A catch up to bring new students up to speed on the previous events of the roleplay!
Year 1: 1863
Starswirl's School for Gifted Unicorns opened its doors for the first time in years, seeking a fresh start and hoping to put the tragedy of 1831 behind. The halls were quickly filled with talented new students and staff, who began the year with a wonderful zeal for learning and friendship. Over the course of the semester, however, it soon became clear that not everything was as it seemed- a dark presence seemed to lurk the school, a shade just barely out of sight. The presence finally made itself known in Nocturnal house, where students finally saw it take shape a shadowy alicorn. Students managed to chase it back into hiding as it was still weak, but it was becoming ever stronger.
Each house was attacked by the shade, students engaging in battle to keep the shade from leeching the magic from the school. The shade brought with it a corrupting hold, whispering into the minds of students as well as tainting the house ghosts with dark magic. It became clear that without immediate action, the castle would fall under the shadow’s influence. Headmaster Echo Sounds assisted in fighting the shade, but was stricken by the corruption and confined to the hospital wing to recover for the rest of the semester. Professor Golden Virtue stepped forward to help, placing charms on Echo to keep her safe from further dark magic taint.
Students banded together to try and find the source of the creature, leading to a discovery of labyrinthine tunnels which branched out underneath the school. With the assistance of Virtue, students were guided to destroy a number of crystals located below, believing it would banish the shade. With each crystal destroyed, a wave of cleansing magic erupted from the shattered remains, purging the dark magic from the area and clearing not only the corruption, but also the curses from the house ghosts that had been present since the Hall of Memories incident.
The school hosted a Gala at the end of the year, everypony satisfied that the danger had finally been banished. Students and professors alike celebrated the end of the semester, mingling and dancing as one among them tried to sneak out unseen. Virtue’s plan had nearly come to fruition, but it quickly came crashing down. One of the house spirits, now freed of the curse that kept their memories at bay, arrived in the hall to tell Echo of what truly happened in the Hall of Memories. Echo attacked Virtue to try and stop him, but he removed the protective spells he’d placed over her, unleashing the dark magic that were festering within. Echo became corrupted, and the students had to battle their headmaster- as well as the shade which had returned stronger than ever.
The crystals Virtue had instructed students to destroy were not the source of the shadow’s power, but were instead sealing it in. Now released to wreak havoc in full, the shadow alicorn and Echo served as a perfect distraction for Virtue to enter into the tunnels below the Hall of Memories where the source of the shadow lay- a cursed crown. Students followed Virtue and confronted him, but he managed to escape with the crown in tow.
With the crown gone, the shade in the Great Hall quickly fell to the students attacks. The alicorn was gone, and Echo was felled. Students were devastated, for though victory was finally earned, it was a bittersweet one. The school was finally free of the creature, and it seemed all traces of the corruption had been wiped away. After a brief visit from Celestia, students said their goodbyes to one another and packed to return home, bringing from SSSfGU new friendships, magical knowledge, and the burden of their memories.
Year 2: 1864
Over the year, it seemed Equestria had grown darker. A series of attacks had spread across the land, with ponies striken by some magical curse that left them comatose- practically empty yet still alive. Virtue was yet to be located, but rumors of him being sighted cropped up all around Equestria- followed by more and more ponies with each appearance. These strange events were spreading, but had not yet reached the doors of the school.
SSSfGU opened with a new Headmaster and Vice-Headmistress, Thanatos Gaia and Raspberry Ribbon respectively. The two sealed the entrances to the tunnels beneath the school, and began to work to make 1864 a safer, brighter year for the school. The newly appointed staff decided to host the Tricorn Tournament to once again better the reputation of SSSfGU and foster good will between the magical schools outside Equestria.
Toyama and Gildoak answered the call, traveling to SSSfGU in order to participate in the Tricorn Tournament, bringing 3 champions each to mingle with and participate against the Equestrian students. With them followed along a nosy and rather irritating little pegasus reporter named Munsey Prigmore.
The semester and Tricorn started up well, but it was only a matter of times before strange happenings began to plague the school. Firstly, it seemed the tournament was being sabotaged, and a hooded figure was sighted around the school. Things went missing from the tournament challenges, and an Estore that was meant to be saved for one of the Tricorn challenges was released early, wreaking havoc upon the rest of the castle. Police arrived in order to better secure the Tricorn tournament, and to investigate the matters of the attacks throughout Equestria, feeling that these incidents could be connected.
The spirit of Echo Sounds paid the students a visit, but upon realizing what had happened to her she was overcome- and lashed out at the students; it seemed some of the corruption within her remained. As for the other ghosts, they seemed fine until each came under attack by the hooded figure, the figure trying to seal the spirits away in a mirror they held. Students successfully defended each spirit, keeping them from the hooves of the mysterious assailant.
After students pushed further into trying to find the hooded figure, they discovered not only his identity, but his lair. It seemed that one of the previous professors, Ceruisam, had returned to Starswirl's under the guise of Munsey Prigmore, and had made a home in the hidden Speculum Sanctum. Given that Ceruisam could no longer disguise as Prigmore, he moved to kidnap another- Raspberry Ribbon.
Students and police confronted Ceruisam in the Headmaster's tower, before chasing him down to the catacombs where they found Razzles being held. Ceruisam was finally captured and held in one of the empty classrooms in the school. He claimed that he needed to capture the spirit of the headmaster in order to track Virtue, and that without his help Virtue would continue to evade capture. Should they free him, he promised to aid them in tracking down the crown and Golden Virtue- as a show of good faith, he showed them a spell to heal damaged spirits, like Agaric Stump. Students did not trust Ceruisam, and passed him into police custody where he was later executed. Due to the chaos caused by Ceruisam, the true saboteurs of the Tricorn were never discovered, and the tournament was called off entirely. Additionally, under the cover of night, Professor Constelo left with one of Virtue's followers, Helios, to rejoin with the wanted stallion.
Year 3: 1865
The school reopens to a new batch of students, with hopes for a better year- though all are wary of the dangers that have been slowly brewing over the years.