Ah, you're back! After so long, one would have thought that the party would be broken up by now.

The man in red was in his usual room and held in his arms his familiar tome. This time however, he had company next to him.
Do excuse my friend here. He was just asking for directions as to the whereabouts of his companions.

Without a word, the stranger gave the man a polite bow before lurking his way out the room.
Pay no mind, he was on his way out. But anyway, welcome back. And I presume you have returned to hear of what our heroes will be encountering next? Pieces are now set on the board as our Adventurers meet our character in question.

“This is your home?”

A sentiment was shared from Twilight’s words as they approached the house to the south west of the village. A downcast mood was on everyone’s expressions as they arrived at the gates of the Burgomaster’s estate.

A weary-looking mansion squats behind a rusting iron fence. The iron gates are twisted and torn. The right gate lies cast aside, while the left swings lazily in the wind. The stuttering squeal and clang of the gate repeats with mindless precision. Weeds choke the grounds and press with menace upon the house itself. Yet, against the walls, the growth has been tramped down to create a path all about the domain. Heavy claw markings have stripped the once-beautiful finish of the walls. Great black marks tell of the fires that have assailed the mansion. Not a pane nor a shard of glass stands in any window. All the windows are barred with planks, each one marked with stains of evil omen.

“Woah, what happened here?” Rainbow Dash gawked at the damage to the walls, “It looked like this place got mauled by an ursa minor.”

“Oh my,” Rarity stared, appalled at the sight, “I know this village isn’t exactly well off, but I would have hoped that as a noble your home could at least be structurally sound.” There was a brief pause as everyone glared at her before she waved her hands out defensively, “Begging your pardon, I didn’t mean to be rude. I was just concerned that if this is the state of what is essentially the mayor’s home, then I can’t for the life of me imagine just how much worse off the common folk are.”

“It is alright, Miss Rarity. You are not wrong with your concerns,” Ismark replied reassuringly, “And while my family may be better off than most others, you will find that there is no one within Barovia that isn’t affected by Strahd’s influence. From the richest of nobles to the poorest of beggars, the devil has us in his grip.”

He looked to Rainbow as he led the party through the manor’s pathway, “As for your question, Ms Dash, I mentioned before Strahd attacked our home with wolves.” The human turned away from the party towards the door and grimaced, “My father died during the raid and my sister was bitten by Strahd.”

A cringe of guilt and sympathies were on every Equestrian other than Fluttershy, who was on the verge of tears. Maria and Pest merely lowered their heads in respect. Twilight stepped forward and held out a hand on Ismark’s shoulder for comfort, stopping him in his tracks.

“I know you heard it from us before, but it bears repeating,” she spoke shakily under her breath, holding back the tears in her eyes, “We truly are sorry for your loss Mr Kolyanovich.”

Twilight felt a shudder from Ismark’s shoulder.

Roll for Insight with Advantage
22
For a brief moment, she felt as though Ismark was about to burst into tears. The moment was suppressed quickly however as the Burgomaster turned to the party with a hollowed expression. His ashen aspect had the Equestrians wince with emotional pain and his following words made them die just a little inside.

“There is nothing to apologise for, Ms Sparkle. Good people shouldn’t apologise for the sins of the wicked.”

Without another word he knocked on the door, piercing the deafening silence.

“Ireena, Ireena, it’s me. Please open up.”

A soft yet panicked voice replied behind the door, “Ismark? Brother, is it truly you?”

Ismark breathed out a sigh, “Yes sister, it is I. I’ve brought guests who are willing to help us to Vallaki.”

“Can they be trusted?” came the muffled reply.

“Yes, they are adventurers from beyond the realm. Untouched by Strahd’s influence.”

The door promptly opened and Ismark wordlessly entered, much to the puzzlement of the party.

Rainbow spoke first, “Should we go in or…?”

“Let me ask,” said Maria as she stepped closer to the door. “Lord Burgomaster, may we enter?”

