Penultimate Paradise // Closed

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

 

Instead of being back at the mansion like he hoped, Flax was in another strange room. And the more he explored, the more it looked like some kind of puzzle. Why the colored fertilizer? Why all the seeds? And that's with that weird drawing taped to the wall?

 

Wait a second...that green line in the drawing was the same color as the green door in the other room! This drawing was a guide to making your own platform to the door! So what did the colors represent? The fertilizer was blue, black and green but the colors on the drawing are red, orange, and yellow. The highest amount of squares in a row was three, and according to the backs of the seed packets, fertilizer must be added three times. Maybe less fertilizer meant shorter trees so he could create "tree stairs" to the door? No, that can't be right. It looked like fertilizer must be added three times in order to get sprouts at all. Maybe the squares represented the trees. The yellow squares might be for the Northern Sun seeds, the red squares for the Red Climb, and the orange squares for the Sidewinder.

 

With this in mind, Flax took the paper off the wall and carried it with him as he headed into the other room with the seeds in tow. He planted them in their proper place according to the guide. Then he added blue, then black, then green fertilizer. After the work was done, Flax stepped back, wiped sweat from his face, and waited.

[Elderflower]

El could hardly contain herself. This greenhouse was full of wonderful, wonderful living treasures! She inhaled the sickly-sweet air deeply, inspecting each of the plants and feeling her heart race. Their hostess had acquired rare species of plants that Elderflower, an adventurer with a passion for plantlife, had only so much as read about before! She was particularly enchanted by the Light Brights which glowed so sweetly. How ever had Illisa managed to get her hooves on those precious, rare seeds? The mare was more giddy than she had been in a while and she decided then and there that if she had the pleasure of meeting their hostess she would ask how she had put together her greenhouse.

 

The willowy mare might be lacking in the bits to invest in such a glorious collection, but if it were simply a matter of daring, then she would definitely adventure far and wide to get those seeds! Perhaps Flax would agree to join her on such an adventure, too, since he seemed to be quite the plant-lover himself! Oooo, she could already see a humble scattering of Lighty Brights dotting her garden and bringing it to life in the nighttime…

But this wasn’t the time to remain enraptured by a magnificent garden! As difficult as it was to pull herself away, El headed back towards the water. No amount of enchantment or fascination could completely rid her of the uneasiness of being rendered unconscious and then transported mysteriously to this greenhouse all alone. The water was deep, cold, and a bit on the icky side, but the unicorn could swim, so why not give it a try?

Stepping into the water, El winced a bit at the coldness and then readied herself for the plunge! Time to go find her friends and get to the bottom of all of this mystery!

[Zeig]

On April 19, 2015 at 1:32 PM, PyroBlaze said:

 

The ballroom floor is completely packed. There doesn't seem to be any viable way for you to pass through the throng of ponies.

 

Nothing happens.

 

The ponies all continue to stare at you, openly and without shame. If there were any crickets in the area, they would be chirping a chorus as the stifling silence continues to fill the room, all eyes glaring at you.

[Zeig]

On April 24, 2015 at 0:29 AM, CaptainMcDerp said:

 

 

The seeds go easily into the ground while the fertilizer is added on top of them.

 

For a moment, nothing seems to happen. But suddenly, six saplings sprout up from the ground, grown from the seeds that were planted in the holes already dug in the ground. The saplings grow in the order you planted them, sprouting yellow, orange, and red leaves.

 

Every one of the saplings grow to two feet in height.

 

Only the seeds that were planted in the established holes seemed to have sprouted. It seems that holes are the only place where the seeds will grow, and each hole can be used with one single seed packet.

 

After a few minutes of study, four of the saplings suddenly begin quivering, before they abruptly shrivel and fall apart at your hoof tips. The two saplings furthest from the door remain, one orange and one yellow, standing two feet tall. Their leaves fan out wide and sturdy, as if they are forming a wide step for a pony to stand on.

[Zeig]

On April 27, 2015 at 9:44 PM, Elderflower said:

 

The moment you sink one hoof into the water, the darkness around you seems to increase dramatically. You can barely make out the shrubbery that led you to the greenhouse in the first place - everything else seems to be pitch black, leaving you floundering in the dark waters.

 

You try swimming in the opposite direction, but the dark increases yet again, until you can't see anything at all. Eventually, the shrubbery comes back into view, and you realize you've swum directly back to the shore. Any other overtures you take directly into the water have the same effect, making it impossible to simply swim across. The area around the water is simply too dark.

 

If only there was some light source you could use to navigate your way across the waters.

[PyroBlaze]

Marusha sighed slightly as she found no viable path through the throng of ponies. This would be trivial if only she had the use of her wings. Oh well, there was nothing for it now, she would just have to find another way through. She gave another sweeping look across the crowd of ponies looking at her, giving a little hum as she once again spotted the masks adorning their faces. 

 

"So sorry for the interruption. Please, go back to your dancing, it was wonderful. I'll just be going now." She said apologetically, giving a little bow before making her way back into the first room. Perhaps there would be something of a bit more use to her situation through that other door. The white mare walked to the door she had negelected previously and opened it up to check what was inside.

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

 

To his surprise, four of the saplings shriveled up. Flax inspected what was left of the dwindled saplings with a dejected expression. He couldn't help but feel rather terrible. Even if this was some kind of weird puzzle thing, he hated seeing a tree die. Much less four of them! What did he do wrong? Flax studied the paper, then the soil for a moment. If he's going to prevent as many tree deaths as he can, he's going to have to take things a little slower. A little test run should help him figure things out. Flax took a Red Climb seed and placed it in a pre-made hole across from the Northern Sun to correspond to the squares on the drawing. After that, he stepped back and waited for the results.