//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Dungeon Master 
// Story: It's Only a Game... Isn't It? 
// by Ganondorf8 
//------------------------------//

It's Only a Game... Isn't It?
By Ganondorf8
June 17, 2016
Chapter 1: Dungeon Master.



" Welcome, Watchers of illusion, to the castle of confusion. I, Treguard, challenge you to the ultimate adventure." ~Treguard~ His introduction during Series 1 and Series 2.



I couldn't believe it! Why in the world would Rainbow Dash just run through a door leading who knows where without thinking it over first? She always was impulsive and that lead her to making poor decisions, but you'd think she would have common sense to think before acting. Someone like her yearns for adventure and wouldn't think twice about passing up on such an opportunity. Then again, I supposed it was good that we happened upon the door. Considering that there was a powerful magic--unfamiliar to me--that emanated from it, if someone oblivious to magic came along and encountered the door, I fear they would have been caught in something beyond their understanding.

To be fair, this situation had gone beyond even my understanding, and I was the resident magic expert. I had dealt with all kinds of magic over the years with most of them being spells and other incantations Princess Celestia taught me she was my mentor. Other spells I chanced upon through my own observations, and others I learned through Princess Twilight coming up with something that allowed us to overcome a difficult problem. The magic emanating from the door was foreign. I knew it was magic. It had a certain scent that didn't give off an odor like most other things. When you have dabbled in the magical arts as long as I have, you can instantly tell when something has an unusual presence. Had I actually been given the chance to analyze this foreign magic, I could have given my friends and I some reassurance.

But no. I didn't get the opportunity to check. Instead, I had to run after Rainbow Dash all because she lacked patience. The strange thing about this was that the door hadn't been there for very long. When magic is used, it leaves behind a residue that grows weaker over time until it dissipates. Had this door been left here for a lengthy period of time, I would've barely been able to sense the residue. However, what I sensed was very strong, indicating that it had only been created recently. Whoever created it knew we were going to be at the park at that precise time. If I had the foresight back then instead of having it now, I'd have told the others to walk away and ask Her Highness for advice.

That option was gone, so there we were inside of an ancient castle the likes of which I'd never seen before. Whoever lived in this place had a certain flair for showing off how strong they were--weapons were hung on several walls along with a few banners that depicted what looked to be the castle's coat-of-arms. There was hardly any light source apart from a few torches lining up on each wall, rather archaic in design, but fitted with the overall atmosphere. Modern conveniences were clearly not going to be applied, so the chances of us using our phones to call for help from our other friends would have been in vain. 

Judging from the size of the room we were in, it was clear that this castle was large in scope. I had seen plenty of castles when I grew up back in Equestria. Princess Celestia often asked me to come with her to other kingdoms to serve as an official dignitary of Canterlot, and while my attitude back then was different--even now I still regret how I behaved all because I thought myself as the greatest unicorn who ever lived--I paid some attention to the kinds of places we visited. Some castles looked large enough to consume entire towns, while others were so small, they looked more like cottages than anything else. Everypony had their own style that best suited them.

" Whoa! This place is awesome!" Rainbow Dash shouted, her voice echoing throughout the entire chamber.

" Not so loud!" I said, gritting my teeth.

" It's not like anyone else is here, Sunset."

" And what makes you say that?"

" This place looks like it hasn't been touched in years." Rainbow Dash answered. She made a valid point. There were so many cobwebs strewn about, even an entire group of maids would have trouble trying to clean that up. Still, I knew she was wrong about the place being deserted. The weapons hanging on the walls weren't for decoration. I knew this because droplets of blood were trickling down several of them. That told me someone had used them and very recently. I pointed it out to Rainbow Dash and the excitement faded from her face in an instant. " Is that blood? What kind of castle would have something so disgusting like that!?"

" The kind where we shouldn't be."

" Heh! Guess I shouldn't run through that door, huh?"

