//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Ogres and Oubliettes Part 2 // Story: Sweetie Belle Plays Games // by IndigoMoon //------------------------------// Quick note from the author: "Official" Theme song of the fic: Now back to your regularly scheduled nonsense. When the flash of Discord's magic faded away, Luna and Sweetie were met with a peculiar sight. The room around them had been transformed into something that could only be described as different. The floor had become a brown grid, while the scenery around them was either cardboard cutouts of plants or giant, multi-sided die. But that wasn't the first thing they noticed. They first noticed their friends' strange appearances. Discord had long blonde hair, with a green tunic, a bow, and quiver of arrows. Spike wore a tattered teal hat and cape, a light-blue shirt, and a gnarled staff with a crystal marble at the end. Big Mac had become a unicorn wearing a set of black armour, a sword and sheath, and a black helmet with a silver horn on both sides. Pinkie Pie's mane had been slicked back (sort of) under a striped cap with twin yellow feathers. She wore a tunic and pants of the same striped colour scheme. Rainbow had a grey hooded cloak, over which a darker cape was held on with a brooch that depicted her cutie mark. She wore a mask over her face and her wings were slightly messy. "WOAH!!" cried Pinkie, as she gestured to Luna and Sweetie. "Look at YOU guys!!" Luna and Sweetie looked down at themselves to see what Pinkie meant and were met with a surprise. Discord had changed them too. Sweetie Belle had a brown cloak, with a green leaf brooch, a faded saddlebag containing what Sweetie guessed were seeds for different plants, and a simple band of golden flowers atop her head. Luna looked a bit different, however. Her mane was shorter and lighter than normal, resembling how it was right after her transformation from Nightmare Moon, except it had grime and filth in it, like it hadn't been washed in a good while. Her hooves were in a similar state of mess, while her simple brown tunic was riddled with holes. She had a bow slung around her neck, while her sword and quiver were hung on a simple grey belt. She also had a raggedy, dark brown cap on her head. "What is the meaning of this?" Luna demanded. "What? Is somepony mad because she no longer has her celestial mane?" Discord asked, smirking. "No! Well, a little. But that doesn't matter! I want to know where we ar-!" "What is THAT!?!" cried Sweetie Belle, pointing behind Big Mac. The others turned around to see a life-size game piece with an octopus wearing a crown and cape, and holding a wand. And it looked angry. Discord scoffed. "Oh, that's just the Evil Squizard," he said with a dismissive wave of his paw. Everyone looked at him nervously. Discord froze. "Wait." He looked back at the Squizard, then back at his friends. He repeated this a couple times before commenting. "Oh, pooh. RUN!!!" Discord scrambled off, followed closely by the others. A volley of arrows from skeleton archers rained down from the sky as the group ran. Sweetie grabbed a few of the seeds and threw them at the arrows. Suddenly everything froze around them. Discord vanished, only to reappear as a cloud. "*ahem* A barrage of arrows rains down upon you. Roll a 15 or higher and the seeds sprout into a wall of vines, anything lower, and let's just say it won't be nice." He opened his mouth and a multi-sided dice rolled out along his extended tongue and landed in the middle of the group. Spike bent down and looked at it. "Oh no," he said. "14." Discord winced. "Ok..." He vanished with a *POP* and reappeared beside Luna, back in his archer clothes. "Allons-y," he said. As soon as the words left his mouth, time resumed. The seeds plopped to the ground unceremoniously as the arrows descended upon them. "Ow!" yelped Rainbow as an arrow struck her. There were many similar cries of pain as the barrage continued. The arrows ceased as the heroes reached a crossroads. "Go left!" cried Pinkie. As they ran down the left, they approached a forest that looked very similar to another forest that was well known to all of them. "Is that the Everfree Forest?" asked Sweetie as she ran alongside Spike. "Nope," said Big Mac, who scooped up Sweetie Belle onto his back. "It's called Mirkwood," said Spike. "It's based off the Everfree Forest, though!" Just before the reached the entrance, a battalion of skeletons leapt out of the bushes along the road. Some wielded swords whilst others were armed with flails and maces. Luna pulled out her sword and dived at the first skeleton. She sliced through it with