don't really understand why Applejack is so angry about Sunflower's ideas about the other Crusaders.
Sounds like a Flame Atronach. But more feline.