" It's too late for us to go back anyway." Twilight announced. I knew what she was going to say next. It was fairly obvious to a magic expert like myself. That door had been created by magic, so once someone walked through it, it disappeared, its purpose now complete. We turned to face where we entered the room from, and it was no longer there. I simply stood there while Rainbow Dash began to freak out. Pinkie Pie didn't seem to care either way, and Twilight took out her notepad to write something down. " I know that I'm still new to this whole magical lifestyle you guys have experienced, but I must say that I'm just fascinated at how certain magical objects operate. The moment we entered this room, the door closed by itself and shrank down in size until it popped out of existence."

" How can a door just 'pop out of existence'?"

" It can if it was made with magic." I answered.

" So we're stuck here?"

" That does seem to be the case." Twilight answered.

" Well, you wanted us to follow you here, Rainbow Dash, and you wanted to check out what was beyond the door. It looks like you got your wish, but I'll admit that I wasn't expecting us to wind up in a place like this." I said.

" Okay, okay! I get it! I screwed up!" Rainbow Dash said, slapping her forehead.

" Since we're here now, we might as well start looking around for an exit."

" Are you familiar with castles, Sunset?" Twilight asked.

" Equestria has them all over the place, but I'll be honest in saying that the only one I frequented more than any other was Princess Celestia's castle in Canterlot. If I have my bearings correct here, I'd say that this room was somewhere on the lower levels indicating that we need to go up to get out." I answered.

" With all those weapons around, could this be some kind of armoury?"

" No, there'd be more than just what we can see hanging on these walls. Armouries in castles are filled to the brim with weapons of all kinds to give a variety to the soldiers who have to use them in battle." I answered.

" Maybe it's the castle dungeon?"

" We're down low enough in the castle's depths for that, but there aren't any prison cells." I answered. My own instincts were suggesting that this was a torture chamber given the bloodied weapons, but there would have been a few devices around to compliment such a presentation. This room simply consisted of weapons and torches hanging on the walls that made everything appear eerie. " Whatever this room is, we shouldn't stick around anymore in case the master of the place sends some guards down here to check up on things. If we get caught, we'll need to come up with something incredibly convincing to get ourselves out of it." I said, my eyes turning towards Pinkie.

" What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Pinkie Pie asked.

" If we need an excuse for the castle's master, you're the right person for the job."

" And what makes you think I can do that?"

" You always have something up your sleeve."

" Can't argue with you on that." Pinkie Pie said as she reached into her hair and pulled out a large book to the surprise of the rest of us. " I do have a lot of different excuses to use for any occasion to help ease tensions between friends whenever they get into an argument." She began flipping through numerous pages until she used her finger to stop on a specific page near the middle of her book. " But, I don't think I have one that can help someone get themselves out of a problem involving ancient castles. It'd be sweet if I did, but it just doesn't happen all that often."

" Seriously!? You have excuses for everything except the kind we need?" Rainbow Dash asked.

" If we can make one up that's believable, I can jot it down in my book for future reference."

" I... I just... How... Why!?"

" Maybe the master is an understanding person." Twilight said.

" If he isn't then we just have to hope that we're lucky."

" And if we're not?"

" You don't want to know that answer."

" No, I guess not." Twilight said. She then began writing something on her notepad. I walked over to see what she was doing, and it wasn't what I thought it was. I thought she was writing down a plausible excuse for us to use against the master, but she was actually drawing a square that represented this room. " Are you curious, Sunset? Since we don't know the layout of this castle, I figure that I could make a map that will inform us of where we've been. I'm not sure if it will be useful, but I'll do whatever I can to help."

I smiled. Despite only being a part of our circle of friends for a short period of time, Twilight had been doing everything in her power to fit in. It was an awkward transition at first, especially when she spoke with Her Highness, but she has slowly gotten used to having friends who cared about her. At least we had Twilight's best interests at heart. Her old "friends", if you could call them that, from Crystal Prep tried to make her into something she wasn't. I guess they didn't take too kindly about her transferring to CHS, but now they didn't have to feel stood up by her all the time. I knew all about how they felt inferior to Twilight because of how smart she was.

