//------------------------------// // Session 73 // Story: Ponies and Dragons (Just Have Fun) // by Alex Warlorn //------------------------------// (I was going to include a character from the animation/novella 'Friend to Remember' but I felt it would be spoilers.) Sonic blasts continued to all but obliterate the warehouse door the girls were hiding behind. Humans and animals alike who hadn't been players for the game to a person and creatures began to either violently fight among themselves or worship in awe at their new goddesses, none in the city were spared save one spot. Ironically, Crystalsoft seemed spare only because it was at the eye of the storm, where the servers were kept. "Ah don't suppose we could just blow up the game servers at the company headquarters?" Applejack asked. "The game is the vector, not the disease!" Princess Twilight declared. "What do angles got to do with this?" "UGH! Vector as how a disease is spread, PAY ATTENTION IN BIOLOGICAL CLASS!" "BARK! BARK!" 'ME KILL EMBER'S FACE DEAD!' Bark Winona outside. - Siren Tempest Shadow flew above the warehouse of unsold Daring Do and the Crystal Skill Merchandise (the negativities from these enough to feed any siren). She was surprised when her cell phone off, she answered with her living arm and answered from trained reaction. "Hello?" She asked her adopted father on the other end. "Honey, have you turned evil?" The Storm King asked looking outside his window seeing the storm of dark magic. "YES!" "And have you gained super powers and are now taking part in overthrowing the world and crushing those who would protect it?" "YES!" "... I'm so proud!" He was even happier he already had in black and white all merchandising rights if Tempest Shadow ever became a super-villain, and a cut of the profits if she ever helped conquer the world. - Earth's magical protector (and Gilda) were so focused on reinforcing the door, they didn't expect anyone to try and smash in the roof... which the Siren Tempest Shadow did. "I say we pray that five hundred bucks Gorgon Staff she has doesn't now work in reality!" Gilda said. "Five hundred dollar for a blatant game breaking item that outrageous on both counts!" Rarity exclaimed. "Look," Fluttershy said, "I know that dark magic is telling you to do awful things, and you're hurt and angry, and so they all sound like good ideas. But badguys around us have a habit of turning good... well, usually, so maybe you just want some friends? It seems like badguys all just want some friends and-" She grabbed Fluttershy, her mechanical arm acting faster and stronger than it ever should have. "I HAD friends! Then I saw how 'loyal' friends really are!" She slipped an Augmented Reality transparent eyepatch over one of Fluttershy's eyes,a and directed her view outside at SOMETHING in game. "Don't worry!" Princess Twilight said. "If she's anything like my Fluttershy her inner goodness and love will be too strong for the darkness to overcome and-" "REVENGE! DARK! VIOLENT REVENGE! ON ALL WHO EVER SCOFFED AT ME! EVER LOOKED DOWN ON ME! I WANT REVENGE ON THEM ALL!!!!!" Fluttershy's eyes glowed red and a dark shadow grew behind her getting larger and larger. "And I should really stop expecting alternate reality counterparts to act like each other." Session 73.1 Grogar-the-oneser "Oh, however, I do have one thing to add." She grabbed Tempest and bashed her head repeatedly into the wall and then stomped her on the foot. "That's for trying to make me your puppet bitch!" She then turns to Twilight and Sci-Twi. "And you two, get to work fixing this before I punch your teeth in!" "Okay." Everyone gulped as they began to move. Fluttershy turn to Tempest who looked pissed. "Come get some!!!" Fluttershy shouted as the two began to fight. Session 73.2 Kendell2 "...This is so not good..." said Twilight. "We need help here! But it'd have to be somepony extremely powerful to even be of help..." Sci Twi blinked...then took out her cell phone and called. "Hello?...Look,, we've got a situation here and we need all the help we can get..." Sci Twi gave a sympathetic sigh. "I know exactly how you feel, I really do...I felt the same way...but SHE was just a part of you lost in it...You control the magic, it doesn't control you...and besides, you went nuts for a better reason than I did...You at least had a selfless reason...You're welcome...so will you help? Thanks..." The young woman hung up after giving their location. "Calvary is on its way!" "Who?!" asked the Equestrian Twilight. Suddenly a few moments later, the plants outside began to grow and burst through the window between the Sirens and themselves. "Girls!" called a voice as a form descended through the hole Tempest had smashed in the ceiling. "Gloriosa!" called Rarity, then blinked. "My, you look lovely, darling..." The young woman floated in a magic aura, her hair having grown longer like their own but several difference. For starters, her ears were more deer-like than pony-like and she had small antler nubs emerging from her hair line (which Twilight would later explain was due to evidently channeling a Reindeer). "Um...thank you...I figured out how to do it while caring for the camp, and I called Twilight about it..." she said, still clearly awkward. She then blinked. "Twilight, why are there two of you?" "Will explain later! No time!" Twilight exclaimed, dodging a conic blast. "Right!" the former Gaea Everfree replied, then focused and summoned tendrils of vines to send after the Sirens, which managed to take them off guard and tie them up...for a few moments before they began breaking free. "I can't hold them for long!" "You don't have to! Just focus on holding some of them!" Sci-Twi yelled. "Girls! Now's our chance to get to Rainbow Dash!" Being one of the stronger Sirens, Rainbow Dash had been the first to break free of the vines, and charged for Gloriosa, but Applejack jumped up and blocked her with her super strength. "Time tah snap back to reality, Rainbow!" the woman called, knocking away Rainbow's flippers and crushing her VR Eyepatch...only to be batted away. "You think that's enough to stop me?" Rainbow asked, just pulling out another one and putting it on. She then took a deep breath and floored the heroes with a sonic note, Rarity taking the hit to put a shield up around Gloriosa so she could continue holding off the other Sirens. The 'Deer Uped' girl summoned more vines, trying desperately to replace vines as quickly as the Sirens tore through them. Gilda growled, getting back to her hooves. "Darn it Dash! Snap out of it!" she yelled, holding up her geode. "You're better than this!" "Yeah, I AM better than this, and better than you, and better than everyone," said Rainbow, giving a toothy smirk. "...So you're in one of THOSE moods again?" Gilda asked, glaring. "Then I need to do something for you you always do for me..." "And what is that?" the Siren asked. Gilda clinched the geode and charged her. "Snap you out of it when you're in a bad place!" she yelled, jumping up and trying to slam the geode into Dash's Siren pendant. The woman merely blasted her back with a sonic scream. "That doesn't sound very friendly," she taunted. Gilda growled, getting back to her feet. "I'm not friendly!...But you're STILL my friend no matter how stubborn, angry, and riled up I can get!...Hehe...don't I owe you to be yours no matter how big of an ego you get?" "Then come help me! Don't fight me!" Rainbow Dash yelled, blasting Gilda back again when the girl made another charge. Ember snarled and rushed Dash, who tried to blast her with a sonic scream...only for Gilda to jump in