Today is the day! Well, actually, tonight. And it is raining, so that should force everypony to focus on the adventure at hoof rather than be sidetracked by the usual diversions such as odd visitors, local crisis, world destruction. I mean, what could possibly happen at this hour...?
Twilight Sparkle is lost in her tumultuous flurry of thought as she stares out of the window. A moving shadow outside causes her to look back at the table, checking to make sure everything is there and in its proper place for the umpteenth time. She almost jumps when there is a knock at the door. Twilight calls for the visitor to come in. With a burst of rain and wind Rainbow Dash flies in, shaking off the water, "Wow, it is coming down outside! I knew they were planning this for a while, they weren't kidding!" She lands and trots up to the table, looking down at all the stuff arranged on it, "I got your scroll describing what we were doing tonight and thought you flipped your lid, but you are going all out, aren't you?"
Twilight wrinkles her brow at the criticism and nudges some of the equipment on the table in Rainbow's direction, indicating where she is to sit. "I was hoping everypony would be here all at once so I wouldn't have to explain several times how this will work. Since you are the first and the earliest, minus our other visitor, you will unfortunately have to listen to the overview of rules a few times."
Rainbow shrugs, "I don't mind, that will just make me the expert!" She looks around briefly, then at the table, "I guess this will do. Might as well get into the spirit of things!" She sits down at the table and bangs her hoof on it, "Barkeep! This adventurer needs cider, now!"
The inn is hardly occupied at the moment. It is your typical rustic inn with an open common area dominated by a bar and a few tables, some booths along the side walls, and a stairwell going up the back wall to a single run of rooms upstairs for any travelers finding themselves here for the night. A low fire crackles in the hearth, and the barkeep is at the bar wiping down a pewter tankard with a rag. A lone cloak-enshrouded figure sits at the bar, twitching once at Rainbow's declaration for refreshment. The barkeep nods and goes about getting a fresh tankard of cider. Rainbow and Twilight are sitting at one of the booths with several packs of equipment arranged on the table. Rainbow stares at the cloaked figure at the bar and leans over to Twilight, whispering loudly, "Who is that supposed to be?"
Twilight almost grins as she gets into the role of the keeper of sagely advice and arcane knowledge, not unlike her normal role. "She is the creator of all our obstacles, puzzles and trials. Her role is to devise ways to defeat us, and in turn we must overcome every challenge using our wits, skills and gear."
Rainbow's eyes narrow for a moment before her face lights up, "Oh, so she is the enemy!" The cloaked figure chokes on her ale and falls off the bar stool, hitting her chin on the bar. Getting up, she shoots Rainbow a dark glare from her shadowed hood and shakes her head no slowly, then goes back to drinking her mug. Rainbow cringes a little before noticing the barkeep is standing next to her holding a tankard of cider. A rather short barkeep, with scales. Rainbow shrugs and takes the tankard, gulping down half the drought before wiping her muzzle and muttering, "Well that's what it sounded like. Most bad guys do that kind of thing."
Twilight pokes Rainbow in the shoulder with a wand and says, "This is supposed to be fun and educational, remember? Okay, if you will take a look at your equipment, you are the Cavalier. Your weapon is the lance and cavalry saber, your armor is partial plate and leather to allow movement in combat." Rainbow becomes elated as she delves into the pack on the table.
Just then there is a brief knock followed by a rush of wind as Rarity and Fluttershy trot in, with Rarity in the middle of a conversation, "...you'd have thought I said something horrible. Honestly, do I look like somepony that says horrible things?" Fluttershy smiles softly and hides behind her hair. They stop and look at the other ponies at the table. "Oh, dear, she WAS serious about this adventure thing, wasn't she?"
Twilight sits up defensively, "Now wait! I spelled out everything with specific clarity in the messages I sent out. You know I don't joke around when it comes to training."
Rarity continues on, waving a hoof as she approaches the table with Fluttershy in tow. "Hardly, but I thought this was supposed to be a game of sorts, not some overly drawn out session of strategy and puzzle solving."
Rainbow whispers harshly as she taps her tankard on the table, "Hey, you are supposed to be in an inn, remember?"
The white unicorn smiles patronizingly and replies, "But of course! Thus we enter, thus we entertain tonight's entertainment. Fluttershy, shall we?" She proffers a seat for the yellow pegasus who takes it and sits quietly, not wanting to be the center of attention. Rarity sits down where Twilight is pointing and prods the pack in front of her as if it were a poisonous adder. "Do be a dear and tell me what role I am to play. That scroll couldn't possibly have been right. Also, who is that dark figure over there?"
Rainbow belches and exclaims, "That's the enemy."
Twilight and the dark figure yell in unison, "No she's/I'm not!" Both of them glance at each other.
The dark figure leaves the bar and strides forward, removing her hood to reveal a dark blue colored alicorn. Luna states, "For the last time, I am not the enemy. I orchestrate all enemy's movement, the hurdles you will face and the dungeons you will explore. I am from this moment forth to be referred to as the Dungeon Master!" The ponies at the table bow their heads. Luna grits her teeth and says, "In court and in public, thankyou. It is not needed here. I need you to not see me at all."