To be fair, they are also trying to come to grips with friendship, so I can give them the benefit of the doubt.

" So which door do we take?" Pinkie Pie asked.

" There's more than one door?" I asked.

" Yep! We've got that one over there in the corner, that one over there to our left, and that one over there on the floor." Pinkie Pie answered. Right off the bat, I knew for certain that the door on the floor would lead to a basement level or an underground sewer system. The other two doors both were potential ways of getting out to an exit, but which door was the correct one? It was that kind of pressure that didn't settle well with me.

" I say we take the one in the corner." Rainbow Dash suggested.

" Why that way?" I asked.

" Just a hunch."

" That's all!? No other reason for choosing it?"

" Why would I need to think that? Either one will take us where we need to go."

" We don't know that."

" And that's why we just pick one at random and see what happens."

I gritted my teeth for a few moments before breathing slowly to calm myself down. Rainbow Dash's lack of thinking had reached a point where I was about to lose my temper and let her feel the brunt of it, but I quickly realized that she made a lot of sense. Both directions could lead to an exit or lead to an even worse place. Since we knew nothing of this castle, thinking about which way to go wasn't important until we gained actual progress.

However, I wasn't about to just pick Rainbow's suggestion just because she said it. I wanted to take a more democratic approach, so I took out a coin I had in my pocket. I supposed making a decision by having a vote would have been the sensible course of action, but flipping a coin meant no one's feelings got hurt if their choice wasn't used. If the coin came up heads, we would take Rainbow's route--she would be thrilled to the point where her ego would grow exponentially--and tails meant going the other way. Our fate would be decided by a simple coin toss.

That would have happened had it not been for something else. My body suddenly felt a strange force, and it came from the door that Rainbow had suggested. A coincidence? Or, perhaps fate had intended for us to take that route?

" Come on! Flip the coin already!"

" I... sense something."

" Huh? You 'sense something'? Funny, I don't feel anything unless you mean the cold from a lack of temperature in here."

" No, it's not that. I feel a strange force all around us. I don't know why it took me this long to pick up on it, but I feel a powerful magic flowing about this room. I've been meaning to try something for a while now, and now's as good a time as any to see if it works." I said. I walked towards the door in the corner, stopped short at the wall, placed my hand on it, and closed my eyes to concentrate. The magic I had sensed was coming through the walls, and was the same kind that I sensed earlier at the park. Like before, this was unfamiliar magic, so my knowledge was very limited.

" Uh, what are you doing?"

" If you must know, Rainbow Dash, I'm trying to sense the magic that flows about this castle. By running my hand across the wall, I'm trying to figure out which direction we should go to finding ourselves an exit." I answered. There was nothing coming from the door to the left, so that told me going through there would be a bad decision. I moved my hand to the door in the corner, and the magic grew stronger to the point where I had to pull away. " Whatever this magic is, it's coming from that door! Guess we're going your way after all."

" How did you manage to pull that off?" Twilight asked.

" While each of us possesses Equestrian magic, remember that I'm from Equestria, so I grew up on magic. I've had more experience than all of you and our friends, so I can do things that are currently beyond your limitations. Her Highness has more experience than I do, of course, so if she were here then she could've figured this out instantly." I answered.

" There's no need to sell yourself short, Sunset."

" I know, but there have been times when I preferred to rely on Her Highness' experiences than my own."

" She's not here right now so you'll have to do." Rainbow Dash said.

" Let's hope that my instincts were right and don't lead us somewhere we'll regret." I said. Once again, I had to rely on my "expertise" when it came to magic. I was pretty good no doubt about it, but I wasn't on the same level as Her Highness.