the way and take the hit for her dog. "...Master?" asked the dog, going over and nudging her. Gilda groaned, petting Ember when she got up. "I'm NOT helping you this time, Dash!" she called, 'Griffoning up'. "Because I know if it were ME all juiced up on dark magic or evil or WHATEVER, then you'd be the first one to snap me out of it!" Gilda flew at Dash again, only to be blasted away. Gilda growled, getting back up again. "So snap out of it Dash!" she yelled, rushing her and trying again... And this time being surrounded by a pillar of cyan energy, the Geode glowing. "What?!" Rainbow asked. Gilda charged forwards, now wearing what looked like a cross between the normal magical girl attire the Humane Seven had and a centurion's armor, and this time plowed through the sonic wave. She grabbed Dash's Siren crystal and began to squeeze, causing the jewel to crack. "...Huh, what do you know? I was loyal enough after all..." she muttered before the jewel shattered and she put the geode in its place, triggering a rainbow colored explosion. Not a 'World Healing Wave shockwave, but big enough to show something had happened. Session 73.3 MtangaLion President Sombra clenched his fists, resisting the urge to get up and pace around his office. “Well?” Mr. Snow growled, still focused on his terminal. “Ninety percent of the game control access points are locked down, sir, but the last few are being… stubborn.” Darkness started to gather around Sombra’s new horn, but Radiant Hope put an arm around his shoulders, and he was able to take a deep breath and let it go… again. “Keep working at it. And someone find out where Chrysalis is!” He hesitated. “Mr. Snow, are you aware that you’re turning into a dog?” Mr. Snow’s rapid-fire typing slowed to a crawl. “Wolf, sir.” He stared at the white-furred face and muzzle reflected in the monitor. “This is fine. I can still fulfill the terms of my contract.” (Wipe them out! The magic, the portal, the intruders, erase them all!) Mr. Snow shook himself in a disturbingly canine manner, and started typing again. “I believe I can keep the video game from damaging the real world any further, if this situation is resolved *soon*.” The office door banged open, and Gabby the intern barged in… with large gray-feathered wings. “Guys! Guys, I’m turning… into… a griffon!! This is the best thing ever! Right, right!? Oh, and flying fish monsters are trying to break in the front door.” Sombra stood up, straightened his tie, and cracked his knuckles. “Intern, stay here and guard Mr. Snow. Radiant, dear...” He grinned darkly. “It’s time for a little hands-on management.” Session 73.4 Alex Warlorn Fluttershy twitched on the ground as Tempest Shadow kicked her in the ribs over and over. "YOU WERE STUPID ENOUGH to think YOUR PAIN was anything compared to mine?! WHINY TEENAGER!" Over the microphone of the AR Eyepatches came an unholy gurgle reminding any who heard it of the deepest depths of a pitch black ocean where living things followed alien rules of biological. But it translated basically as, 'Stop fighting among yourselves, YOU IDIOTS!' Tempest Shadow and Fluttershy both stood at attention, a quiver in their bones as they instinctively responded, 'Yes, father.' Any thoughts of attack each other forgotten. - "Hey, how about we get the Rainboom's buddies over here and threaten to get rid of them if they don't get with the new trend?" Adagio said with a devilish grin on face. Sonata looked surprised rather than horrified at the idea, Aria's eyes widened a bit at the suggestion, they were sirens now after all. 'Their lives belong to me, not you, Adagio,' said that pitch black voice in a language that only those of his blood understood. Adagio shuddered, 'O-only kidding, father.' - "So is Rainbow cured or not?" Applejack asked. "I dunno! But after a burst of rainbow light like that, it would be dumb if she wasn't!" Pinkie Pie said. The rest of the sirens meanwhile, had realized the new neat cool hole in the room and had begun to swarm in. Starlight meanwhile, found Fluttershy's healing staff of 'Sunombula' (or however it was spelled) was now in her inventory instead. And all her stats were all MUCH BETTER than they'd been before. "Sunburst, stay behind me." - "Where do these things keep coming from?!" Button Mash shouted as chilling piano music played as a seemingly endless supply of spider like robots with death rays with a personal grudge against them keep attacking Sweetie and Button Mash. "I'm guessing Apple Bloom's character class had to do with making stuff and she now had no cool down on her abilities!" Sweetie said her barrier shattered once again after a barrage of laser fire. Session 73.5 MtangaLion Spike sighed, drumming his claws on the crystal map table. “I sure hope Twilight’s okay. It feels like she’s been in that human world forever this time.” Cadence smiled. “I’m sure she’ll write if there’s any trouble, Spike.” With the official public appearances for Cadence’s “state visit” to Ponyville out of the way, they’d all settled in Twilight’s castle and started a new game of “Dawn of Ponyland.” Cadence was playing Majesty, Scootaloo’s character was Wind Whistler, and Apple Bloom was Magic Star. Sweetie Belle had homework to do, so her character, the Weather Witch, had stayed behind, and Spike and Garble were playing the guest party members, Wooden Spoke and Indabor. Majesty's infant dragon, not coincidentally also named Spike, was too young to talk, so he was an NPC. “Ugh, how long is this dumb city council meeting gonna take?” grumbled Garble. “I want to get back to the giant explosions!” Spike chuckled, nudging Scootaloo. “He’s like the big brother I never had.” Scootaloo blinked, comparing the two dragons. “Really? I thought Shining Armor was your big brother, kind of.” Spike’s scales blushed. “He... might have disowned me, after I chewed up all his O&O miniatures when I was teething. I’m sure he forgave me a long time ago, though!” Behind the Oubliette Master’s screen, Shining Armor shuddered, lost in a memory. “No, not Gleaming Shield! Not the hoof-painted figure I made for the first O&O character I ever… No, what are you doing, Spike? Cover that sneeze… No!” He gasped and blinked, snapping out it. Garble shook with laughter, slapping his knee. “Haw, haw! *Dragons* would know not to make toys out of that plastic junk.” Shining got an evil grin. “The council proposes that you go on a stealth mission to discover who’s plotting against the city.” Garble gasped. “No way! Stealth missions are so boring!” “Yes way!” said Shining. They leaned across the table, dragon and pony snarling at each other. Cadence rapped a hoof on the table. “Boys, behave... or I’ll turn you both into soap bubbles.” Spike raised a claw cautiously. “You do know that stuff Majesty can do is only in the game, right?” “Huh?” Cadence smiled disturbingly. “Oh, right. Yes, of course it is.” Session 73.6 Jarkes (OOC: I know this interrupts the current arc, but I just had to do it) Twilight and Fizzlepop were at a "Heroes of Equestria" convention for "research purposes" (Twilight vehemently denied that she just wanted to see if the Starswirl cosplayers had increased since the Pillars had come back to Equestria). Fizzlepop was perplexed at the number of cosplayers dressed as her. "Ponies... actually like me? Enough to dress up as me? After everything I did?" Fizzlepop asked Twilight. "That, or they're some of those weirdos who actually admire villains," Twilight said. "Never understood that." Fizzlepop noted that most of the cosplayers had fake scars over their left eyes, rather than the right eye where her scar