A panicked cry was heard within. “Ismark, brother! They’re asking to be let in! They could be the Devil, or his spawns, or-”

“Ireena please, calm yourself,” Ismark’s voice said in a harsh tone, “They do not our ways or of Strahd’s, so please!”

The panicked voice died down to a soft deep breathing as Ismark stepped out of the door to meet the party.

“I apologise but please understand, we dare not invite you inside for a reason,” he spoke with a tired tone.

“Oh, I understand,“ Fluttershy spoke in her all too apologetic manner, “You were just attacked and your sister is scared of visitors so-”

Ismark held out a hand, stopping her, “No, you misunderstood. We cannot say or gesture to invite you in, less we welcome the Devil.”

“What does that supposed to mean?” asked Applejack.

“A vampire cannot enter another’s home without invitation,” explained Ismark, “If we invite you in, we might accidentally invite Strahd or his ilk into our home.”

“Pfft, seriously?” Rainbow scoffed, “This big bad evil guy could be stopped if nobody gives him an invite? Even Sombra can do better than that.”

“Shut it, featherhead. You’re making them nervous,” Maria rebuked her in a surprisingly calm tone.
Roll for Intimidation
20
Roll a Wisdom Saving throw
17
Maria’s glare reduced Rainbow to silence. A small chill clutched the Aasimar as she flinched away from the human’s glare. After making sure that the prismatic-haired monk remains in her best behaviour, Maria turns her attention back to Ismark.

“My apologies on behalf of our company,” she said apologetically, “We were unaware of what vampires are incapable of doing.”

Ismark looks to his back behind the door and enters without a word. Taking this as a sign, the rest of the party enters into the manor wordlessly.

The Burgomaster’s Mansion

The interior of the mansion is well furnished, yet the fixtures show signs of great wear. Noticeable oddities are the boarded-up windows and the presence of holy symbols in every room. However, the interior of the mansion was not what caught the party’s attention.

Standing in the middle of the room next to Ismark was a striking young woman with auburn hair, a sprinkle of freckles on her cheeks and mismatched coloured eyes; one blue and one green.She wore a breastplate engrave with holy symbols over her tunic and a scarlet scarf around her neck. In her hand was a longsword which looked like a family heirloom, which she firmly clutched onto as she observed cautiously at the party entering the mansion.

“S-Sunset Shimmer?”

All eyes turned to Twilight as she gawked at the armoured woman in front of them, confused about her visage.

The woman blinked, “I beg your pardon?”

Snapping out from her shock, Twilight cleared her throat and offered a smile, “Oh, sorry. It’s just that you look like a friend of mine from another world. You and her have a similar fiery hair and face. Apart from a few details, it’s almost uncanny how you both look alike.”

Lowering her guard, the woman relaxed her grip on her sword and offered a polite bow, “I apologise for my behaviour earlier. I am Ireena Kolyana, daughter of the late Burgomaster, Kolyan Indirovich.”

“Oh, how do you do? I am Pr- Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight almost bit her lip when she almost mentioned her title. “These are my friends,” she looked to Maria who gave a forced cough, “and a few acquaintances.”

“Lady Rarity, owner of Carousel Boutique from our world,” the fashionista stepped forward and offered a curtsy while barely containing an excited grin, “Might I say darling, you look gorgeous! Your mane, your face, your physique! You would make for the perfect model for my business. Once this whole Strahd business is over, would you be interested in coming to our world?”

Caught off guard, Ireena quirked an eyebrow to Ismark who simply returned with a confused shrug. “Thank you for your… compliments, Lady Rarity. While your offer is a tempting one, I doubt I could truly leave Barovia.”

Rarity offered a reassuring smile, “Never say never, darling. I promise you, once we escort you to safety my friends and I shall deal with your vampire problem. We may not look like it, but we’ve dealt our fair share of monsters and tyrants.”