Had I not abandoned my studies all because I was stupid and self-fish, I could've learned even more and became an alicorn in my own right. But, that path was denied to me through my own choice--idiotic as it was--so I had to live a few years without any magic until I brought Her Highness' crown into this world--the one we live in, not this castle. I knew my friends were relying on me to guide us through this castle, so I breathed heavily a few times, walked forward towards the door, and opened it.

The door opened with a loud creak--someone hadn't oiled it for a very long time--and on the other side was a long hallway. There were plenty of other doors scattered about, but we knew that picking one at random would be tantamount to suicide if something dangerous lurked beyond them. The poor lighting courtesy of the sparse torches didn't make me feel any easier about guiding us along, but we agreed to stick close and not go off on our own. There could be something waiting for us in the darkness and we'd have no means of dealing with it should that come to pass.

As we slowly walked along, I ran my hand along the way to follow the magical flow. While I had no problems following it--it was pretty easy--I had to stop every few minutes because there was something unusual about this magic. I mean, it was magic, but there was another presence with it.

When I pulled my hand away from the wall for the tenth time, Twilight finally took notice and placed her hand on my shoulder.

" Is something bothering you?" Twilight asked.

" No."

" Then why are you pulling your hand away from the wall?"

" It's the magic. I don't know why, but I can sense something else flowing with it. It's like the magic in this castle has been combined with something else."

" What does it feel like to you?"

" Like... an electrical device."

" That doesn't sound right."

" No, it doesn't."

" It's just techno-magic." Rainbow Dash said. I immediately turned towards her, my eyes wide open in shock over what she just said. Techno-magic? I've never heard of a magic like that, and I knew various kinds thanks to my studies with Princess Celestia. " Uh, Sunset? You're kind of freaking me out with your creepy stare." Rainbow Dash said, backing away slowly due to being uncomfortable.

" What did you say?"

" Huh? Techno-magic?"

" Yes!"

" That's cause what you've been sensing is techno-magic."

" And how did you come to that conclusion?"

" When you said electrical device, it just clicked in my head like that, and it reminded me of something from Knightmare. The leader of The Opposition, Lord Fear, used a form of magic that combined sorcery and technology in his bid to prevent quests from being completed. The Powers that Be would eventually use it themselves in order to keep up, but they were novices compared to Lord Fear." Rainbow Dash answered.

What was truly surprising wasn't the answer Rainbow gave, but the fact that she knew what kind of magic I had been sensing. I felt a little embarrassed that I wasn't able to figure it out, but that quickly faded away when I realized she had brought up that program again. Was it possible that the castle we were exploring was the one from Knightmare? Had it actually been the case, Rainbow would have geeked out profusely without end until the rest of us got sick and tired of it.

In truth, this wasn't the actual castle the dungeoneer explored, but was very close to the program's principle. Despite Rainbow Dash having got on my nerves with her lack of thinking, she did prove me wrong many times leaving me to feel like I had underestimated her. Still, what she said about magic and technology coming together had gotten Twilight's attention, and it had also gotten mine. Twilight was obviously interested in the technological aspect behind it while I was interested in the actual magic. Perhaps this was something I should write to Her Highness about whenever I got a free moment. She would definitely like to know about a magic completely foreign to Equestria.

" Would that mean our cellphones can work here?"

" I don't know but I'm going to say no."

" There goes that idea."

" The only place I know that uses techno-magic would be the dungeon of Knightmare." Rainbow Dash said. When she put two and two together several seconds later, her face lit up so much, I thought she was going to explode. " Oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh, oh-my-gosh! We're actually here in Knightmare Castle! This is the best thing ever! But, I was expecting things to look a lot more special effect heavy, and not an old castle that could do with some lights." Despite how much she had annoyed me, I had to smile at Rainbow Dash for being so enthusiastic about our predicament. Granted, I didn't want us to be here, but she was completely in her element.

" I can see a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway." Twilight said.

" The magical flow is coming in that direction, so I guess we know where to go next." I said. 