actually was. "These... cosplays... could use a little work though..." A teenage unicorn stallion wearing an "I Love Tempest Shadow" shirt came up to them. "That's a good Tempest Shadow cosplay, but your scar's on the wrong side," he said, before walking away. "THE SCAR IS NOT ON THE WRONG SIDE!" Fizzlepop yelled after him. "Calm down, Fizzlepop..." Twilight said, sweating nervously. Session 73.7 Alex Warlorn "I. Have. Had. ENOUGH!" Sunset sprouted her fiery wings, and flew straight at Fluttershy and gasped her head in both her hands, diving into her mind. Rarity quickly put up barriers to protect Sunset and the School of Sirens attacked, including Tempest Shadow. "What did she just do?!" Gilda exclaimed. "I'd say she magically entered Fluttershy's mind darkling. "Couldn't she just do that with every siren, ugh, everyone?!" "I doubt she knows everyone in town that well, it clearly is going to take some time to deal with this from the inside, and we're fighting an ARMY not just one or two transformed!" "Wait! You have super powers that not related to the game?! ALIENS!" Starlight exclaimed. "Oh right, kinda forgot ya were here." Applejack sighed as she punched Lyra in the face so hard she left a dent in the wall, but Lyra wasn't hurt in the least. Oh right, sirens were immortal. Session 73.8 Alex Warlorn "Starlight... I can't help but notice all these orcs have a very familiar, and dare I say, rather equally large grins on their faces." "Well, in this game, after being made to kill an endless number of orcs, you then gain the power to mind control them. It's a shame you don't get it from the start, because then you could avoid any bloodshed! So now I mind control them to do good instead of doing evil. They were ALREADY under mind control under Sauron, so it's not like I'd taken away their free will..." "... It horrifies me that I can find no fault in you logic." "Also, I just finished a mod for Under-Story where instead of killing or befriending, you can choose to mind control any monsters you encounter instead." "STARLIGHT! You can't just mod a modern classic like that! It's mangling its original message! ... " Twilight declared loudly, then added lowly, "Meet me in the back alley behind the castle later." Session 73.9 Kendell2 "Starlight, for starters we're not aliens, we're just using real magic, and no we're not witches either! We're mages, there's a big difference!" Twilight explained. "She has a point," Sunburst replied. "The SIRENS are witches." "...That explains a lot..." The rainbow glow finally faded, revealing Rainbow Dash back to normal and holding her head, in her crystal powered up suit. "Ugh...I feel like I've been a giant jerk..." she muttered then noticed the situation. "...Oh...so I haven't been having a weird nightmare where I got so caught up in a game that I turned into a siren real life?" Gilda panted. "That really happened..." "Oh...sorry girls, I..." Rainbow replied, feeling a bit sick to her stomach. "It's okay, Rainbow..." Sunset said. "Me and Twilight have been there, at least you were the victim of another villain..." "Yeah, because I got so caught up in this crud! Ugh, after this is over, we're paying Rainbows and Crystals!" Rainbow muttered. "Girls!" Gloriosa yelled, still desperately trying to hold off the Sirens with her vines, clearly tiring. "Situation here!" "Right! Rainbow! Go try to help Sunset save Fluttershy!" Twilight called as the mane six rushed in to try and purify the Sirens Gloriosa was restraining. Rainbow nodded and flew towards Fluttershy and Sunset, Rarity providing an opening... Tempest rushed her and attacked Rainbow...only for her to dodge and keep going. "Come back here! We still haven't settled this!" Rainbow looked back. "You mean the game? I'm DONE with letting that control me. You wanna keep playing? Trixie's still your rival, I want to have fun with my friends!...How about you come along with us?" Tempest snarled in rage. "FRIENDS ARE LIES! THEY DON'T EXIST!" she roared, touching her artificial arm. For a brief moment, Rainbow saw PAIN in her eyes. "THEY CLAIM TO! Then when you need them most they're gone!" "...Lady...I don't know WHAT you've been through, but it sounds more like you had some pretty lousy friends than all friends being lousy...trust me, I've caused my friends more than enough grief to know if they were lousy, they'd be gone..." Rainbow Dash replied, then dodged a sound blast with her superspeed. "...And I'll never give up on them..." she said, then speeded over to Fluttershy and tried to join hands with Sunset and join them... Then had to duck as Tempest rushed her. "Geeze, you don't know when to quit, do you?!" "I NEVER quit!" "Then why'd you give up on making friends?" The Screwball AI tapped her chin, looking at the stats. Now that the reveal had happened, the evil form was kind of overpowered, players who took that route were blatantly unfairly powered up compared to heroes opposing the villains. The game seemed unfairly balanced to make it impossible to even reach the final boss without being corrupted, and that just couldn't do. Screwball floated in the digital sea looking a marked Nerf over the Wave Forms. She tapped her chin. "Hmm...Ah!" she said, a lightbulb emerging over her head out of 0s and 1s and she hit the LIGHTBULB. Sci Twi blinked, looking down at her stats and noticing a white bar labeled 'Harmony' that filled up when she purified a Siren. "Uh, girls, I think something just happened..." "HI!" called Screwball, suddenly floating in front of her. "AH!" the human Twilight screamed, jumping back. She took her eyepatch on and off, Screwball vanishing whenever she did so. "Hi Screwball!" called Pinkie Pie, waving. "Hi Pinkie Pie!" Screwball called, then cleared her throat. "Patch Notes: Due to analysis revealing the final quest was borderline unbeatable for characters not using Wave Forms, an alternative form has been patched in for the final level to make it beatable. This form's bar fills up via purifying corrupted enemies..." she read, manifesting a pair of glasses and reading a patch note. She then gave a happy chuckle and waved. "Have fun!" she called, vanishing. "...How...what...why..." asked Sci-Twi, having not seen someone manage that with the VR eyepatch yet. "She's literally Discord's daughter back home, I'm not questioning it," Twilight replied. "Just start purifying!" Session 73.10 Kendell2 Sombra marched out the front door and looked at the Sirens coming out. "Alright, now everyone CALM down and leave or I may have to do something drastic." "Like what?" asked one of the Sirens, Sombra didn't know the name but they looked like a student he knew from Crystal Prep. "I'm the President of the entire company who MADE the game you're playing," Sombra said, knowing he was out of his depth for a lot of this but also not about to let some fish monsters hurt his wife and unborn child. "Which means I automatically have ALL THE BEST GEAR!" he said, in the eyepatch suddenly decked out in the game's best non-Wave related armor and weapons. "And the Final Boss of the latest expansion is based off me..." he said, hoping the horn on his head meant what he thought it mean. He put a hand to the ground and focused, trying to imagine his in game counterpart doing one of his signature moves. Suddenly a huge pillar of black crystal erupted out of the ground, blocking the door and sending him up. "...Magical craziness...and here I thought Cinch was just going insane..." "I TOLD YOU! EVERYONE THOUGHT I WAS MAD BUT I TOLD YOU!" yelled Cinch from inside the building (having become a Secretary here after she 'quit'). "...In