“Oh yeah! Trust us, we’re awesome!” the prismatic haired woman bragged, slamming a fist to her chest, “I’m Rainbow Dash and I’m a Wonderbolt! They’re an elite flying unit back in our world. Kind of a big deal.”

The Kolyana siblings looked at each other, clearly bemused by Rainbow’s boisterous attitude. “I… see,” Ireena spoke out, still baffled as she turned to her, “If you are half as capable as your confidence in your abilities then perhaps we might have a chance against the Devil.”

“You better believe it. This mare's ego is just as big, if not bigger than her skills,” Applejack gave Rainbow a nudge to the hip which almost made the aasimar trip.

“Hey!” Rainbow protested with a scowl.

Ignoring the Wonderbolt, the farmer extended an arm in gesture, “Name’s Applejack, humble farmer of Sweet Apple Acres. Nice ta meetcha.”

Ireena gave a slight smile and bent down to shake her hand, “Honoured to meet an honest yeoman.”

Upon shaking hands with Applejack, she noticed a small white rabbit tapping its leg on the floor, gesturing to the pink haired elf and (much to her surprise) a grizzly bear. Startled for not noticing the bear earlier, Ireena leapt five feet away and reached for her blade before the elf raised her arms out in an attempt to calm the situation.

“Please, wait! Don’t hurt him!” Fluttershy spoke out, standing between Ireena and the bear who was now cowering behind her. “My name is Fluttershy,” she said with a much softer voice before patting the grizzly behind her to calm him down, “this is Harry. Don’t be afraid, he’s a really big softy once you get to know him,” and then gestures to the rabbit on the floor, “and that right there is Angel Bunny.”

The rabbit promptly gave a salute.

Sheathing her blade, Ireena bowed her head in apology, “I’m sorry, I was just taken aback by your pet.”

“Oh, no, it’s alright, really.” Fluttershy returned a bow, “If anything, I’m sorry for entering so abruptly and without informing you about Harry.” Her mood suddenly shifted to something mournful as she held Ireena’s hands with her own, “I am also sorry for your loss. Both of you. It’s a terrible thing, losing family. I know it isn’t much to hear it from a stranger, but you have my most sincere condolences.”

Wisdom Saving throw
14
Ireena almost choked up a sob before taking a deep breath to compose herself. She wiped the forming tears from her eyes before looking back to Fluttershy. “Thank you for our sympathies. There are not enough people left in this world to care for the fallen.”

Fluttershy simply nodded in understanding.

Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie produced a stool from… somewhere, and dragged it between the two siblings. Before they could process how she slipped past them, the Halfling climbed up the stool, stood atop it, grabbed the two Barovians and squeezed them into a huge hug, despite her small stature.

"Don't cry, you two," declared the pink haired Halfling, "Auntie Pinkie and her friends will beat the big meanie-pants and turn all your frowns upside down and end it off with the biggest party Barovia will ever see!"

The siblings look at each other, confused at the Halfling's antics. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Ireena finally managed to mutter out from her position.

"Oh, I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, Ponyville’s professional party planner. I have a Chaotic Good Alignment, my class is a Bard with an Entertainer background. I have three sisters, all but one of them works at a Rock Farm with my parents, and I have a pet alligator named Gummy. I made friends with everyone in our town, I memorised all their names and birthdays, I live with the Cake family in their bakery named Sugarcube Corner, I have an underground Party Cave where I make my plans for parties at least ten years into the future, and my hobbies are throwing parties, making friends and throwing parties for my friends. You’re Ireena right? Could you tell me when’s your birthday? Can I call you Ireena or would you prefer something else? You look like a Tatiana, can I call you that or-”

“PINKIE!”

“Yes girls?” The excited Halfling turns to her friends with a cheeky grin, to which several of them facepalms.

Before any of them could reprimand her, Ireena drew her sword and pointed it at the Halfling. “That name; Tatiana! Where did you hear of it?!” she demanded as she glared at Pinkie.