In the Inn, she dissolves into so many shadowy motes, and those dissipate into nothing. In reality, she merely sits at the table and sets up a wall of thin cardboards covered with stat tables, dice rolling charts and other helpful hints. The player specific guides are facing the rest of the ponies while the dungeon master specific charts face Luna. Her eyes barely hover above the boards, as though nobody notices her horn sticking up a foot above her.
Twilight does her best to divert everypony's attention. "As she says, she is the Dungeon Master. I am the Mage. Rainbow Dash is the Cavalier. Applejack, if she ever gets here, is the Barbarian-"
The door bursts open as Applejack gallops in and screeches to a halt, spitting out a scroll and yelling, "Ah ain't no barbarian! Ahm as cultured as warm milk on a brisk winter evenin!" The other ponies stare at her. "That is to say, well, ah ain't no barbarian." She kicks the scroll a short distance.
Rarity chimes in, "Do be a non-barbarian and shut the door? Or we will all need your cultured warm milk before the night is done." Applejack turns red with embarrassment and goes back to close the door.
When the orange pony returns, she says, "Ah know this is jes a game and all, and ya'll put a lot of time scriblin out dem scrolls, sugar cube, but Ah wanna try somethin diffrent....Ahm gonna be a Palidin of the Goddess of Apples!!!" The other ponies smack their foreheads.
Rarity recovers and smirks at the beaming earth pony, "Sooooo...a servant of princess Big Mac?"
Applejack sits up ramrod straight, "We agreed never to talk of that again."
"I remember no such agreement, darling."
Twilight waves her hooves and pleas to get things back on track. "Applejack, that doesn't mean you are uncultured. BOTH Paladin AND Barbarian are a subclass of the Warrior class. It is just a role depicting you as a warrior who is also in touch with nature. I felt you would love the role."
To her credit, Applejack does look down at the character sheet on the table and settles into her seat, somewhat mollified. "Well, seeing as you puts it that way, Ah reckon Ah can give it a buck. By the way, who is she gonna be?" She nods at Luna. A blue glow muffles Rainbow's mouth as Luna stares down the rest of the sweating ponies. Applejack looks around, "What'd Ah say?"
Fluttershy, who has been so very quiet up to this point, finally looks up from her character sheet and says demurely, "Um, Twilight, if it's not too much trouble....I would like to be...a treeant druid." That last part she mumbles.
Twilight frowns and asks, "A what?"
Rarity, sitting next to her and having the best chance to catch what she says, turns to Fluttershy with stark exasperation, "A treeant druid? Really Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy nearly folds in on herself, "What? I would um...kind of like to be a tree."
Rainbow barks out after the blue glow dissipates, "But trees don't fight or do anything dangerous!"
"Um...I know..."
Twilight stands up on her seat with her forehooves on the table stomping in time to her words, "No. No. No. Fluttershy is a druid. Nopony is changing anything. Rainbow is a Cavalier, Applejack the Barbarian. I am the Mage, Fluttershy is the Druid. Wait, I just said that. Who am I missing? Oh! Rarity, you are to be our Cleric."
Rarity states, "Really, this is all so very droll. I would much rather be the Princess Mage, a proper Princess Mage, ever searching to rescue her handsome prince. As beautiful as she is powerful, she is a true enchantress."
Twilight slowly sits back down in her chair and sighs tiredly, "You do know in adventuring you have to pay for all your spell books, scrolls and magely accessories? A Cleric can sell blessings and blessed keepsakes. How do you plan to pay for all of that?"
Rarity smiles as she looks off into the distance, "I could always find some gems, darling. It's a simple enough spell." Her horn glows and a gemstone pops out of thin air, dropping onto her hoof.
Twilight sputters, grabbing a book, "But you can't! There's no gem-finding spell....." She looks in the mage handbook of spells, pauses on one page, then slams it shut. "ARGH! Fine, be an enchantress! Swap your intelligence for your wisdom and lose the armor. You were supposed to be our Cleric. Now we need a bonafide healer. Who are we going to get for that?"
From behind the boards, an otherworldly voice says softly, "Do not worry, I have that covered." Twilight looks at the boards with the eyes staring at her just above the rim...and the horn.
A blur of pink zips in and Pinkie Pie dumps a whole bunch of board games on the table, "I'msosorryIwaslatebutIthoughtifwegotboredwecouldplayboardgamesuntilthesunboredthroughthecloudsgetit?" Somehow, everypony understands her.
Twilight pushes aside all the games with practiced tolerance of her pink friend's antics and forces out a smile, "We're happy for you to bring all these alternatives, but I think what we have planned tonight is going to keep us from even looking at these other games." She takes a character sheet and slides it over to another empty seat where Pinkie sits down. Twilight says, "And now we have our bard-"
Just then a shadow looms over Applejack. Everypony except Applejack notices the front door swinging in the wind and something is behind the orange pony. Luna sits up from her spot at the table and booms, "SLICER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!"