We walked slowly down the hallway until we reached the stairs, yet not once did we encounter anyone on patrol. Castles usually had guards who walked around to make sure that no one was causing trouble, but this place was completely deserted. Then again, perhaps this was an area that no one ever bothered to visit? That didn't explain the bloodied weapons on display as someone put them there. There were more questions and answers, but I was completely unprepared for what happened next. 

The stairs looked sturdy enough despite some obvious cracks here and there, a sign of disrepair that further indicated how old this castle was. I was expecting Rainbow Dash to suddenly run up them without thinking things through again, but she surprised me by being hesitant. I could relate to her on that. I sensed a power coming from the floor above. I didn't know what kind of power it was exactly, but something was up there. Perhaps the master of the castle's personal chambers were up there? That was my thought-process. If we could find the master's room, it would certainly cut down on any exploration. That's when I noticed Pinkie Pie was missing and after I distinctly told her we had to stick together.

It didn't take a genius to figure out where she went.

A few moments later, the sound of Pinkie's giggling came from the next floor. We all walked up slowly--running would've only startled Pinkie and we didn't want to take any chances in case someone was waiting up there for us--and found her looking through a tiny crack in a rather large oak door.

" What took you guys so long to get up here?" Pinkie Pie asked.

" Pinkie! What are you doing?" I asked, trying my best not to lose my patience.

" Well, duh! I wanted to know what they've been cooking around here."

" Cooking? You mean, someone is actually here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

" Just before we reached the stairs, my nose suddenly smelt something delicious, and my brain was telling me to go and find the source. It turns out that the smell was coming from this floor and behind this door. Whoever is in charge of cooking in this castle certainly has the 'Pinkie Pie Stamp of Approval'." Pinkie Pie answered.

" I told you we had to stick together." I said.

" You were going to come up here anyway, so we're still together, silly."

Why do I even bother trying to argue with the likes of Pinkie? All it ever did was cause me nothing but headaches. Still, I was impressed that her nose was able to pick up on the smell of food, yet who would be a chef in such a dreary castle? Chefs worked in castles as private cooks for royalty--Princess Celestia had her personal chef who constantly acquiesced to her sweet tooth--or someone of similar rank, but none of it made any sense. If there was a chef around, how come we hadn't seen anyone else? 

My next piece of curiosity came in the form of what Pinkie Pie had been looking at the entire time. Not once did her eyes turn away from whatever was happening in the room beyond the door, and it had certainly proven effective given how she continued giggling. I turned to Twilight, hoping she would have an answer, but merely shrugged her shoulders. That left me to turn to Rainbow Dash for a possible explanation. Just as I was about to speak up, another voice suddenly called out from beyond the door.

" Dire emergency team! You seem to be caught in quite the perilous predicament."

The voice didn't sound familiar to me in the least, but it sounded like there was more than one person on the other side.

" What you need is the Night Sight. Where is the Night Sight?"

My mind was confused with the random nonsense, but Rainbow Dash began glowing like a storm.

" Oh, they don't have the Night Sight!"

I was slightly curious as to why this person kept on saying "Night Sight". It sounded like a powerful magic spell that allowed someone to see in the dark, but then it could have been something else entirely. Rainbow started having trouble containing her eagerness so I had to refrain her from completely losing control of her hormones. We were strangers in a castle that was somewhere, and weren't in any position to explain our presence. Should Rainbow accidentally alert whoever was on the other side that they had intruders, things would quickly spiral out of control before we knew it.

" Ooooh nasty!"

" I know who that is!" Rainbow Dash said as she struggled to contain her excitement. She quickly covered her mouth to prevent herself from shouting and regained her composure several moments later. " I know who's on the other side of that door! That's Treguard, the dungeon master who acts as the host of Knightmare. I recognize that famous quote of his anywhere. Anyone who's seen this show knows everything about 'ooooh nasty', as it became his most endearing quote. I can't believe that the legendary Treguard is on the other side of that door giving advice to a team."