Alarmed from her reaction, Pinkie raised her arms defensively. “I-I didn’t hear it from anyone,” she squeaked timidly, “It was just at the top of my head, honest.”

Roll for Persuasion
13
Ireena narrowed her eyes as she studied Pinkie Pie. Behind her, Ismark too became somewhat wary of the pink haired bard as he held a hand on his sheathed sword’s hilt. Pinkie looked as though she were on the verge of tears from the sudden show of hostilities; both from the Burgomaster’s children and her friends who too stood defensively. Noticing this, Ireena closed her eyes, let out a sigh and sheathed her blade.

“Excuse me for that outburst,” she apologised as she rubs a hand on her neck, “I know you mean nothing of it, but I would ask that you refrain from mentioning that name again.”

“And why is that?” asked Twilight.

Ireena averted her eyes, “It is the name the Devil calls me whenever he comes for me.”

The party reacted with a mix of gasps, whimpers and silence.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Pinkie teared up, “I didn’t know that that name brought up some really scary memories. I must sound like an insensitive meanie pants, didn’t I?”

After a long moment of silence, Spike cleared his throat, “I think we should finish our introductions here.” He extended a claw hand, “Spike the Dragon, Twilight’s number one assistant.” He pointed behind, "This is-"

"Maria Rosa Dela Alejandre Alethra Martinez,” interjected Maria, ignoring the usual looks of bemusement from her name. “This is Pest,” she continued, pointing to the Kenku beside her, “We are from the city of Waterdeep, inquisitors for the city guard.”

“Inquisitors?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Think of us as glorified investigators," Maria answered with a shrug before turning to the siblings, "Now that we are acquainted, shall we move on to business?"

The Party stared at her, almost appalled at her tone.

"Maria," started Twilight, "couldn't you treat the situation a little more delicately?"

The Rogue shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Lady Sparkle. The way I see it, time is of the essence. There is a vampire after our client and might be the reason why we are brought into this Gods forsaken world. The sooner we escort her to the safety of the next town, the sooner we can form a plan of defeating said vampire."

Applejack gave a cough, "Twi, much as 'Ah hate to say it, Maria’s right. We can’t afford to waste anymore time talkin' shop when there's work that needs doin'. Best to get this done an' dusted 'fore somethin' else drops in on us."

The others nodded in agreement.

Twilight sighed in surrender before turning to the siblings, “I apologise but they are right. Your brother asked us to escort you to the next town and we agreed. If we leave now we might have a chance to reach there by nightfall, provided the five hour trek is accurate.”

“I’m afraid that is not possible,” Ismark shook his head sadly, “The gates of Vallaki closes at sunset and will not open before the following morning at sunrise.”

“Furthermore, I will not leave without giving our Father a proper burial,” added Ireena, “None of the villagers will help us and we’ve not had the chance to ask the local priest due to the Devil’s machinations.” Her shoulders slumped after remembering something. “There’s also the issue if he’s well enough to officiate the funeral,” she sighed, “He was not the same ever since he lost his son.”

“Wait, none of the townsfolk will help you out?! Seriously?” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Everyone here fears reprisal, Ms Dash,” said Ismark, “What little hope of resistance against the Devil died with our Father. Even before his death none would dare lift a finger to help anyone, let alone those who earned the Devil’s attention. And with him gone…” He took a deep breath, barely containing his repressed emotions, “This village is lost.”

“My word, that is horrible,” Rarity muttered under breath.

“Ah’ll say,” added Applejack, “This is just like the first time we saw the Crystal Empire.”

“Except we don’t have a Crystal Heart this time,” added Spike nervously.

Fluttershy cautiously raised a hand as she spoke up, “Excuse me, I don’t mean to sound rude but wouldn’t organising a funeral take days?”

Ireena shook her head, “Not exactly. Taking too long to officiate a funeral here in Barovia is not wise. If not done properly or quickly, the dead tends not to remain that way.”

