Herowannabe

Hey guys, I was going to spend this evening writing up my thoughts on the game from the GM's perspective, but instead I've been preoccupied because we just found my cat! I'm very thrilled (and exhausted now- it's 1:30am) and SO relieved. I'll try to get the GM post up sometime in the next day or two. EDIT: spoke too soon. If you haven't cast any votes for the CR competition, now is your last chance to do so.

I have an update to this story, but it didn't feel right to post it in this thread, so I posted it here instead.

This is a continuation from this post I made over in the Bad Day thread. Long story short, my cat, Rugby, snuck out of our house 3 weeks ago and has been lost ever since. Today, we found him! Our neighborhood has been fantastic- everyone has been super helpful and supportive and we've had many people out looking for him (and this is where I pause to give a HUGE plug to nextdoor.com. It's a social media site + app for neighborhoods- so when you post only your neighbors can see it, and vice versa. It's a great way to spread news (like when your pet is lost), keep an eye out for each other, buy/sell things, find a local handyman/plumber/music-teacher/etc or advertise your own services, and so on. Everyone should go sign up for it, right now, if you're not already). Tonight we got a report on Nextdoor that someone had seen a big black cat on their street near the local cemetery a couple days ago, so we went searching in that area. We didn't find our cat there, but my wife felt prompted to search another street on the other side of the cemetery and Rugby was sitting right there on the side of the road. My wife spotted him and jumped out of the car, and he ran away from us at first, but when I approached him and called his name he came to me and let me pick him up. He's still pretty freaked out and wild, he's hissing and growling at our other cat, his fur is matted and filthy, it looks like he caught a cold, he may or may not be hurt and/or have fleas, but he's safe at home now! My buddy is home!

I didn't know you were watching the game! We probably could have had you step in as a pinch hitter for one of the players that went inactive. Or if not then I could have at least given you access to the spec doc. Something at least. Anyway, thanks again for making this game happen @Madagascar! It was hands down the funnest game I've run so far.

Yeah, that was @randuir's suggestion in the Spec Doc. I was trying to figure out how to narrate a draw, and he suggested that the Ponies get the Elements and the kidnapped ponies back, but Plot Twist! The Changelings secretly replaced the captured ponies with Changelings, so they're still hiding among the population.

Not yet, though several neighbors have reported seeing him so we know he's still around. We live near a creek and it seems like he's hanging around there, using the creek and an irrigation pipe that offshoots as a walkway to get around to different parts of the neighborhood. We have a cat-trap from the Animal Shelter that we've been using to try to catch him. So far we've only caught 1 cat, and it was feral. But it's just a matter of time before we catch him and get him home. Thanks for your concern! EDIT: And yes, it was a big help. That one little seed gave me the direction I needed to compose everything else. Thanks!