" So this castle is fake?" I asked.

" Yeah, but the contestants weren't meant to know that."

" Ruins the illusion?"

" Pretty much."

" Since you're the resident expert on Knightmare, mind telling the rest of us anything else you know about this Treguard?"

" I could talk about him for days without stopping! Since you probably don't want the full version, I'll just get straight to the point. Treguard was originally the only person who ever mastered the dungeon below Knightmare Castle, but he issued the gauntlet to any who dared to take on the challenge." Rainbow Dash answered.

" Is that why those 'teams' wanted to compete?"

" Yep."

Her answer didn't go into the kind of detail I had hoped for, but it was better than getting nothing. If this castle had been nothing more than a stage set like the kind used during the production of movies and television shows, things would have been resolved rather quickly, and we'd have been able to leave. Unfortunately, things were much more complicated than I had expected. What I perceived as being fake was anything but that.

" I'm afraid that this is where your quest ends, team. I didn't want to have to do this, but, farewell!"

A powerful striking sound suddenly filled the air followed by a whooshing sound. While I didn't focus on that noise per say, I was more concerned with what Treguard said about doing something he didn't want to do. I honestly thought he had either killed whoever he had been talking to or sent them to someone else who could. Before I came up with any other wild claims, Rainbow Dash reminded me of how Knightmare worked. She said Treguard dismisses teams who perished in the dungeon by sending them back home, but then she started to get annoyed over something I found trivial at best.

" Why didn't he cast the 'Dismiss' spell? He always did that whenever he dismissed a defeated team."

" Is that really important?" I asked.

" Of course it is! It's one of his trademarks! Although, he did drop it when he acquired that staff."

" There they go."

" Oh! I'm really starting to hate this game!"

" Well, it's not my fault that the Opposition has been getting even more devious lately."

" I thought we were finally going to win one for the first time in what feels like forever."

" It has been a long time since we last crowned any champions."

" It's not like a winning team is going to come through that door and magically change the game forever."

" You'd like that wouldn't you?"

It sounded like Treguard was arguing with a young woman although she was doing a fine job of responding to his comments. What Rainbow Dash said about his ability to send teams home had given me an idea. If we walked in there, explained the situation, and asked him nicely if he could send us back home, I was certain he would've done so. My plan had one major hiccup in the form of Rainbow Dash. She pushed Pinkie Pie aside before looking through the crack in the door. 

" What are you doing?" I asked.

" I can't believe I'm seeing the Treguard in person." Rainbow Dash answered.

" Hey! I was looking first!" Pinkie Pie said.

" It's my turn now!"

Just seeing the two of them acting like spoiled brats made me question why I sometimes hung out with them. Twilight, who had been quiet for some time now, had been busy writing things down in her notepad. I could appreciate wanting to understand more of our situation, but she had chosen a lousy time to conduct research.

Rainbow and Pinkie continued pushing each other back and forth in their bid to see what was beyond the door, and it got to the point where I had to step in and break them up before they did anything to further embarrass themselves.

" Then there's only one thing for it... Enter, Stranger!"

Just as I was about to grab Rainbow Dash by the back of her shirt and reel her in, Pinkie Pie lurched forward in another effort to peak through the crack. Her leg brushed against mine and I tripped over, pushing all of us through the door and into the room startling the occupants. Unlike the previous parts of the castle, this room was highly furbished and gave off a warm feeling. A fireplace--it had been recently lit--was roaring to our left, a large chair stood next to it, and a bench that could sit at least three people was to the right of that. What truly surprised me was the large screen that hung on a wall. If this was supposed to be an ancient castle, why would they have a modern fixture like that?

My eyes were then drawn to the two individuals who were staring at us. The first one, a man, had a gruff exterior and his clothes indicated that he was of noble birth. The other, a woman, wore clothes one would see someone wear if they lived in the Middle East during more ancient times. It was pretty obvious that the man was Treguard, but the woman was someone Rainbow Dash failed to mention. My first thought was that we were in serious trouble, but that quickly faded away when Treguard stepped forward.