The Equestrians turned owlishly towards Ireena. “W-what does that supposed to mean?” asked Spike.

“Due to the Devil’s influence and power, the lost bodies of the dead often roam across these lands,” answered Ireena.

The Equestrians gawked at the response, with the exception of Rarity who dramatically fainted on the floor.

“You. Have. Got. To be. Kidding me,” said Rainbow, breaking the silence, “THERE ARE ZOMBIES HERE?!”

Applejack paled, “Ah take it back, this is worse than that time in the Crystal Empire.”

“Zombies are the least to worry about here,” explained Ismark, “They rarely enter the towns and are often manageable to deal with. That’s not to say for the other things that roam within the mists.”

“L-like what for instance?” asked Twilight.

The Burgomaster let out a sigh, “Ghouls, hags, revenants, wolves, direwolves, werewolves, vampire spawns, just to name a few.”

Rarity, who had just quickly recovered from her shock from earlier, fainted again in her usual dramatic fashion.

All eyes turned to the fashionista. “Is she alright?” asked Pest in three different voices.

“Don’t worry too much,” answered Pinkie reassuringly, “it’s her way of processing.”

“And I don’t blame her,” groaned Maria, “Ghouls and wildlife I can take, but werewolves and vampire spawns? I’d rather fight a pack of displacer beasts and owlbears.”

“Owlbears?” piqued Fluttershy curiously.

“They’re more terrifying than they sound,” Maria said dismissively.

“If you have second thoughts on aiding us, I won’t blame you for declining and we won’t force you to-,” Ireena started before she was cut off from Rarity who sat up immediately.

“Oh please darling, perish the thought. We agreed to assist you in your plight and we are committed to deal with this Vampire. You and your brother are in dire need of help and if nopo- er, noone in this drab village will come to your aid, we will do so. Cross our hearts, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes.”

“Yeah, what Rares said!” added Rainbow with renewed bravado, “We’ll just call the priest and organise the funeral ASAP, chillax for a few days til we bury your dad and then rush over to the next town before this Strahd dude even notices!”

“Ms Dash, as I said before, organising the funeral shouldn’t take long,” Ireena corrected, “If you could convince Father Donavich to officiate the funeral we could bury our father as soon as tomorrow morning at dawn.”

“That’s even better! We can be done and dusted before noon tomorrow!” Rainbow declared as she struck a triumphant pose, gesturing towards the door, “C’mon guys, we’ve got a funeral to put together and not a moment to lose!”

She stopped her bravado when she noticed the glares of disapproval from the rest of the party. “What?”

Roll for Insight
16
Rainbow noticed a particularly baleful glare coming from Applejack who she just noticed had small tears forming in the corner of her eyes. A look she once saw when Flim and Flam insulted Applejack to her face in regards to her parents. Parents who were deceased.

Oh Buck.

“Wait, I didn’t mean it like that!”

The village of Barovia, Townsquare

“AJ I’m sorry, honest! I didn’t mean it, I swear!”

“Ah heard you the first time, Rainbow.”

“Then could you at least forgive me? Pleeeeeease?”

Applejack stopped in her tracks, turned to look up to the aasimar with a hurt glare and spoke softly, “Ah’ll forgive you for that comment, but don’t expect me to forget it.”

Rainbow winced but nodded, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. It won’t happen again.”

“But seriously Rainbow? Talking about a funeral like it’s a party?” Rarity scolded, “How insensitive can you be?”

“I know, I’m sorry. I… I just wasn’t thinking straight, okay?” defended Rainbow.

“Clearly!” Rarity scoffed as she took a step towards her, “It is high time you watched that tongue of your Rainbow Dash, otherwise it’s going to get us all killed! And I mean it in the most literal sense!”

Rainbow Dash scowled at that and instinctively pointed a finger at the fashionista, “Okay, I can take the fact that I can be insensitive at times, but how can what I say possibly get us killed?!”