… 9 days ago, in the Royal Castle…. Captain Steel Shard stood guard at the entrance to the Chamber of the Elements, examining the sword that his son had given him just a few days ago. The sword was a dangerous weapon, strong and versatile. Captain Shard worried about the consequences of making such weapons- he needed to speak to his son about it. He was startled out of his contemplations as two ponies galloped around the corner- not just any ponies, but the royal sisters! “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!” Captain Shard said, and made a salute with the sword. “Be on the lookout, Captain!” Princess Celestia ordered. “There is mischief a-hoof!” The Princess rushed into the Chamber of the Elements and the massive double-doors swung shut with a thud. Mischief? What sort of ‘mischief’ could have the Princesses so… frightened? A moment later, a group of ponies trotted around the corner into the hallway. Captain Shard could see that they were not palace guards or servants- just a disparate group of village ponies. And at their head trotted his son, Razor Shard. “Halt! By order of Princess Celestia!” Captain Shard called. “What is the meaning of this, Razor? Why are you here?” Razor Shard looked up and grinned with a malicious glint in his eye. “Stand down, Father,” He said. “Oh, and I’m going to be taking that sword back now.” Captain Shard gaped at the words. Behind him there came a few muffled thumps, and flashes of light flickered from beneath the double doors. What was going on in there? Whatever it was, Captain Shard knew he could not let Razor Shard and his companions get past him. He raised his sword into a defensive position. “No. I cannot let you pass.” His son shrugged. “We’re not here for the Princesses, that honor belongs to somepony else. We’re here for you and the sword,” he said, and swung his own sword into position. He gestured with it, and his companions moved into surrounding positions. Captain Shard swallowed hard. He couldn’t fight his own son! He began calling for help. “Guards! To me! Intruders in the castle! Guards! To me!” Razor Shard laughed and gestured again, and the ponies lunged at Captain Shard. He swung at one- causing her to jump back to avoid the sharp blade- but another kicked him squarely in the temple and he staggered back, dazed. A third pony landed a blow that knocked the wind out of him, and yet another pony kicked his legs out from under him and he toppled over. There were just too many of them. Suddenly an arrow flew down from above and struck the floor in front of the pony that had kicked him, followed by a second arrow fired at the next nearest intruder. Both ponies jumped back, and everypony looked up at the upper walkway where the arrows had come from. A lone pony stood there, wearing a hooded cloak and carrying a bow. A mighty BOOM thundered from the Chamber of Elements, and a bright flash of light pierced through the cracks in the doorway. The newcomer took advantage of the distraction grab ahold of a rope and swing down, snatching Captain Shard before the intruders could pounce on him. Their swing took them back up to the other end of the raised walkway, and the newcomer deposited them there. Below, Razor Shard growled in frustration and ordered his companions to give chase. “Follow me!” the newcomer ordered, and kicked open a window. Together they slipped out into the night and were gone. ... Present Day… Mandible stepped back, admiring his work. He stood in Defecate Mac’s cottage, and Defecate Mac himself was now encased in a glowing green cocoon hanging from the ceiling. Mandible flipped open his saddlebag, and as he did he noticed a ripe, red apple he had picked earlier. He grinned, pulling the apple out. When Defecate Mac saw it, his eyes grew wide with surprise and anger, but of course his eyes were the only things he could move. Mandible plunged the apple through the membrane of the cocoon and stuck the apple in Defecate Mac’s mouth, then laughed as he picked up the pink gemstone off of the hearth and trotted away. It had been a simple thing to subdue Defecate Mac. After all, Mandible had been assigned to take the place of Razor Shard, and Defecate Mac hadn’t dared to resist once he had a sword pressed to his throat. Now, Mandible just had to return to the Hive and give Queen Chrysalis the Element of Kindness. The last Element of Harmony. He tossed it lightly in his hoof as he exited the cottage. Only, once outside he found he was surrounded by the remaining village ponies. “Stop right there, Razor Shard!” Twilight Star accused. “You can’t get away from us this time!” “Yeah!” Seeing Eye said. “Now hand over the Element! What did you do to Defecate Mac?” Mandible laughed, and dropped the gemstone into his saddlebag, then whipped his sword up in front of him. The other ponies froze. None of them had any weapons or a tough Changeling shell to protect them like he did. They were helpless before him. “That’s right,” he sneered. “Back off.” He trotted confidently through the crowd, and they shied away from his bared blade. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a gift to deliver to my Queen.” He backed away from the crowd, keeping his eye on them and his sword pointed towards them as he made his way towards the edge of the Everfree forest. None of them dared to try to stop him. Mandible heard the ring of steel being unsheathed, and he whirled around to see a pony wearing a cloak with the hood pulled over his face, with a drawn sword identical to the one that Mandible held. The new pony threw off the hooded cloak. It was Captain Shard. Mandible recovered from his shock quickly. “Father!” He said. “Where did you come from? These ponies are Changelings, they tried to-” “Enough with the lies, Changeling.” Captain Shard said. “Hidden Antler rescued me on the day you attacked Princess Celestia in the Castle, and hid me away in his cottage in the forest so that I could recover from my wounds.” Mandible grunted, and held his sword forward threateningly. Captain Shard stood directly between him and the path leading through the Everfree Forest. “Stand aside,” he growled. “Or else.” “Not this time,” Captain Shard said resolutely, and didn’t budge an inch. Mandible charged, swinging for the pony’s neck. Steel rang against steel as Captain Shard parried, then returned with a thrust of his own. Mandible twisted to the side, swinging repeatedly. Captain Shard deftly blocked each blow, turning with each step to stay between Mandible and the forest. The other ponies gathered about, eyes riveted on the dueling ponies. To the onlookers they seemed evenly matched, but Mandible could tell that wasn’t the case. Captain Shard was better. His parries were starting to come quicker and his thrusts coming closer as he figured out Mandible’s fighting style. So Mandible cheated. As Captain Shard swung at Mandible’s legs he shape-shifted back into his true form, and used his wings to fly up over Captain Shard’s sword. Mandible thrust, and his blade caught Captain Shard’s shoulder. Captain Shard cried out, but instead of faltering he countered with a powerful swing of his own. Steel met steel, and Mandible’s sword shattered- broken in two like the Cutie Mark that had been shown on his flank just moments before. But it was too late. Already the Changeling was flying over Captain Shard’s head, and disappearing into the the dark paths of the Everfree Forest. Princess Luna arrived at the clearing in front of the cottage to find everypony in a panicked disarray. Some ponies were tending to a wounded guardspony, while others were trying to clear green goo off of an unconscious Defecate Mac, while still others were peering frightenedly into the Everfree Forest. “What happened here?” She asked. The other ponies answered in a rush. “A Changeling attacked Defecate Mac...” “...stole the Element of Kindness…” “...tried to stop...” “...fought with swords…” “...Got away. He’s taking the Element to Queen Chrysalis!” Princess Luna looked grimly towards the direction that the Changeling had fled. “We must not let him reach the other Changelings with the Element of Kindness. Come, everypony. Together we will stop him!” “But… How will we ever find him, Princess?” Somepony asked timidly. “It’s pitch black in there.” “You forget, my little pony,” Princess Luna said. “Mine is the domain of Night. He cannot hide from me in the dark.” Mandible burst into the inner chamber of the hive. “I’ve got it!” he called, and held the Element of Kindness above his head. Queen Chrysalis sat at the center of the chamber, near a small pedestal that held 5 glowing gems encased in green crystal. The chamber was filled with Changelings, sitting on the floor and perched atop rock outcroppings. “Excellent work!” Queen Chrysalis said, rising to her feet, and the swarm of changelings buzzed with excitement. The Queen went on, “Now that we have all six Elements of Harmony, the ponies cannot stand against us. The time has come that we will feed on their love and happiness and-” KaBOOM!!! A section of the cave ceiling exploded inwards, showering the Changelings with dust and debris. “Not so fast!” a voice called, and the dust cleared to reveal Princess Luna standing at the head of a small group of determined ponies. “Get them!” Queen Chrysalis screamed. The Changelings rushed towards the ponies, and Princess Luna and the village ponies charged forward to meet them. Twilight Blossom found herself at the head of the charge. She ducked her head and ran straight ahead as three Changelings tried to tackle her from different directions. “Abracadabra!” she yelled, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Changelings crashed into each other as Twilight Blossom reappeared behind them, then turned to face the next wave of Changelings. Seeing Eye kicked one Changeling aside, then leaped over another one. He thought he had seen… There! One of the Changelings was dodging around the others, trying to make its way towards the center of the chamber, and it carried something small and pink: The Element of Kindness! Seeing Eye charged towards the Changeling, but several other Changelings tackled him from behind, pinning him to the ground. He could do nothing except watch as the Changeling with the Element ran up the steps and onto the stone dias. Just before the Changeling reached the pedestal with the other Elements of Harmony, however, Twilight Star leaped out from behind a boulder and pounced on him. His head bounced against the stone floor, and his head wobbled dazedly. “Got you!” Twilight Star said with a smirk, and snatched the Element of Kindness away from him. She turned and grabbed the crystal with the other Elements inside off of the pedestal, then flew up into the air just as two other Changelings tried to pounce on her. Meanwhile Moneybags and Cherry Blossom had snuck around unnoticed to where a large cluster of green pods was situated- the pods that contained the captured ponies. Together they pried the first one open, and Prism tumbled out. She stood on