all honesty, I DO think you're insane," said Sombra. = Bergentruckung - Undertale = Sombra took a deep breath. "You know, spoilers for the next expansion by the way. If players took the route to save Sombra, he and Radiant can be quite the allies..." he said, focusing and firing energy blasts down. Knowing what had happened to his staff and himself, he primarily focused on Sombra's 'Inflict Fear' abilities to attempt to disable them rather than actually harm them, and using the crystals to get away from them, mainly focusing on distracting them rather than harming them. Inside, Radiant focused on keeping an eye on things and, hoping the strange horn meant that she had her game self's abilities (which she did) healing her husband when he got hit, all the while ducking behind the windows of the office to avoid drawing agro. "Mrs. Radiant, dear!" called Discord over the intercom. "My little helper program installed an interesting little mechanic. The Radiant Hope class has purification abilities, try putting them to good use!" Radiant nodded and focused on the ones her husband had worn down, and sure enough the Purification spell worked (turning the Siren back into an unconscious teenager and she noticed the little Harmony bar go up. "Honey! Try to hold them and I'll purify them!" "Alright, Radiant!" Sombra called, stunning one of them with a fear spell and letting Radiant do her thing. Rainbow Dash threw Tempest back. She looked at the girl's prosthetic and remembered that hurt look she had. "...Want to know something that's probably going to shock you?" "What?!" Tempest yelled, firing from the Gorgon Scepter, but Rainbow dodged. "...I actually WANT to be your friend." Tempest blinked. "What?" "You're my kind of girl! Driven, determined, competitive! If it wasn't all some evil plan by the Sirens, I would've had FUN competing with you!" Rainbow Dash stated. "Me and Applejack LOVE having friends who want to compete with us!" "Lies!" yelled Tempest. "It's the truth!" The teenager growled and promptly tore off her sweater to show her prosthetic arm, going all the way up to her elbow. She took off the glove, revealing the mechanical hand beneath. "There! Do you STILL want to be my friend?!" she asked. "...In all honesty, I think that's wicked." Tempest's eyes widened. "W-What?" "You have a ROBOT ARM! That is COOL! Heck, maybe Sci Twi can upgrade it to have a cool rocket punch!" Tempest looked like someone who'd been told no every day of her life then suddenly out of nowhere yes. "...Y-You're lying...Everyone hates this stupid thing...except...except..." "...Guy named Grubber?" asked Princess Twilight. "...Yeah..." "...Sounds like you might already have a friend," Rainbow Dash said. "You're just too busy beating yourself up to accept it." Session 73.11 Alex Warlorn No Shadowbolt, except Sugarcoat, would ever admit that after Sci-Twi had left Crystal Prep, there was an odd sense of being... incomplete among the Shadow 5, like a piece of them they hadn't even known was there was missing. This was absurd of course, there were no friends at Crystal Prep, only rivals. Students were purposely turned against each other (much like law school). But there was this odd sense of, missed opportunity, like the five of them were missing a piece, even if they were aware of it only unconsciously. Session 73.12 Alex Warlorn Sunset Shimmer, inside Fluttershy's mind, look around, confused. "Okay, everything looks like it's made out of pixel art. ... I have a satchel with nothing in it... and... UGH! Everything is bolted to the ground like everything is one solid piece. And... what this is anyway? It looks like fairy land if Tinker Bell had a heavy-metal-make over complete with death metal playing rabbits dressed up like the rock band Smooch. ... Hmm... these two things don't go together. I can't do that. And... OH GREAT!" Sunset moaned. "Fluttershy's mind scape is a friggin' Point And Click Adventure game! I swear if I have to hunt for a pixel sized object Fluttershy is getting such a headache!" "Did you really think you could play around in Fluttershy's head without my permission?" "ADAGIO!?" It looked like Adagio... looking like a crossing between a fairy princess and a heavy metal rocker. She was also fairy sized herself. "Naw. But I am a construct of her magic inside Fluttershy's head to keep you from causing trouble." She snapped her fingers, and a digital angry goat appeared. "Just TRY to get past the goat, I DARE YOU! I double dog dare you!" Session 73.13 Alex Warlorn "... WHAT did you say Trixie?" "Trixie is just saying she does the best Great and Powerful Friend, The Computer." "... Trixie, it's not nice to lie, remember? I'm the best at Friend Computer for Paranoia." "... Trixie is not lying." "Well, all of my citizens said I did the BEST Friend Computer EVER... and I promptly put them in the reeducation huts into they said I was as good as anypony, but still-!" "Well! There is only one way to settle this!" "I agree!" - "You want to WHAT!?" Twilight exclaimed. "You and the other girls, get to play a special version of Paranoia!" Trixie and Starlight grinned at her. - In the game... "Twilight-28?" "Yes Applejack-99?" "Ah think Friend Computer, Hail The Computer, might be having split personality issues!" "That's treasonous! I have to report you! Sorry!" "Sure... but report to which Friend Computer, Hail The Computer?" Twilight-28 looked up to find the giant computer screens showing a conflicting imagine of a violet and blue unicorn. "Ah." Session 73.14 MtangaLion Button Mash expertly used one sword combo after another… double-strike, sweeping strikes, meteor smash… and still the nasty little spider-bots were arriving faster than he could carve a path forward through them. “Sweetie! Found any good tricks?” Sweetie Belle’s avatar was flipping through a floating spell journal that probably weighed as much as she did. “Um… mind reading?” Button did a mild double-take. “I don’t think they have any.” “Seeing the future!” “What if you predict that we lose?” “Yeah…” Sweetie stamped her foot. “Ooh, this has to be good for something. Turn to stone!” One single spider-bot turned into a garden statue, and three more swarmed over it towards her. “Eww, get away! Night to day! Hey, that rhymed!” The game world sun rose, letting them clearly see just how many hundreds of spider bots filled the streets in front of them… and Apple Bloom the Siren, floating over their heads. “Ya’ll don’t really like fighting yer friends, do ya?” she hummed cheerfully. “Just lay down, let those stamina bars drop to zero, and then we can all be sirens together!” Sweetie Belle flipped some more pages, then jabbed her finger down on a spell. “Sorry, Bloom, but you’re just not thinking straight right now. Summon friend: King Charlatan!” A cutscene played of an arctic wasteland. A penguin with a bow tie and crown emerged from icy mists, posed dramatically, then fired blue eye beams that swept through the whole spider bot army, crystallizing and shattering them on the spot! “Yes! It’s over!” shouted Button Mash, springing into the air and brandishing his shield at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom grinned sharply. “Eeenope.” She averted her eyes from the reflection that would have cured her, then strapped a pair of tinted wraparound goggles on over her eyepatch. Button Mash gawked. “No way!” “What, did ya think you were gonna spam one overpowered move to beat everything?” Flying imps decloaked around Bloom, firing charged bolts that knocked Button back to the ground. Then Bloom sang out a summons and a whole new spider bot army