“Look around you Rainbow!” Rarity points an arm towards the village around them, “We are not in Ponyville anymore, let alone Equestria! We are not in our original bodies, we have no chance of support from the Princesses save Twilight, Pinkie Pie lost her Pinkie Sense, and to top it all off we are surrounded by deadly danger that can come from anywhere!

“If we are to survive we need the support of the locals, who might I remind you are under the oppressive hooves or hands or whatever it is of a literal blood-sucking tyrant! And to do that we need to watch what we say to these people!” She grit her teeth and spoke softer but no less stern, “We don’t know their culture, we don’t know their ideals, we don’t know their currency, we don’t know their societal structure; we simply don’t know them. Anything we say or do in front of them can turn them against us. All it takes is one wrong word and we could lose whatever potential good faith we establish with them. And I don’t need to tell you the ramifications if that happens.”

Persuasion roll unneeded.

Roll for Insight
15
Rainbow Dash stood speechless. It took a moment for her to fully grasp their predicament. While she understood that they were in a new world, a new world didn’t immediately hammer in new culture. Ponies were ponies anywhere they go, or for the context of this world, people. What Rarity said however made her realise that they truly are alone in this world. There may be people in it but they have no connections with them. If they were to remain isolated in this monster infested world that would make the Everfree Forest blush they will not last long.

She let out a frustrated sigh of surrender. “You made a good point,” Rainbow pouted, “I’ll try to put a lid on it.”

“And we’ll do our best to help you keep it in check,” Twilight smiled softly, putting a comforting hand over Rainbow’s shoulder. She turned to the rest of the group, “That goes with all of us. We can’t be too careful here and we cannot afford to be lenient of our actions. Everything we do here has dire consequences that will mean the difference between life and death. Watch each other’s backs, be mindful of what we say and stick together no matter what. When we have some time maybe we could have Rarity, Maria or myself teach you all on basic etiquette.”

The Party nodded in agreement.

“That’s all well and good but you would do well to heed your own advice out here in the open,” Maria commented dryly, “You have made quite a scene here and it is attracting unwanted attention.”

Everyone soon noticed the many eyes staring at them from windows, doors and street corners, watching them with suspicion.

“Oh dear,” squeaked Fluttershy nervously, “Maybe it would be best if we hurry to the Church?”

“I agree darling,” said Rarity.

“Ah'll second that,” added Applejack.

“Me too,” Pinkie nervously nodded, “I’m beginning to think these folks don’t like parties.”

Choosing to ignore town interactions, the Party hastily made their way towards The Church of the Morning Lord.

As they approached the Party took a moment to absorb the view. This church has obviously weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end, and is worn and weary. A bell tower rises toward the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof and the large stained-glass window above the door. The rafters strain feebly against their load. Behind the church was a large graveyard that takes up a substantial portion of the churchyard.

“Even the Church looks dilapidated, “Spike commented sadly.

“Wait, do you hear that?” asked Maria.

A mournful scream was heard from inside.

“I heard it,” said Fluttershy, “It sounds like somepony’s in pain.”

“We’ll go in cautiously,” ordered Twilight, “We don’t know what’s in there.”

The rest nodded. As Twilight slowly opened the door with a soft creak, a loud shriek was heard echoing within.

“FATHER! I’M STARVING!!”

A tome closes as the man in red stares out from his desk.

And that is where we shall end our session.

Author's Note

Is it a cry for help? Is it a shriek of a madman? Will our heroes achieve their quest for an arranged funeral? Find out next time in Hearts of Harmony: Into the Land of Mists.

Happy October folks. Expect a bunch of updates for this fic within this month to make up for lost time. Hopefully I could get to where I wanted for the story this time. As always, let me know what you guys think.

And for those of you who knows what's coming, offer your suggested course of action in spoiler bars. It could influence the story's direction. See you next time and hopefully soon.