wobbly legs, shaking her head and flinging green goo everywhere. “It’s your lucky day,” Moneybags said with a winning smile. “Today we’re offering freedom from the Changelings for the low price of 100 bits.” He glanced at the green goo clinging to Prism. “And for just 10 bits more we’ll throw in a day visit to the Ponyville Day Spa, which will leave you refreshed and-” Cherry Blossom cut him off. “Ignore Moneybags, He’s an idiot sometimes. Help us with the rest,” She said. Together they got to work on freeing the other ponies. Above them all, Queen Chrysalis and Princess Luna battled in the air, hurling green and blue blasts of magic at one another. “You fool!” Queen Chrysalis cackled. “Do you really think you and your pitiful band of ponies can defeat me and my minions? When not even Celestia could do it?” Princess Luna ignored her jibes, and readied a powerful blast of magic. “This is for my sister!” She yelled, then fired a blue beam of light at the Changeling Queen. Queen Chrysalis blocked the beam with one of her own, and grinned. She opened her mouth and inhaled, and suddenly a misty pink light began flowing out of Luna and into Queen Chrysalis. “You see?” Queen Chrysalis said, the misty light still flowing into her. “You fight me out of love for your precious Celestia, but I feed off of that love. Your feelings only give me power- power that I will use to enslave you and all of Equestria!” Princess Luna cried out in pain, unable to stop the pink light from draining away from her. As it did, the light of her magic began to weaken and dim. “Chrysalis!” To the side, through the opening that had been blasted through the cavern wall, a golden light began to grow, like the dawning of a new day. Everypony turned to see Princess Celestia flying down through the hole, followed by Straw, Weaver, Silver Wolf, and Crescent Thunder. “I told you that we would defeat you again,” Celestia said. “But how!?” Crysalis screamed. “I sapped your life-force and left you in a coma!” “Once the last changeling was expelled from Ponyville we awoke. Without any Changelings nearby to sustain it, your magic was no match for the love I felt from all these ponies. It was the power of that love that brought us back to consciousness, and it is the power of that love that will bring us victory this day.” Celestia’s horn lit up like the sun, and she fired a stream of magic at Queen Chrysalis. It was soon joined by a silvery blue stream from Luna, as well as a half dozen smaller streams of light from the other unicorns in the chamber. Even the ponies that weren’t unicorns began to grow with a soft pink light- the power of their love made manifest as they defied the Changeling Queen. Queen Chrysalis screamed, green lightning flickering around her as she tried desperately to fend off the rays of magic. With a final thunderclap and a puff of smoke, she disappeared- banished from Equestria by the love of the ponies who stood united. Silence fell over the chamber. The Changelings that remained looked at Princess Celestia, looked at the ponies of Ponyville, looked at each other, then turned and fled- flying out of the hive and away from Ponyville as fast and as far as their wings would carry them. Some time later, with the light of dawn filtering through the trees, the tired ponies made their way back towards ponyville. Trailing at the back of the crowd, Schitzo sidled up to Jeeves. “Psst!” Schitzo hissed. Jeeves glanced around to make sure nopony was nearby. “What?” he said. “I told you it was a good idea,” Schitzo said. “Having us hide in the cocoons like we were the captive ponies. Nopony suspected a thing!” “Shh!” Jeeves hissed. “Keep it down. We’ve got to blend in and remain unnoticed until Queen Chrysalis recovers and is ready to make her next move.” “Right,” Schitzo said, and winked conspiratorially. They grinned, then hastened to catch up to the unsuspecting ponies. Darkness Ascendant was kidnapped! He was a Village Pony with the Element of Kindness! Bridge Boy was lynched! He was A Changeling! The Game ends in a draw! All the Changelings have been caught and all the Elements of Harmony have been eliminated. Player List Links: Spectator Doc The Changeling Hive Master Spreadsheet I hope you enjoy the final writeup. Writeups, technically. Bridge Boy had an awesome backstory that deserved an epic writeup, and before the game ever began @A Joe in the Bush PM'd me and asked if he could be the one to have kidnapped Razor Shard's father. When Joe ended up being a villager and Bridge Boy ended up being a Changeling, I had to get creative to find a way for Hidden Antler to kidnap Captain Shard and a reason for Razor Shard to be searching for him. I think this works pretty well. And then of course the Epilogue needed to be something big and grand, and also needed to somehow convey the feeling a of a tie, so well there you go. I want to post my thoughts on the game from the GM's perspective, but it's nearly 4:00am here so I'm going to wait and do that in a day or two. Thanks everypony, it's been fun! EDIT: And lastly, don't forget about the CR challenge! There was a lot of great roleplay and some people who stuck to their CRs diligently the entire time they were in the game. Great job everyone, but now its time for you vote for who you think should win the CR challenge! As promised, I will draw and color a picture for whoever wins of their pony in one of the scenes from the game. Feel free to vote for more than one person, or to vote for a particular scene if you wish.