" You predicted correctly, Majida." Treguard said.

" I didn't really think the next team was going to literally come through that door. Besides, why did they come through that door? Aren't they supposed to appear out of thin air whenever you say 'enter stranger'?"

" Quite so, but I suppose they wanted to have a fancy entrance. Although, stumbling through the door doesn't bode very well, does it?" Treguard asked. I managed to get myself out from under Rainbow Dash--she fell on top of me when we came in--and stood up before Treguard. He began to comb me over and it made me feel rather uncomfortable. He then did the same to my friends although Rainbow continued geeking out. I hoped she had the decency to refrain from doing something stupid. " And who the hobgoblins are you?" Treguard asked.

" I'm Sunset Shimmer, and these are my friends, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle." I answered.

" Really? Parents can be so cruel, but pay me no mind."

" What's wrong with our names?"

" To be frank, I was expecting something more common, like Ben, Simon, Julie, or even January."

" Well, we're us."

" Yes, and your complexions are most unusual. I don't think I've ever seen anyone with orange skin before. Well, with the exception of a hobgoblin after it was roasted enough times with a fireball. Still, I suppose beggars can't be choosers, and we are desperate to have a winning team for the first time in years." Treguard said. He then suddenly felt his hand being shook up and down repeatedly, and turned his attention to Rainbow Dash who was behind the shaking. Treguard was beside himself at first, but quickly grew accustomed to what was happening before him. " My, but aren't you quite the excited teammate." I slapped my forehead. Why did she have to go and do that? " Anyway, may I ask where you four are from?"

" We're from Canterlot." Rainbow Dash answered.

" I don't believe I know that place."

" It's somewhere in North America."

" Then you four have obviously come a long way."

" And let me say that it's an honour to finally meet you face to face, Treguard."

" Since you have graced us with your names, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Treguard, fourth and youngest son of the Fifth Baron of Dunshelm. This castle, my ancestral home and birthright, was once a glorious castle that protected the land from northern invaders. For over a hundred years, my family served as guardians, and were vassals chosen by William II, son of 'The Conqueror'. However, it was besieged and conquered when Vestan of Brittany attacked." Treguard said.

Already, I wasn't impressed with what he said to us. While Rainbow Dash was thrilled beyond words, I thought that his story was dull and boring. Compared to what I've heard ponies from different royal houses boast about, this Treguard paled in comparison to them. Pinkie Pie chosen to listen as she loved a good story, and Twilight spent the time gazing at the various tapestries and other decorum that adorned the room. Why was this room more important than the others? Why not have such luxuries present all over the castle? Those were just two of the many questions I thought about, but then I reminded myself that we needed to be sent back home.

Treguard had spent the last couple of minutes talking about his struggles in the name of reclaiming his birthright--Rainbow Dash was mesmerized with each word--so I had to interrupt him before we got sidetracked completely.

" Excuse me. That's an interesting story and all, but my friends and I don't have the time to be listening to it."

" I agree with this one, Treguard. Why do you always tell new teams these days about your past?"

" It gets them in the mood." Treguard answered.

" And who is she?" I asked.

" This is Majida... My assistant, if you could call her one. Supposedly, she is a genie from somewhere in the Middle East, and while I don't doubt that claim, she hasn't exactly used any magic that would convince anyone that she is one." Treguard answered.

" Oh! You didn't have to say that to them." Majida shouted, turning her back to us.

" Ignore her. She gets this way whenever she feels the slightest bit offended. Now then, which one of you shall be the dungeoneer who shall brave the perils of the greater dungeon below, and seek out one of the four classic quest items?" Treguard asked.

" I was hoping you could help us return to where we came--" I answered. I suddenly stopped upon my brain taking what he just said into consideration. " I'm sorry, but what did you just say about someone going somewhere?"