ease, causing half of it to fall over before turning into dust. She was quickly overwhelmed, however. Big Mac leapt to aid Luna while Sweetie Belle fumbled around her saddlebag. She found a pouch labelled Flying Snapdragons. "Spike! Spike, I need your help!" Spike came running over, zapping stray skeletons with his staff. As he came up beside Sweetie, the remaining three heroes surrounded them, in a defensive circle. Pinkie pulled out a recorder and began playing a song that sounded suspiciously like the one she used on the Parasprites, causing the skeletons to dance uncontrollably. Rainbow dive-tackled and a wrestling match ensued. Discord was firing arrows at the approaching archers at breakneck speed. "What do you need, Sweetie? Oh, wait. We never established the name rules," Spike said. "Name rules? Worry about that later! What do these do?" asked Sweetie as she floated the pouch over to him. He looked at it before poking Discord on the shoulder with his staff and saying, "Dice, please." Discord snapped his fingers quickly before returning to his archery. A small dice appeared and fell to the ground. "Ok," Spike said. "Throw the seeds over by Luna and Big Mac, then roll the dice. The dice roll requirements are the same as last time." Sweetie nodded. She lifted two of the seeds out of the pouch and found that they were about the size of walnuts. She planted one on either side of the road near the small fight between Luna, Big Mac, and the skeletons. She then picked up the dice and rolled it. It landed on a 17. "17!" she cried. "It's a 17!" To Sweetie's surprise, her hooves began glowing green. She raised them and pointed them where she had planted the seeds. The glow brightened and magical leaves began falling from her hooves, disappearing before reaching the ground. The plants began to grow from the ground, surrounded by a similar aura. In a matter of moments, two plants resembling blue and purple snapdragons towered above the ground. Then, two translucent leaves sprouted from the stem, just beneath the flower itself, and began to flap quickly. The stem snapped just underneath the wings and the two flowers flew into the air. They turned to face Sweetie Belle, who sat dumbfounded until she realised the snapdragons were waiting for her. "Help Princess Luna and Big Mac," she ordered. Then, in synced movement, they dove down, snapping up the remaining skeletons. When the last of them were either eaten or turned to dust, the Flying Snapdragons faded away in the same aura as when they grew. "Woah," said Sweetie. But her amazement at what she had done was short-lived as Discord grabbed her and pulled her towards the forest. "C'mon," he cried. "We need to move, now!" Rainbow quickly brushed the dust from her opponent off, then flew after them. Pinkie hopped alongside her, with Luna, Spike, and Big Mac taking up the rear. They had been walking through Mirkwood for quite some time before Sweetie spotted it. "Look! A cave! And good thing too, because it looks like night is falling," she said. The adventurers quickly ran into the cave to settle down for the night. Rainbow and Spike checked the back of the cave before confirming that they wouldn't be intruding on someone's, or something's home. As Pinkie and Rainbow gathered wood from outside for the fire, Discord conjured up some tents. While they waited for the other girls to return with the wood, Sweetie, Luna, Spike, Big Mac, and Discord all sat around the ring of rocks that would soon be the campfire. "So, Spike," Sweetie began. "What did you mean earlier by 'name rules', exactly?" Spike nodded. "Ok, so Ogres and Oubliettes is a role-playing game, which means that when you are playing, you refer to yourself, and everypony else playing, as their character. So, you would call me Garbunkle, Big Mac is Sir McBiggun, and Discord is Captain Wuzz. Rainbow Dash is Desmond Miles; I don't get it either, and Pinkie Pie is Shakespony. Then you guys are your characters. Sweetie, you'd be Mistress Shamrock, or Shamrock for short, if you don't mind; and Luna, you'd be Eclipse. "Oh, ok. I get it," said Shamrock. "I still don't," said Luna. "Ok," said Captain Wuzz. "From this point on, if I say "Eclipse", I'm talking to you. If I say, Shamrock, I'm talking to Sweetie Belle, and so on." "Ah," said Eclipse. "That makes much more sense. Thank you, Captain Wuzz." Captain Wuzz clapped. "Now you're getting it!" he cheered. A few moments later, Desmond and Shakespony returned with the firewood. After a bit of fire magic from Garbunkle, the motley crew had a nice fire going. They ate a small dinner of apples and carrots, and then went to bed.