The cycle is over. Working in the write up once my toddler finally goes to sleep. Her bedtime was 2 hours ago but she is still sitting in my lap, babbling and giggling away while I hum lullabies to her, not showing any sign of slowing down.

If the last Element and the last Changeling are eliminated in the same round, the game would end in a draw.

Cycle 9: The Magic Inside of you As twilight settled on the eighth day, the remaining ponies gathered around Defecate Mac’s shack. He surrendered without making a fuss, but their departure was delayed slightly because he was just finishing baking a batch of cupcakes. He offered to share them, and the ponies munched on them as they escorted him to Zecora’s hut. On the way, Twilight Blossom stumbled over a root, but Defecate Mac was right there to catch her and help her back onto her hooves. They continued on, and as they did Defecate Mac chatted with Seeing Eye, reminiscing over the time they both got stuck in the mud trying to pull Seeing Eye’s cart out of it. Once at the hut, Defecate Mac politely held the door open for the mares to enter. Inside, he approached Princess Luna and said, “Well I reckon I better give this over to ya now. Wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to it.” He handed her a small pink gemstone in the shape of a butterfly. He turned and reached for the cup filled with the Elixir of Secrets… “NOOO!!!” everypony cried simultaneously. Defecate Mac turned to see everypony in the room diving at him with hooves outstretched to stop him from taking a drink. They all crashed into him at once, sending the cup in his hoof flying. He staggered back and lost his balance, and crashed into the large cauldron. The cauldron toppled, spilling Elixir all over the floor. The liquid flashed and began evaporating into mist almost instantly. The room grew very still, and Princess Luna spoke. “Defecate Mac! It appears that your kind deeds have won over the hearts of everypony here. However, we must still exercise caution. If nopony objects…” she paused and glanced around the room. “... then I decree that you will not have to partake of the Elixir. Go to your homes now, and be safe.” The ponies left, but as they did they all gathered around Defecate Mac, expressing their apologies for ever suspecting him and asking how they could make it up to him. After her first encounter with the Changeling in the Everfree forest, Prism had spent the whole next day researching and practicing magic spells. While many of the basic spells used by unicorns didn't work for her, she found that with the Element of Magic she was able to cast a number of powerful spells. By sunset of the next day she deemed herself ready. She set out into the Everfree Forest alone. She had considered bringing along a few other ponies, but she didn't want to endanger anypony else. Plus she still wasn't sure who she could trust or not. When she reached the spot where she had been ambushed by the Changeling she stopped and pulled an old book out of her saddlebags. She flipped it open to one of the pages she had marked and began reciting the spell written there. As she did the purple gemstone of the Element of Magic began to glow, and soon two sets of hoofprints appeared. One set glowed with a faint purple light- her own hoofprints. The other set glowed green- the hoofprints left by the Changeling. Resolutely she began following their trail. Sometime later she stood in front of a cave deep in the wilderness- the entrance to the Changeling hive. Two Changeling sentries stood guard. When Prism trotted up on of the guards hissed, “Who goes there? Show your true form, sister.” Prism responded by summoning up a blast of *magic- the same spell she had instinctively used on the Changeling that had ambushed her. The spell tossed the sentries back, stunning them as they smacked their heads on the stone behind them. Prism galloped past them and into the entrance cave. Her plan was simple- make her way to the heart of the Changeling Hive and free all the ponies that had been kidnapped. As she raced deeper into the Hive she prepared to unleash her magic on any Changelings she encountered, but the tunnels were strangely quiet and empty. Eventually the tunnel opened up into a large cavern, glowing with a sickly green light. The light emanated from dozens of pods stuck to the walls and ceiling. As Prism passed one clump of pods she peered inside and saw young Changelings, undergoing the metamorphosis from larva to full-grown Changelings. The metamorphoses were nearly complete. Prism gulped, scanning all the pods in the room. Soon the Changelings would have a small army ready to unleash on Ponyville. They had to revive Celestia and the others, and soon, or they would be in big trouble. Her eyes passed over a clump of pods, then she did a double take. Those weren’t changelings in those pods, they were ponies. And she recognized them. She saw Hidden Antler, and Schitzo and Jeeves. Oddly, one of these pods contained a full grown Changeling with a flower tucked behind her ear. She paused, resting a hoof on the pod that contained Ironpies. Her eyes continued onwards to the adjacent pods, and she gasped as understanding settled on her. She knew who the Changelings had been impersonating this whole time! I have to warn the others! This could be disastrous! She heard a pebble clatter behind her and she whirled to see dozens of Changeling creeping out of holes and fluttering down from above, and at their head was none other than Queen Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen chuckled, and said, “Thank you my little pony, for bringing me the Element of Magic. Now I only have to retrieve one more.” Prism cried out wordlessly, firing burst after burst of magic at the Changelings, but in the end she was no match for Queen Chrysalis and her swarm of Changelings. *NOTE for die-hard pony fans (minor spoilers for the last few episodes of season 6) Darkness Ascendant was lynched, but survived because he held the Element of Kindness! Brightness Radiant was kidnapped. She was a Village Pony with the Element of Magic! Now that the Element of Magic has been eliminated, all the other Elements lose their power- which in a nutshell means that Darkness Ascendant survives the lynch due to Kindness, loses her Earth pony ability along with the ability to cast votes, but then Magic is eliminated so she goes back to being normal. Player List EDIT: Forgot a vote tally! Vote Tally Darkness Ascendant (4): Bridge Boy, Paranoid King, Seonid, Brightness Radiant, Anonymous.

The cycle is closed

Their ultimate goal can be whatever you (and the players) wish! It doesn't have to be taking on The Lord Ruler. I ran (technically am still running, though it's been inactive for a long time now) a PBP game where the premise was that the crew was working to assassinate King Elend Venture during the Well of Ascension timeframe. Reread the sections in the MAG on characters' Destinies and Tragedies for more ideas.

@Claincy beat me to the punch with a lot of good advice. I second everything he said. Crafty's forums are an excellent source for advice to new GMs. There are several threads worth reading there and even when the forums are slow whenever someone posts a question they typically get responses within 24 hours. The MAG itself is a fantastic source for new GMs. In my opinion "book" 3 in the MAG- the section dedicated to Narrators- should be required reading for GMs of any game system, not just the MAG. There are some great sections in there that deal with creating adventures, specifically those that deal with players' tragedies and destinies. But really, before you start creating your own stories, I highly recommend running one (or both) of the premade adventures in the backs of the Skaa and Terris supplements. They're really well done and are interesting and fun, and have lots of tips for the Narrator for dealing with different situations (if you only run one, I recommend the Terris one, called "Justice, Like Ash." It has a great plot hook ;)) (EDIT: and once you've run a premade adventure or two you'll have a better feel for creating and running adventures, and both premade adventures have a handful of suggested hooks for further adventures at the end that you can use, if you wish). if you have any other questions, or any specific things you want to discuss, I suggest posting over at Crafty's forums. You'll get a lot of great responses there. (For example, here is a thread I created that ended up turning into an awesome scenario, thanks to the advice of the other Narrators on the forum).

