//------------------------------// // Part 2: Introduction // Story: Ponies Play D&D // by Lucres //------------------------------// D&D Ponies 2: Electric Scootaloo -Or- Episode 2: Return of the Poni -Or- 2 Dungeons, 2 Dragons -Or- D2: Judgment Neigh -Or- LARP Free or Die Hard -Or- That Sequel You Wanted It was a dark and stormy night. Well, actually, it was closer to early afternoon and a light drizzle, but Applebloom wasn’t about to split hairs. Her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sprawled out beside her on the rug in Twilight’s library, bored out of their minds. This meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was going nowhere, and not even very fast. Even though they were inside, the dull, grey light coming through the windows and the tapping of the rain on the roof sucked all the energy out of the little fillies. Applebloom narrowed her eyes angrily at the clouds through the window. “Stupid pegasus ponies, makin’ it rain on a weekend.” she pouted, “No offence, Scoots.” “Whatever.” Scootaloo shrugged and stretched her tiny wings. “Can you think of anything to do?” she asked for the umpteenth time. “Shouldn’t we be crusading for our cutie marks?” said Sweetie Belle. The young unicorn was feeling especially fidgety. She rolled over on her back, waving her hooves in the air absent-mindedly. “That’s what the CMC is for, right?” “Ugh, I’m so sicka’ doin’ that!” said Applebloom. “Yeah,” added Scootaloo, “It’s, like, all we do anymore. I just wanna hang out sometimes, ya know?” Their non-conversation was interrupted when Twilight and Fluttershy trotted into the room. The two had agreed to keep an eye on the kids while their big sisters were out for the afternoon, with Rainbow Dash treating them to a Wonderbolts performance. “How’s it going, girls?” Twilight said with a cheery smile. “Lousy.” said Applebloom, grumpily, “There’s nothin’ to do here!” “Yeah, we’re bored!” Sweetie Belle said, rolling upright. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy said with genuine concern. “It’s not your fault, Miss Fluttershy.” said Scootaloo, “It’s just the dumb ol’ rain.” She sat down with her friends as they hung their heads in a theatrical display of self-pity. “Aw, don’t be that way, kids!” said Twilight in a peppy tone that was starting to irritate the fillies. “You’re in a library after all, and I’ve got books just filled with fun things to do! You can read any book you want!” The CMC rolled their eyes in unison. It was a move they had been practicing. They had gotten good enough to pull it off on command, the instant an adult started acting lame. Twilight didn’t seem to notice them, though, as she started sorting through the books for an appropriate volume. “Let’s see, Miss Mare’s Rainy-Day Funbook? Nah, how about The Dangerous Book for Fillies? Hmm, that’s a little advanced for girls your age. Maybe we could try…” “What’s this one about?” said Applebloom, cutting her off. “It’s called a ‘Monster Manual’. That sounds pretty cool!” She had found a stack of tattered paperbacks with colorful covers stashed in an out-of-the-way bookcase. They had been shelved out of order, as if someone were trying to hide them. In an instant, Twilight snatched it away from her. “No no no, not those books!” she said, laughing nervously, “Those are, uh, boring! Yeah, you wouldn’t be interested in…” “Hey, check out this one!” Scootaloo said, ignoring her. “The Dungeon Master’s Guide. Awesome!” “I don’t think this is a good idea, girls.” Fluttershy said meekly. She and Twilight tried to keep them away from the forbidden books, but the fillies managed to squirm around them. In the struggle, a small velvet pouch was knocked off the shelf, spilling its colorful plastic contents on the library’s floor. “It’s a game! It’s a game!” Sweetie Belle squealed, “Look, it’s got dice and everything!” “What gives, Twilight?” Applebloom said, turning to face her, “Why are ya holdin’ out on us?” “Yeah!” rallied Scootaloo, “You said we could use any book we wanted!” Twilight sighed, “I know, I know. I’m sorry. It’s just… my friends and I decided we wouldn’t play this game anymore after… the Incident.” “Incident?” said Applebloom, screwing up her face in thought, “Oh, you mean when that mailpony went all nutty?” It was the only thing she could think of that would cause Twilight to speak in such hushed tones. It had been a major scandal in Ponyville for months, and the mayor even made a big speech about it. She mostly remembered afterwards, when Applejack had given her a long boring lecture about the difference between fantasy and reality. Still, she tried to put a positive spin on it. "It wasn’t so bad though, was it? I mean, no one was hurt. ‘Cept for the beavers, I guess…” She trailed off. Scootaloo jumped in, trying to salvage the argument. “But they got better! Fluttershy took care of ‘em, right?” Fluttershy looked away sadly. “Toothy and Chompers still aren’t quite the same.” “Come on, please?” said Sweetie Belle, “We totally promise we won’t go crazy!” In desperation, the CMC turned their most powerful weapon on Twilight, another one they had been practicing. Looking up at the older unicorn, their eyes went wide and misted with tears, and their bottom lips trembled. They called it the D’aww Bomb, and they were masters at it. “I don’t know…” Twilight said, her resistance wearing down. Her friends had all been upset by what happened. Spike had taken the Incident especially hard, giving up DMing in the spirit of ‘never again’. Still, she had to admit that she missed her weekly gaming session. “I guess it couldn’t hurt, so long as Derpy doesn’t find out…”