teleported in. Button stumbled to his feet and dusted himself off. “Maybe I’ll change up my game too. Praetor suit!” The boy floated into the air, pieces of his fantasy armor flying off, spinning around, then snapping back on as green space marine armor. He grinned at his new heads-up display, then whipped a plasma cannon out of nowhere and started mowing down spider bots easily. Then the earth shook, and a giant spider-mech came stomping into view, piloted by Siren Scootaloo. A loudspeaker clicked on. “Does your mom know you’ve been playing Gloom again, Button? Ooh, you’re gonna be in so much trouble!” Apple Bloom flew up higher, floating next to Scootaloo. “We can show off all day, Button, but that won’t convince me Ah should be a powerless schoolgirl again, doing her homework while our sisters have all the fun!” Session 73.15 Ardashir Meanwhile, back in Equestria: "So..." Starlight said to a wide-eyed Trixie as she watched the field before her. "When the Griffons sent an invite to the Friendship Palace asking if any of us wanted to participate in the new sport they were bringing to Equestria, this wasn't what I had in mind." She waved her hoof to indicate 'this'. 'This' was a grassy field, half of it roped off. Within the ropes two teams brawled. Blunted swords and axes swung to impact armored heads and chests; iron maces smashed into shields; angry neighs and griffon shrieks filled the air. "So, how d'ya like it?" Starlight simply stared in shock as Gilda dropped down beside her. "Heh, I gotta hand it to whatever genius dreamed up this 'Battle of the Nations' on that other-place I got to see in Princess Dweeb -- I mean," she hurriedly corrected herself as Starlight and Trixie gave her dirty looks. "That funny crystal ball-thing Twilight had hooked up in the Palace." "The Wise and Well-Informed Trixie believes she calls it a 'computer'." Trixie winced as two Griffonstone griffons sporting Black-and-Blue surcoats with a double-headed eagle emblazoned teamed up on a nearby Equestrian pony in the Gold-and-Blue of Celestia and Luna, blazoned with Equestria's national symbol. The pony's armor looked like an older and cruder form of Royal Guard armor; that of the griffons resembled that of the old Griffon Guard of King Grover. One of the griffons engaged the pony from the front, kicking them in the forelegs. The pony reared with a yell. The second griffon promptly stuck their spear-shaft between the pony's rear legs and toppled them onto their back. The Earth pony rolled helplessly as the two griffons pounded on them. A moment later a third griffon, bearing a staff and dressed in yellow and black pushed between the griffons and their prey. He shrieked and wave the staff. The two griffons laughed and charged off at a second pony nearby. "That can't have been fair!" "This is a melee," Gilda said to Starlight with a shrug. "No magic, no flying out of range of the ground-bound, if someone goes down on three points," Gilda pointed at a griffon knocked down on their hind legs and one foreleg, "they're out. Everything else is okay." The griffon ruffled their feathers but sat still. Gilda smirked as the melee came to an end. Even Starlight and Trixie could see that the Griffonstone team was victorious. They waved their weapons in the air and shrieked griffon battle-cries as the other griffons watching cheered for them. "Griffonstone! Griffonstone! Griffonstone!" "And the Griffonstone team wins yet again!" The announcer called from their box. The ponies got up and limped off the field, some tossing glares as the griffons jeered after them. "Having beaten the Yakyakistan, Diamond Dog, and Equestrian teams, they are one victory away from taking the first ever Battle of the Nations championship!" "Twilight said something about 'needing to give Griffonstone something to take pride in again'," Starlight shuddered at the barbaric war cries of the griffons. "But was this really a good idea?" "You wouldn't be complaining if ponies were winning," Gilda smiled nastily as Starlight and Trixie frowned. "We're predators, right? It's only natural we'd beat the dweeb ponies at something like this. Besides, the blades are blunted and nogriffon gets hurt. Well, not much." A few groans drifted over from the medic station as unicorn healers hired for the occasion saw to the injured. "I just wonder who else is going to get involved," Starlight looked over the crowd. "I never thought this would get popular." Gilda rolled her eyes. "Yeesh, what do ya expect? A Dragonlands team ta show up?" They froze as horns blew. Starlight smirked at the worried look on Gilda's face -- only to freeze as she saw a team under the pink-and-blue banner of the Crystal Empire. Twenty ponies in the ornate plate armor of the old Crystal Empire trotted forward, only to stop with a single final hoofstomp. Lances hung at their sides. "So!" Their team commander stepped out in front of them. Shining Armor looked around regally. "Great idea to bring back a sport that was last done a thousand years ago; the Crystal Ponies were delighted to hear about it! Where do we sign up and who do we have to defeat first?" Gilda groaned and put her beak in her claws. "At least this can't get any worse. How many ponies were around a thousand years ago?" ### "Luna! Why are you in your old warleader armor? And with your axe, Nightshade? Are we being invaded?" "Oh, sister, tis a glorious day! Yet one more custom of our beloved past hath been restored, and I will not miss a moment of it!" OOC: PS: Hey, in case anyone thinks I made this up! -- botn.info/en/ Or look for 'Battle of the Nations' on Youtube. It's amazing! Session 73.16 Kendell2 The group was sitting and playing a table top RPG involving werewolves (as expected, Rarity brought up the book series unknowingly, by her, written by a friend of theirs) and were in a tough spot. It was day and they were cornered by monsters that, if one of them was transformed, would be no problem, but in their pony forms they couldn't deal with...So Sunburst came up with a plan. That apparently involved a lot of math. "Alright...I take it the bathroom I'm in would have a mirror possibly 1 meter by 1 meter wide?" asked Sunburst. Twlight, the GM, nodded. "Yes..." "Alright...I take the mirror off the wall and hold it out the window pointing it to reflect sunlight on Starlight," he said. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would that do?" "Well going by the inverse square law, and 12 percent of the sun's light is reflected off the moon during a full moon, and the fact I'm currently 89 meters away from Starlight's character, that means the amount of sunlight I am currently reflecting onto her eyes would measure 1 Lux, or the exact same amount of reflected sunlight as the full moon would project into her eyes!" Sunburst explained excitedly, showing his math. "So she should transform, right?" Twilight opened her mouth to talk. "...I...I'm actually impressed by your math, I'll allow it..." Sunburst gave an adorkable smile. "Yes!" "...My head hurts..." Rainbow Dash said. OOC: Inspired by this: youtu.be/xXfrc5uccio Session 73.17 Ardashir While her new employer battled against some of the mutated players of his game, ex-Principal Cinch headed for the door. She wondered where that succubus Chrysalis and her brood was at. Probably drinking someone's blood after seducing them, Cinch thought viciously as she dashed behind an overturned table for cover. "I knew something like this would happen," she told herself, teeth chattering in fear as she rested a moment. A blast of magic hit the wall a few feet overhead. Chunks of plaster rained down around her as Cinch hurried to a new hiding place. "Why was society ever fool enough to repeal the laws on witchcraft? Bring back the ducking stool and stake, I say!" "Principal Cinch!" "WHAAAA!" Cinch looked around in horror. That voice sounded familiar. A mental image of the monstrous and ungrateful Midnight Sparkle coming after her raced through her mind. Then she saw who it was and relaxed. "Girls! Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Indigo, Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare! What are you doing here?" The girls were in the shadows by a door leading outside and to blessed safety. The flashes of light from the magical battle -- the mere thought made her groan, she'd almost been done with that snide and well-paid therapist. Sunny Flare made a come-here gesture in her direction. "Please, Ms. Cinch, come here! We came to rescue you. We want to repay you for all the favors you did for us!" Cinch needed hear no more. She waited for a moment when Sombra seemed more interested in taunting his youthful adversaries then in throwing crystal shrapnel around. When it came she leaped to her feet and ran for her life. She expected something horrible to happen until the door slammed shut behind her. "Oh, girls," she said, doubled up and breathing heavily in her exhaustion. "At least some of you remember what I did for you..." Se looked up and froze. Their eyes seemed to glow crimson in the darkened hall; their smiles revealed the triangular fangs of some aquatic predator. And were patches of their skin scaly? "We also remember what you did to us," Sugarcoat said, her voice a near snarl. "Like how you nearly got us all killed at the last Friendship Games," Indigo gave a smile like a hungry shark's. "Years of telling me my musical choices sucked," Lemon Zest hissed. "And all the times you told me I didn't need my meds, because I was so much more energetic without them?" Sour Sweet smiled and then, her eyes blazing: "We came here to find YOU!" Cinch looked wildly around the hall. A window nearby looked like the gates of paradise. Cinch snatched up a chair and followed it through the window before she remembered she was on the third floor. Her shriek ended with a howl of pain as she landed in the magnificently thorny rose bushes Rabia had planted here and that Sombra kept for some strange reason. Clothes torn, hair wild, scratched and bloody, Cinch leaped to her feet and raced into the night until she dropped from utter exhaustion. Behind her, the Shadowbolt Sirens watched from the window as their old headmistress ran away. "So," Sour Sweet said, "anyone else think we should have explained that due to our newfound love of hatefulness and cruelty, we wanted to thank her for teaching us how the world really worked?" "Bit late now," Sugarcoat said. "You girls haven't gotten any smarter by becoming monsters." Session 73.18 MtangaLion The ground beneath the school shook, knocking books off shelves and potted plants off a desk… and oddly, water began to flood the room, trickling under one of the doors. The human Twilight adjusted her glasses. “The Sirens are backing up the toilets now? How immature.” Tempest Shadow chuckled, then threw back her head and laughed. “Friends, enemies… it doesn’t matter now. The final boss is on his way.” The possessed Fluttershy squirmed beneath Sunset. “Dra-Gon comes! All will drown beneath the black waves...” The eerie glow in her eyes suddenly cleared. “What… what is that… Help me! Get it away!” Her siren crystal shattered. Sunset was thrown off her by the backlash, but instead of hitting the ground, she floated in a surge of rainbow light. In the eyepatches, her friends saw Sunset’s Harmony meter shoot up to nearly two-thirds full all at once. “Wow. Okay, we’re gonna have a problem.” Gilda snorted, rolling her eyes. “What problem? You’ve got all the magic super-gems back in friendly hands.” She sighed. “It’s okay, I’ll just stand out of the way somewhere while you give him the great big rainbow kerplowy to the face.” Rainbow clapped a hand on Gilda’s shoulder. “Whoa, what are you talking about? We need all the help we can get!” Gilda blinked. “But…” Princess Twilight grinned, raising a fist. “I know I’ll be helping. If Vinyl and Sunset can jump in at the last minute, then so can we!” “But… you’ve got your own magic rock back home!” said Gilda. “I don’t! Dash’s was just a loaner…” Rainbow grinned. “You think I care about that? You didn’t have to be here and risk your life saving me, Gilda. Heck, you know where the portal to Equestria is. You could have noped right on out of here.” “I’d never!” snarled Gilda. “Whoa…” (Bonus Harmony awarded) scrolled up the game screens. (Purified friend. Awakened Loyalty.) She was hovering, griffon wings spread wide, and her centurion armor and two-handed hammer glowed, picking up more jewels and golden accents. Gilda looked herself over. “If these magic clothes turn into a frilly dress with ribbons, I might just have to pummel all the witnesses. Just saying.” Sunset coughed awkwardly… now floating in a frilly golden dress with a horn and wings made of pure light. “Well, I can’t say that never happens…” Session 73.19 Jarkes "FEAR NOT CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT!" a familiar voice called out. "Is that..." Sunset said, before seeing a familiar yellow girl run out in front of them. "Juniper Montage?" Sci-Twi finished the thought. "...Who?" Princess Twilight asked. "Long story," Sunset replied. "Juniper, what are you doing?" Juniper, for some reason, was wearing a rather cheap-looking pith helmet alongside her usual outfit, like she had been rushing to do a Daring Do cosplay before deciding to only bother with the helmet. "I, DARING DO, WILL STOP THESE SAVAGE FIENDS FROM TERRORIZING THIS CITY!" Juniper yelled, striking several "action" poses... Only for one of the sirenified students to shoot a beam at her and send her flying. "...Ow," Juniper muttered weakly. Session 73.20 Kendell2 "So this game is about what now?" asked Applejack, looking at the game. "It's called 'For Want of a Nail', and it deals with creating a logical outcome for an alteration to one small detail in the past and following it to the present," Twilight explained. "Then playing out a life in that timeline. Possibly including saving the world." "Didn't every time Starlight did that result in a bad guy winning?" asked Rainbow Dash. "...No offense..." "None taken...And that was altering the past and creating time paradoxes, this is changing things and thinking out how things would be different," Starlight replied. "Oh! I've got one!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Twilight stared at the timeline and board they'd ultimately ended up making. "I don't know what's scarier, the fact that 'What if Maud didn't find Boulder' somehow resulted in a timeline where she took over Equestria..." The board presented 'Queen Maud' ruling Equestria with a stone hoof...and the same exact deadpan expression as she had at all times. "Or the fact it makes complete and logical sense..." "Well she did tell me that if you had the right rock you could rule Equestria..." Starlight said nervously. OOC: I admit, I wanted to go further, but that joke seemed too perfect to ruin. Session 73.21 Alex Warlorn "So Sunset, what was it like inside Fluttershy's mind?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Well, I can't share details about a parasitic younger brother or parents that never taught her how to stand up for herself, or how she found a twisted role model in Gilda unconsciously since Gilda never let anyone push her around, but at the same time not wanting to be like her with her gruff attitude, resulting in conflicting sides of herself that she buried as deep as she could go... and it manifested as the end boss to a point and click adventure because Fluttershy deep within still refused to kill anyone, and dying doesn't normally happen in a lot of point and click adventures ... and I was left with hours of compressed time randomly trying to combine items and touch every pixel of the universe one spot at a time and trying to open, close, speak, take, look, eat, everything, hearing a voice saying 'you can't do that' over and over and over, with a simulation of Adagio taunting me every few minutes... But after this I really think I wanna play something require minimal thinking." Session 73.22 Alex Warlorn Juniper Montage was left twitching where she'd fallen... in the sight of her AR eyepatch, a deformed purple pony with a helicopter beanie flew into her view. "Hello... would you like to buy our exclusive deal official Daring Do DLC character? You can buy the shoes, pants, shirt, hat, whip, and other features for 2 dollars each, or you can buy the whole set for $19.00..." Session 73.23 MtangaLion Gilda grinned, nudging Rainbow. "You hear that? Me, a role model! Say, maybe I should teach Flutters how a REAL tough girl does things. Like, I don't know... turning into that Dire Bear and kicking butt instead of getting turned against us like a dope!" Sunset poked Gilda. "You can't do that." Gilda rolled her eyes. "Oh, I get it. Adventure game trauma. Real cute." Poke. "You can't do that." Poke. "You can't do that." Poke... Gilda gritted her teeth. "Hey, that stings when you're all powered up! Snap out of it!" She drew back her hand to slap some sense into Sunset. Fluttershy intercepted her, smiling. "Please, Gilda, let me." Then huge bear paws grasped Sunset's shoulders and lifted her up. "SUNSET, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER, OKAY? WE HAVE TO FIGHT THE SIRENS NOW." Fluttershy the Dire Bear gasped and covered her muzzle. "Oh! Was that too much?" "That's... just fine!" said Sunset, teeth chattering a bit. "I'm okay now!" Starlight gawked. "Aliens AND lycanthropes!" Rainbow folded her arms. "Should we tell her that some of us can fly, too?" The Twilights facepalmed in unison. Session 73.24 Kendell2 TIMELINE A "Not lycanthropes! Fluttershy is a shapeshifter because she retains her sense of self and can't infect anyone with the transformation...also it's due to some crazy magical glitch we still don't underrstand..." Twilight replied. "And again, we're MAGES! Not aliens!" "Actually, Twilight, since you're from another universe, doesn't that kinda make you an alien?" asked Pinkie Pie. "I...Okay, technically me and Sunset are EXTRADIMENSIONAL aliens, but the rest of us aren't," said Princess Twilight. "Not important right now!" "Starlight, she has a point!" Sunburst pointed out. "Something big is coming..." said Sunset. "We need to stop Adagio and the Sirens NOW!" "Girls!" Gloriosa exclaimed, still trying to hold off the extra sirens with her vines and visibly straining. "Help!" Rainbow Dash gave it thought...then face palmed. "EVERYONE! THERE'S A SPECIAL SECRET BOSS DOWN IN THE ABANDONED QUARRY OUTSIDE OF TOWN! BONUS POINTS FOR EVERYONE!" she exclaimed. The replica Sirens gasped and practically (and somewhat literally) beat each other up to leave and go after it. "...If I ever get that competitive again, slap me!" Twilight facehoofed. "Use their mania against them...why didn't I think of that?" "Hurry! We need to stop the Sirens! Now!" Sci Twi yelled, the group rushing out. Twilight looked to Tempest, who seemed unsure of WHAT to do at this point. "...You can come with us you know..." "..." Twilight slowly backed out. "...It's never too late for friendship...trust me, I didn't become a good friend until I was a grown up," she said, slowly leaving with the others to deal with the world conquering witches. "Is it fully charged yet?!" Sombra asked, blasting back another Siren. "...Yes!" Radiant called, hitting the button. Rainbow colored light circled around her in game self and turned into golden armor with pink colored gem stones, the Harmony gauge now reading 'Harmonic Burst'. she quickly began blasting the Sirens with magic that both directly effected them AND began purifying them at the same time. "Okay! I think it's working!" "Good..." Sombra said. "...Hopefully those kids who Cinch kept saying 'ruined everything' do it again..." he said, having read into what she said enough to get 'ruined everything' meant 'fix her mess and let her suffer the consequences for her decision'. But she was an old friend, what else was he supposed to do when she needed a job? "Adagio! They're coming!" said Sonata as they had some brainwashed people weighting on them hand and foot. Adagio chuckled. "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted..." she said, getting up. "Time to deal with a pest problem," she said, rising up. "They're not beating us this time. Not with what we have in store this time!" Session 73.25 Ardashir TIMELINE B "And Gilda, be careful!" Sci-Twi barely dodged another sonic blast from another Siren. They seemed to be getting empowered, becoming more vicious. And she didn't like the chants they were making. "HE is coming! Father is coming! Dra-Gon will arise!" Three nearby Sirens half sang as they hurled more sonic lances at the Element Bearers, the piercing shrieks making her teeth ache as they sliced through earth and concrete like knives. Dark and brackish water gushed in from somewhere. "Make this world a worthy home for him!" They scattered as Gilda flew through them, her hammer swinging. Ember barked support from below. "Hey, don't worry about me!" Gilda yelled back. She dodged a pair of blasts. "I'm untouchable, toots! I --" A sonic blast took her in the face sending the boastful Gilda to the ground. She looked up, her eyes spinning, to see that deformed purple pony that always was on Discord's screen at the company smiling at her. "Hi, have you considered buying the Healing Hands upgrade for your armor?" She waved something that looked like a holographic white breastplate with a red cross on it. "Only $29.99 a month, heals every injury!" Gilda stared at her in disbelief. "This may be the end of the world here, and you're selling in-game buffs ta people?" "Hey, if the world doesn't end tonight, I still have to go to work tomorrow!" *** Not far away, the Dazzlings shuddered as a new and terrible voice filled their minds. It seemed to rise from deep in their brains, like some antediluvian predator from an oceanic trench. "PREPARE THE WAY FOR ME, MY DAUGHTERS, MY CREATURES, MY SLAVES. BE FAITHFUL TO YOUR FATHER." "O-okay," Sonata gulped. "Yes, of course, sire," Aria added, her voice small and fearful. "Sure," Adagio said, barely restraining herself from adding, 'Master'. When that presence left her mind, she hissed, "Okay, I didn't think Dra-Gon was gonna try and get involved -- but if he wants to kill MY enemies for me, so be it!" "Come on, you two!" Adagio snarled at Sonata and Aria. "Now it's time to finish this!" Session 73.26 Kendell2 "So you've played O&O before, darling?" asked Rarity. "Sort of..." said Tempest, rubbing her head. "The Storm King's version...which I can already tell changed a lot of things to make himself and his forces look awesome..." "Well then this should be fun," Rainbow Dash said. "Come on, let's get started..." As per usual, Pinkie Pie was an Earth Pony Bard. Stats: Charisma 16, Dexterity 15, Constitution: 14, Wisdom 14, Strength 14, Intelligence 13 Applejack was an Earth Pony Ranger. Stats: Charisma 12, Dexterity 14, Wisdom 14, Constitution 12, Strength 12, Intelligence 11 Rainbow Dash was a Pegasus Barbarian. Stats: Charisma 12, Dexterity 13, Wisdom 10, Constitution 18, Strength 14, Intelligence 10 Fluttershy was a Pegasus Druid. Stats: Charisma 11, Dexterity 15, Wisdom 16, Constitution 14, Strength 11, Intelligence 11 Rarity was a Unicorn Monk. Stats: Charisma 14, Dexterity 15, Wisdom 14, Constitution 14, Strength 12, Intelligence 13. Tempest took awhile to figure out her class, as most of them were different than the Storm King's version of it. She finally settled on a Unicorn Fighter. Stats: Charisma 12, Dexterity 13, Wisdom 11, Constitution 13, Strength 15, Intelligence 10. Starlight was visiting Sunburst and Twilight was GM. The plot was simple, they were on a quest to discover and defeat a dark wizard trying to conquer the world before he could acquire an evil artifact to conquer the world. The problem is, all they knew was there was a dark wizard trying to conquer the world with an evil artifact, Twilight wanted to make finding it out part of the challenge. So thus began their attempt to find out...well, anything. This resulted in them finding a suspicious looking villager sneaking around and confronting them. "What do you do?" asked Twilight. "I tell him to tell me what he knows or I'll make him," Tempest replied. She blinked, seeing the stares she got. "...What?" "Do an Intimidation check." Tempest rolled...and got a 1. She had a rank 3 Intimidation (her other two skills being a rank 2 Climb and a rank 3 Jump) and was half a head taller than the villager (giving her a +4 bonus), was Level 1 and her Charisma of 12 gave her a +1, meaning 4 + 3 + 1 + 1 equaling...9. Twilight did the rolls for the NPC. They had a (dice roll decided) Wisdom of 13 (coming to a +1), were level 3, and rolled...a 10. So 1 + 3 + 10. "You trip while intimidating him...but he says the dark wizard is staying at the inn outside of town," said Twilight. "See? It worked, didn't it?" asked Tempest. "..." Tempest groaned, noticing the looks, their party surrounded by an inn full of bandits rather than an evil warlock. "I failed the roll, didn't I?" "You think?!" asked Rainbow Dash. Session 73.27 Alex Warlorn "Oh, for you it's 30 percent off!" Screwball said. "Huh? Why me?" Gilda asked. "Employee discount." "Oh." -- "Well... Dad's is on the verge of manifesting in this reality... " Sonata said. "Do you think he'll power us up even more, or do you think the Rainboom will just be reduced to drooling lunatics when they lay eyes on him? I've always wanted to see if that was true!" Session 73.28 Kendell2 "Why exactly do they let us do this down here?" asked the Storm King (or more accurately the ghost of the Storm King, as he lacked any way to make his soul have a corporal presence after death) as an imp shuffled a deck of cards in the middle of the group. Across from Storm King was Tirek. In another cage was the bound soul of King Sombra, and forming a square with the other three was Tirek's computer projecting Chrysalis's face with an imp acting as her hands. Tirek shrugged. "Something about gambling and sin...And also..." he said, pointing to two other inmates who were put in the same cage after a poker game and trying to kill each other (which they obviously couldn't do, given they were already dead or in the place they'd go to when they died). "That happens a lot...don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to try and kill a ghost." "Oh...What are we betting with? We're kinda dead...and in Tartarus...We can't even bet our souls at this point!" "Hours of tormenting other souls," said Tirek. "Instead of being TORMENTED by other souls..." "...Visiting hours..." Sombra muttered. "Oh...But Chrysalis isn't dead!" Storm King exclaimed. Chrysalis scoffed. "I know where I'm going when someone finally does me in, I'm saving up." "Room for one more?" The group jumped as Discord...was just there. "What are you doing here?!" asked Chrysalis, growling. "You're a 'good guy'...for all that's worth." "One, because this looked like fun, two because I annoy the three of you I hate with my mere existence..." Tirek growled. "Of course." "Three, because this burns off my sadistic urges in benevolent ways, and four, I needed something to do while Smooze is ironing my invisible socks...I hope he doesn't light my house on fire...again. Funny thing, in Chaosville fire FREEZES things..." "...And why exactly should we let YOU play exactly?" asked Tirek, Sombra seeming apathetic to Discord and Storm King...wondering who he even was. "Because I have actual COMFORTS to wager," said Discord, holding up a delicious looking steak (from nonsapient cattle naturally). "...Touche..." "And come on now! Surely we can shoot the breeze a little," Discord said, as the imp dealt the cards...and 'killed' Storm King's, resulting a ghost of each card rising up for him to use. "We have to have SOMETHING we can talk about." "Literally all we have in common is the fact we tried to murder and/or defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends and take over Equestria," said Chrysalis. "Well then let's talk about THAT then," said Discord, looking at his cards. "Come on now, we've all got an 'almost got 'em' story, don't we? And I was only around for Tirek's and Chrysalis's second go around, none of us overlap in our attempts, so let's have some fun telling how we almost won 'if it weren't for those meddling ponies'...And telling them from OUR perspective might put a nice little twist on it. After all, our lovely viewers only see things from the outside, hearing it from the horse's mouth...or Yetis...wow, am I the only one who noticed the distinct lack of non-equine related bad guys in this show?" he asked. "But perhaps it'd be interesting to hear our perspectives on how we almost got 'em would be fun...Plus our collective egos are the size of Equus, surely talking about ourselves is one thing we're good at...Or bragging about who came the closest." The four villains looked at each other. "...I'm game for that..." Chrysalis said. OOC: Basically, this is a parody of the Batman the Animated Series episode 'Almost Got 'Im' . Basically the villains playing poker while talking about how they almost beat the mane cast and won, with the unique factor being it's from THEIR POV and how THEY saw their confrontations with the mane six, while also working off each other. I'll add more if no one else does, but I think this could be fun. Session 73.29 Alex Warlorn "So where do we go?" Pinkie Pie asked, "So Gilda, do you get a magic butt tattoo when you Grffin-up?" "WHAT?!" Gilda squawked. "Oh! When we pony-up, we get magical butt tattoos, Fluttershy found out after she ponied up from singing in the shower." "PINKIE PIE!" Fluttershy blushed. "So where do we go?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'd say that way darling." Rarity pointed at the part of town with red unholy lightning shooting up into the sky. With dark clouds spreading beyond the town spreading corruptive magic on all that its shadow fell upon. "Hold on!" Both Twilights said at once. "Before we do anything, we need a head count, we can't rush in there forgetting somepony, I mean someone! So everyone, everypony, sound off your name!!!!" - "Do either of you have a credit card number? You look like you could use some help!" Screwball said helpfully to Sweetie Belle and Button Mash against an army of Siren Apple Bloom and Siren Scootaloo's obvious rip-offs of Guardians from Legend of Cadence Whinny of the Wild.