Chitin refused to go down without a fight, unlike his soft-hearted cousin, Proboscis. He hadn't even tried to protest when the village nominated him to drink the Voodoo Zebra's weird potion. And what had been up with the whole accordion thing anyway? But that was beside the point. The point was that Chitin wasn't going to just surrender to these weakling ponies. When they had come for him a short time ago he had still been wearing his normal guise of Curiosity, a quiet, unassuming Pegasus pony. But once they had started chasing him he ducked around a corner and changed into a different form. "He went this way!" Chitin called. Currently he was mimicking Moneybags. "Look, he's imitating Prism!" He pointed a hoof at Prism, and the other ponies rushed her, tackling her to the ground despite her protests. They were starting to tie her up when the real Moneybags galloped around a corner. Chitin winced, then turned and tackled the nearest pony to him, who happened to be Seeing Eye. The two of them tumbled and rolled across the dusty ground and as they did Chitin shape-shifted. When the dust cleared, two Seeing Eyes stood, blinking and coughing away the dust. The other ponies bellowed and charged, and the Seeing Eyes both blinked then turned and ran from the mob. They galloped side by side for a short way, and then one of the Seeing Eyes glanced at the other, and got ready to pounce. The other Seeing Eye acted first, and with a flash of green light he shifted into Razor Blade's form and thumped the real Seeing Eye on the head with the flat of his sword. Seeing Eye stumbled and fell, and Chitin shifted again, back into Curiosity. He spread his wings and took to the skies, leaving the village ponies behind on the ground. Chitin cackled, and called, "You fools, you'll never win! It is- OOF!" He was cut off as Twilight Star pounced on him from out of the cloud she was hiding in. She positioned both of her hind legs and kicked the changeling squarely in the face. Chitin spiraled out of control and crashed into a tree, and the world went black After the village ponies had dragged the unconscious Changeling to Zecora's hut and poured some of the Elixir down his throat, the followed Princess Luna back to the Royal Castle in Canterlot. They gathered in the infirmary, looking hopefully to where Princess Celestia lay, along with all the ponies rendered unconscious by the Elixir of Secrets. Nobody spoke as they watched and waited, but their beloved princess did not stir. Princess Luna hung her head. She looked weary, the strain of moving both the Sun and the Moon through the sky along with warding the castle against further Changeling infiltrations clearly showing on her face. "I fear this is not over. We have not yet found all of the Changelings. Be vigilant, my little ponies!" Jedal was lynched! He was A Changeling! Vote Tally: Jedal (5): Bridge Boy, Paranoid King, Seonid, BrightnessRadiant, Alvron Player List:

Write up for last cycle is finally up (scroll to the top of the page to see it). Working on the current write up now.

Ties result in a no lynch

The cycle is ended

I was just asked this in a PM but thought it was worth answering in the main thread: I was actually just thinking about this a few minutes ago, and concluded that if Magic is eliminated that the other Elements lose their abilities at the end of the cycle. So in this hypothetical example, Kindness would get lynched- would survive, and wouldn't lose their power until the end of the cycle, so they would survive the lynch.

The ponies of Ponyville found Weirdo sitting on his porch with his eyes closed, playing a mournful melody on his accordion. As they gathered around him, forming a semi-circle, they began glancing at each other in confusion. Weirdo had to know that they had decided it was time for him to drink the Elixir, but he seemed completely nonplussed. Shouldn't he be trying to resist or something? A few minutes later, when Princess Luna arrived, Weirdo stood up and began trotting down the path that led to Zecora's hut in the Everfree forest, his eyes still closed, occasionally taking a bite of the pickle sandwich he was holding, and all the while he kept playing that melancholy song on his accordion. Which was really quite impressive, if you stop to think about it. The village ponies followed behind weirdo, listening to that sad song and whispering quietly to one another. Once they reached Zecora's hut Weirdo trotted right inside, scooped a ladleful of the Elixir, and drank it in one gulp. His sad song reached a conclusion, the last note drawn out and lingering in the air as Weirdo slumped to the floor unconscious. So it was that everypony was actually quite surprised when the billowing smoke over the cauldron revealed that Weirdo was, in fact, a Changeling. Prism had been on her way home from Zacora’s hut, after successfully finding another of the changelings. She had been in a very good mood, whistling and walking back through the Everfree forest. She had been so lost in thought, that she hadn’t noticed the rustling in the bushes as she walked past. Although to be honest, the bushes were always being rustled in the Everfree forest, so that was to be expected. The next thing she knew, she had been pounced on and pinned to the ground from behind. It was too dark to see who had jumped her. Besides, her face was kind of buried in the dirt. She heard a laugh that made her blood turn cold. “I got you!”, the voice said. Prism panicked. What was she going to do? She had finally been captured by the changelings. Or, THE, changeling? She didn’t hear any other voices. Was this the last one? She had to do something, and quick. If she could turn the tables, ponyville would be saved! Before she knew what was happening, Prism’s eyes began to glow, and the changeling was suddenly knocked back with a sudden burst of energy! The element of magic! It had activated! The next thing she remembered, she was standing alone in the middle of the Everfree forest. Hmmm. The changeling got away. Maybe I should’ve practiced with this thing a little. She had no idea how she had used magic without being a unicorn? But, she was glad it had still worked for her somehow. Magic is unpredictable after all. She was proud that Princess Celestia had chosen her to hold one of the Elements. She had been given a golden opportunity, and she hoped she had done her best with it. (NOTE: The second part of this writeup was written by @BrightnessRadiant. If you liked it, you should go give her upvotes. :)) Ornstein was lynched! He was a A Changeling! The Changelings attempted to kidnap somepony, but the kidnap failed! Vote Tally: Ornstein (6): Bridge Boy, Paranoid King, Seonid, BrightnessRadiant, Jedal, Anonymous Player List:

FYI the next cycle is going to be delayed s bit longer. Someone spotted my cat about an hour ago so I'm out searching for him. This cycle will still end when I said- in about 15 minutes. Thanks.