Slicer Jen, a black thestral with blue highlights and no wings, is standing on her hind legs behind Apple Jack with a long dagger. She removes the point of her dagger from the earth pony's neck and sits back, replying, "What?"
All the ponies stare at the odd visitor in surprise as Luna leans forward in alarm, "This is Slicer Jen, one of my Lunar Guards. She was to fill in for the Rogue. Apparently she is your Cleric, now." Luna eyes the knife in Slicer's hooves.
Twilight smiles at Slicer and chimes in matter-of-factly, "Well then. First, greetings! Second, you are supposed to verbally TELL us what you are doing, not act it out. That is a completely different kind of...um...game." Pinkie Pie hops up in excitement at the prospect of a new game, but Twilight puts her hoof on top of Pinkie's head and pushes her back down in her seat. "And third, the last empty seat must be yours." The thestral moves over to the last empty seat at the table.
As Slicer puts away her blade, Luna sighs and buries her head behind her wall of cardboard stat tables, groaning out, "And why are you attacking your own party members...??"
Slicer blinks as she sits in the spare seat, "They said you were their enemy, so they are my enemy." Luna softly thumps her head on the table repeatedly. Twilight sighs and explains Luna's role as the dungeon master, yet again, while magicking the door closed. Applejack continues to wear an odd look before she puts her hoof down on the table and glares at Slicer.
"Wait just a cotton-pickin minute! Why y'all peg me as the first one ta bushwack?? Ah ain't no danger to nopony!"
Twilight pauses her lengthy dissertation for Slicer to respond quietly, "You were wearing a hat. Once I had dispatched you, I was going to use your hat as a disguise to get close to the others and take care of them."
Rarity takes Applejack's character sheet and slides it over to Slicer, leaning over to say contritely, "Darling, it clearly describes her character wearing this somewhat atrocious ensemble, though bereft of any head apparel. See?" She taps the character portrait that was obviously sketched in detail by Twilight, showing no hat.
Before Twilight can object to Rarity's scathing critique of her character design, Slicer levels a stare at Rarity and says, "I wasn't talking about her in-game hat." Rarity's eyes go wide as Applejack seems somewhat satisfied with the logic of Slicer's response. Fluttershy nearly feints out of her chair before Rainbow zooms in to catch her.
Twilight pushes the character sheet back over to Applejack and exclaims nervously, "Okay! Now that we have everypony assembled, I can explain your roles and how they work...that is..." She stammers to a halt as she turns to Slicer. "Like Luna said, you were supposed to be just the Rogue, but there was a change of plans...so you are our new Cleric."
Slicer spspbt's as she grabs both the rogue sheet and cleric sheet to overlap them. "Fine, I will be both."
Twilight practically has a cow as she flips through the character handbook and retorts, "No, you can't! There is no way you can cross skills and stats to play a dual class cleric rogue class! It says so right here!"
She looks up to find Slicer a mere inch from her nose to nose, the thestral's knife hovering closer to Twilight's chin. "Watch me..........."
Luna is there in a heartbeat and pries the mentally frozen Twilight and seething Slicer apart, "We can amend the rules in this instance to accommodate all party members, yes?" After a few tense moments Twilight nods her head and goes back to her notes, scribbling out lines and rewriting some things on a new sheet while referencing both the rogue and cleric sheets. Luna lightly grabs Slicer by the neck and directs her back to her seat. "And you are supposed to be socializing and making friends, NOT starting fights." Slicer mutters something about ponies insulting her skill sets as she slumps into her seat. Luna heads back to her own seat and sits, looking around the table, "I assume everypony at least knows what they are?" All the ponies nod. "Good, now if we can get on with it-"
A young voice pipes up, "I want to play a great and powerful Dragon Knight!" Spike is standing there, in the bar handing out tankards of ale and cider, and in Twilight's living room...handing out tankards of ale and cider.
Twilight smiles at the breath of fresh air, cooing, "Awww, my little spikie wikie, wouldn't you like to play my familiar?"
Spike holds up a mug and exclaims, "Familiar it is!" He drinks it and gives a loud belch. Twilight and Rainbow clap their hooves as Fluttershy giggles, Applejack gives a hoove's up, Rarity wrinkles her noise at the dragonling's uncouth behavior and Slicer sits with abject dislike at how her night is going when she could be out and about. Typically thestrals sleep during the day and get their errands done at night. This night was turning out to be such a waste. Pinkie hums to herself, playing with all the different shaped dice like they are toys.
Luna continues to bump her head on the table. "A thousand years ago, it took this long to get this damned game going. Nothing has changed........nothing...."
After the moment wears off, Rainbow Dash raises a hoof and asks, "Not to be a party pooper, but are we still in the inn?"
Luna turns her head while it is on the table behind the boards and looks at the clock on the wall. "Yes.........................you STILL are..............."
Rainbow continues to ask, "So what is taking so long-" An aura of blue magic appears again and muffles her mouth. Twilight takes that as a cue to explain the rest of the rules. Once all of the ponies nod in understanding, including the muffled Rainbow Dash, Luna sits up.
"Now the adventure begins."