FYI everyone roll over will be delayed by about half an hour tonight from when the countdown ends

Cycle 6: Musing in the Treetops Crescent Thunder sat perched at the top of a large oak tree, watching the sun slowly setting. The tree was situated in the outskirts between the Everfree Forest and Ponyville, and down in the village most of the ponies were searching for him. They felt it was time for him to drink Zecora’s elixir. Crescent Thunder felt that he could relate to the fading light of day, and it moved him to speak. “Oh destiny to carry me across the sands of time to toss me aside the winds of trust as I have lived, judgment looks back, contemplating as I still live, judgment looks only forward, completed shall not judgement be blind either way? shall my warning not carry either way?I as prism's light warps, so may it be passed as twilight's star leaps, so shall I die to carry a message, is that my purpose to have pursued yet to be betrayed Is destiny” With that, he let out a sigh, then fluttered down to the ground. It was time to turn himself in. There was no escaping his destiny. He only wish that he had had a chance to- Behind him, something rustled in the bushes. Crescent Thunder froze. Everypony always said that there were lots of wild and dangerous creatures in the Everfree Forest. Should he run? Try to fly away? Before he could decide, something leapt from the bush straight at him. He caught a glimpse of purple streaked with red and black before it knocked him over and pinned him to the ground. Dazed, Crescent Thunder looked up and saw… ...the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. It couldn’t be, could it? He shook his head to clear it and looked again. He wasn’t mistaken after all. He had received his wish! Twilight Star had pounced on him! She sat atop him with a mischievous grin spreading across her face. This was it! Crescent Thunder could finally tell her how he felt! He could show her the note he had written! Twilight Star opened her mouth to speak first, however, and hollered, “I got him! He’s over here! Grab the rope!” Crescent Thunder started stammering and Twilight Star stuffed a hoof in his mouth to keep him quiet until the others arrived and tied him up. They promptly carried him off towards Zecora’s hut, and glancing back he saw Twilight Star merrily trotting off into the bushes to await a new victim to pounce on. Meanwhile, another pony was also contemplating his inevitable destiny. Ironpies paced back and forth in his small house, muttering to himself about “the End.” Everything comes to an end. Perhaps that is why he chose to join Ruin. Because somehow, he would always win. That is what he wanted, to succeed. It was a sort of loneliness that ambition had caused in his life, an aloofness that separated him from everyone. But Ruin, his Master, didn't care. He would just continue on with the plan. It didn't occur to Ironpies, though it should have, that there would be an end to him too. That siding with the inevitable force of entropy was not going to stop his own eventual doom. He had prolonged it, sure. But it still came. It stood at his door. It looked at him without eyes. It was apparent that one of them, the mortal or the eternal, would have to go. But Ironpies didn't want to go down without a fight. So it was that when a group of filly guides knocked on his door offering to sell him some filly guide cookies he burst through the door, sending the filly guides sprawling. The fillies began whimpering and crying, but Ironpies just snarled and said, “Your illusions don’t fool me, I can’t see you, remember? Instead, I feel you sitting there, full of Changeling hunger and greed. And now I’m going to go expose you to the rest of the village, using this!” He held out a small orange gemstone in the shape of an Apple, dangling from a chain. The filly guides glanced at each other, then hissed, one by one dropping their illusions and reverting to their normal form. Ironpies bellowed and charged. He put up a good fight, but in the end he was no match for a whole group of Changelings on his own. Ecthelion III was lynched! He was a Regular Village Pony! Hemalurgic Headshot was kidnapped! He was a Village Pony with the Element of Honesty! Vote Tally: Ecthelion III (5): Hemalurgic Headshot, Seonid, Brightness Radiant, Jedal, Anonymous Hemalurgic Headshot (2): Bridge Boy, Ornstein, Ecthelion III Jedal (1): Paranoid King Player List:

Oh cycle is closed, btw. Working my way through the thread now. You guys made up for the lack of activity during the first 3/4ths of the cycle with a vengeance!

Hey everyone, just a quick note from your Contribution Crusading GM. We're reaching the point in most games where many of the active players have been eliminated and the conversation has slowed to a trickle. I just sent PMs out to all the players who haven't posted yet this cycle, inviting them back to activity. If someone wanted to post a quick recap of the past few cycles for those that have fallen behind, I'm sure a good amount of up-votes will be headed your way (bonus points if you do it while staying in character ;)). As is true with any SE game, the more effort you (the plural you, as in everybody still alive in the game) put into it, the more you (again plural) will enjoy the game. Good luck to all those remaining! And now back to your regularly scheduled scheming:

Cycle 5: A True Fake Friend Silver Wolf spun his daggers in his hooves and glowered from the stormcloud he was hiding in. The entire village was searching for him, and they didn’t seem friendly. He had nopony left. No friends to stick up for him. He was on his own. He had known that this day would come sooner or later. With all the kidnappings happening lately, it was only a matter of time before ponies started wondering why the bodyguard pony wasn’t doing his job. It wasn’t his fault- he was trying to keep everypony safe, but it was nearly impossible to do so when the Changelings could look like anypony. Half the time he wasn’t even sure if the ponies he was guarding were actually themselves or if they too were Changelings. Off to his left, a few pegasus ponies were busting clouds, obviously searching for him. They’d reach his cloud in a couple minutes. This was bad. This was worse than the time his favorite toy had broken when he was just a foal. His dad glued it back together, but it never worked quite the same after that. It was worse than when he had caught the filly he had a crush on sneaking off with his best friend. It turned out they were planning a surprise party for his birthday, so that one actually turned out pretty good. This was worse than when he had lost his parents. They had just gone down the street to Sugarcube Corner and they found him a short time later, but still. It was almost as bad as the time his cat ran away. Almost. Come back Rugby! The other pegasi were close now. Silver Wolf could make them out clearly- it was Crescent Thunder and Twilight Star. He gritted his teeth. No. He wouldn’t go out without a fight, not this time. There were still changelings in Ponyville- probably among those searching for him. Perhaps if he posed a big enough threat to them they would give themselves away? With a shout of defiance, Silver Wolf burst from the cloud he was in and dove straight at his pursuers. Crescent Thunder jerked in surprise and lost control, spiraling towards the ground as Silver Wolf barreled past him. Twilight Star, who was used to being the pouncer, not the pouncee, stared wide-eyed as Silver Wolf crashed into her. He spun and tossed her into a nearby stormcloud, which promptly zapped her with a bolt of lightning and clap of thunder. She cried out, rubbing her singed hindquarters, but Silver Wolf was already leaving her behind. He dove down at Seeing Eye and Prism who were huddled together and pointing at him. They leaped to either side and tumbled in the dust as he swooped past. Iron Pies smiled in that creepy way he always did, and pointed a menacing hoof at Silver Wolf, but yelped and bolted when Silver Wolf charged at him, daggers flashing. “SILVER WOLF!” somepony shouted behind him, and he turned to see Razor Shard galloping towards him with his sword drawn. Silver Wolf whirled about, and blocked Razor Shard’s swing with his pair of crossed daggers. Razor Shard swung again, and Silver Wolf had to leap back to avoid getting hit by the long sword. But when Razor Shard attacked a third time Silver Wolf dove beneath the swing, and twisted so that he landed on his back underneath his foe. His daggers flashed, slicing cleanly through the straps that tied the sword to Razor Shard’s foreleg. The sword clattered to the ground, and Silver Wolf kicked up with his hindlegs which sent Razor Shard tumbling to the ground as well. Silver Wolf leaped and landed atop the other pony, which his daggers crossed at Razor Shard’s throat. Silver Wolf looked into Razor Shard’s eyes and saw… Fear. He glanced around at the ponies gathered around the duelists and saw fear on their faces, too. What am I doing!? Horrified at his actions, he threw his daggers aside, and raised his hooves in surrender. “I… am sorry,” he said, and let the other ponies take and bind him. Later, in Zecora’s hut, the smoking billowing over the Elixir of Secrets revealed that Silver Wolf wasn’t a Changeling after all, just a pony, albeit one with a dark and troubled past. “Sleep now, Silver Wolf,” Princess Luna murmured to his unconscious form. “Dream sweet dreams, and may your future be brighter than your past.” Later, at the Changeling Hive, a few of the Changelings were gathered around, talking and looking perplexed. “What do we do with her?” Chitin asked. “Queen Chrysalis said we were supposed to cocoon anypony who was holding an Element of Harmony in the inner sanctum,” Proboscis replied. “Yeah, but she’s not a 'pony,' she’s one of us. A Changeling for the Queen’s sake. We can’t start tossing other Changelings in cocoons. What will the others say?” “Yeah, but she’s got one of the Elements of Harmony!” “It really is pretty,” Elytron cut in, fingering the purple gemstone hanging from her neck. Unlike her companions, she still wore her pony guise of Dusted Rose. “I dunno, I kind of like it. It makes me feel good. Like I just want to help out wherever I can, you know? Here, maybe if you tried it on you’d feel good, too. You can have it if you want.” Chitin and Proboscis glanced at each other, and backed away from the proffered gemstone. “Uh… No thanks,” Chitin stammered. “Look, we’re sorry about this, but, well, you know.” Together, Chitin and Proboscis pounced on their fellow Changeling, and started dragging her towards an open cocoon. *NOTE: The above conversation is in no way indicative of how many Changelings there are left, so don't get any ideas about the GM dropping hints in the write-ups. He's not. Conatus was lynched! He was a Regular Village Pony! Crimsn-Wolf was kidnapped! She was A Changeling with the Element of Generosity! Vote Tally: Conatus (6): Bridge Boy, Hemalurgic Headshot, Seonid, Brightness Radiant, Ecthelion III, Alvron Player List: