Session 80.0 Alex Warlorn and Ardashir
"Now aren't you all happy that I edited your memories and using amnesiac suggestion made you all my obedient friends and now obey me without question?"
"Yes Mistress Wallflower Blush," the entire student body and the teachers said, all with grins on their faces.
"We will make all of Canterlot City a garden."
"Yes Mistress Wallflower."
"Dance my royal jester Sunset Shimmer, in your underwear!"
"Yes Mistress Wallflower."
-
"AAAAAAAAAAGH!"
"Sunset, what's wrong?!" Twilight asked. "You fell asleep while looking through the books!"
"I just had the most horrible nightmare of a possible future! She must be stopped!"
-
An alternate-universe Accord watching that dream sniffed. "She makes me so proud. I wish she was my daughter."
Nearby stood Celestia, Luna, and the Mane Six, all with huge vacant smiles on their faces. They felt nothing, feared nothing, desired nothing, wanted only to please Accord.
Session 80.1 Kendell2
The group was once again playing one of their games thanks to Discord's powers making it real.
"You know there's a lot of ponies we've never actually done anything with despite ALL the friends we have!" said Pinkie Pie the Bard said as she played a song to buff up Rainbow Dash as she slashes a skeleton monster.
"Like who?" asked Rainbow Dash, blocking a skeleton cut out's attack.
"Well what about Miss Harsh Whinnie?" asked Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow Dash had to be saved by Rarity from a monster due to laughing too hard at that. "Pinkie, I know she DOES have an excitable side, but do you REALLY think Miss Harsh Whinnie of all ponies would be up for O&O or LARPing?"
"Okay, so you sneak up behind that guard and take him out, then we'll move on to assassinate the king..." said a changeling dressed in assassin attire.
"Got it. Let's-"
With a battle cry a big intimidating Barbardian in full armor leapt on them with a battle ax.
With them taken care of, the mare roared and charged into the more obvious part of the battle.
"...Well we're dead..." said one changeling, the two detransforming to reveal purified ones as they moved to the side so no one would trip over them. "Who is that exactly?"
The Barbarian took a moment to catch her breath, raising her visor to reveal...Miss Harsh Whinnie, who only moved her visor to get a look around before charging back into the fantasy battle currently happening to make sure no one saw her face. "Fear the wrath of Doombringer the Barbarian!" she announced in the most over the top way possible.
"Don't know, but she's really into it..." said the other changeling.
"Yeah, you're probably right..." Pinkie Pie replied, playing another song to heal some damage Rainbow took while laughing.
OOC: Inspired by some fimfiction comments.
Session 80.2 Ardashir
In Canterlot, shortly after Twilight and a terrified Sunset left the library, Starswirl strolled in to the palace with an old, very old, chessboard.
"Celestia! Luna!" He called for them like a teacher summoning students -- which to him, they still were. "Where are you two at? I need someone to play a game of chess with, like in the old days."
"My sister is busy, Starswirl," Luna began. Starswirl a-hemmed loudly and raised an eyebrow. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Very well, teacher Starswirl. Really, must I call you that after all these centuries?" She sat at the other side of the table as he carefully arranged the hoof-carved chess pieces.
"You never finished your studies with me," Starswirl snorted as he moved his first pwn forward. "We should take care of that. And, you turned evil and tried usurping the throne you shared with Celestia!" He scowled at the board as Luna moved one of her knights out on to the field. He swiftly took it. "You need to remember that your decisions have consequences, Luna."
"Indeed," Luna said, her voice chilly. "I seem to recall some of thy decisions that did not go well. Like sending the Sirens into another world, where they later caused mischief..."
Starswirl waved his hoof in dismissal. "Bah, how much trouble could they cause? It was a world with next to no magic. A perfect place to send dangerous magical creatures and artifacts. They couldn't be a threat there."
"I am not so sure about that," Luna looked darkly at the board as Starswirl slowly and surely whittled her pieces away to nothing, closing in on the Princess -- what was called the 'King' i other lands. His casual way of defeating her was no easier to bear now than centuries gone. "One of thy other students, Clover the Clever, seems to have sent a dangerous artifact there that is being used to work wickedness. Or so Sunset and Twilight have told me."
Starswirl gave a snort of good-natured contempt for the very idea.
"Hmmph! If those artifacts were ever a danger, I'm sure I'd hear about it!"
***
In that other low-magic world where dangerous artifacts would be no trouble at all?
"Where are my hooves?" Sunset was on all ours before Wallflower. Princess Twilight and rest of her still former friends looked on in horror as she said, "What's happened to my body, my horn, my tail?" She looked around in horror, her eyes wide and shivering in fear. "WHAT IS THIS PLACE AND WHAT ARE YOU CREATURES?"
***
Elsehwhere in that world, as three harmless Sirens read through the mail they got from their Latin American publishers. Aria scowled as she read through yet another hand-written letter replete with death threats. Behind her Sonata was mowing her way through yet another taco lunch.
"So that's another dozen or so letters from brujas, mayomberos, and abacuaneros threatening to put the evil eye on you for 'exposing their secrets'; are you worried about this Adagio - Adagio?"
"Hmm?" Adagio leaned back in her chair and smiled, a dreamy look on her face. "For some reason I felt like someone I hated was suffering horribly thanks to that pompous old wizard Starswirl. If only I could be there to enjoy it in person."
Session 80.4 Grogar-the-oneser
All the ponies gaped at the sight of emo Starlight Glimmer portrait.
"Oh like none of you went through a emo-goth phase." Starlight said annoyed.
"It's not that, we just thought it be more-"
"If you say conqueror I'm going to punch you in the snout!"
"Yeesh calm down." Rainbow said.
"Sorry, It just my dad is stuck in past that it driving me crazy... also show my family might have a problem when it comes to letting go of the past." Starlight mutter the last part.
"Yeah well remember my mom philosophy isn't exactly sunshine either," Sunburst said annoyed. "Why she thought that gate was an improvement is BEYOND ME!"
Session 80.5 Alex Warlorn
"Welcome brave hero! It's so happy you could... who the Tartarus are you supposed to be?" Said the sexy unicorn mare on her throne.
"HI!" Shouted the white in green clothes before saying. "Oh, hi I'm Shining Chain-Linked-Armor... There was an announcement that the master of this castle was looking for a brave hero, so here I am."
"But... But... You're not the one I was looking for! How did you even get here?!"
"Wasn't easy let me tell you... there were a buncha guards who keep trying to lock me up when I told them I was a the Chosen One, they kinda gave up after thirty-seventh try... oh and this darn bard tried to enslave me with his magic lute, thankfully I broke his spell over his slaves, broke his lute, and gave him over to the guards... they sure looked confused for some reason."
The mare doubled in size and her eyes glowed red as darkness swarmed around her, "THAT WAS THE HERO YOU DORK! He was the one I was waiting for!... Blast it! Well! I have some sacred seals that I'd like broken, they hold a vast treasure for you, and I can pay you handsomely with gold," she fluttered her eyes. "Or other ways."
"First, I'm a prince, what do I need money for? And second, I'm a married stallion, thank you very much!"
"If you're a princess what the buck are you doing adventuring?!"
Shining Chain-Linked-Armor blushed. "Well, I'm totally needed, I'm NOT just a figure head or there to make new princesses or anything like that! But I thought I'd strike out and help on my own for a while!"
"Oh whatever! I don't have time for your whining! I'll just kill you and start from scratch!" And the queen turned into an Umbra.
-
"Cadence... I think that this enchanted comic got some pages mixed up at the print shop." Shining Armor called after crashing the enchanted comic.
Session 80.6 Mtangalion and Alex Warlorn
A beat-up old pickup pulled into the CHS parking lot, and Gilda hopped out, wandering over to a confused group of friends. "Hey, Dash, you know anybody around here named Sunset Shimmer? She sent me a text. Something about people losing their memories?"
"Oh hey, G." Dash frowned. "Why would a totally uncool jerk like Sunset send *you* a text? Especially when she's totally lost it and thinks she's a dog or a horse or something."
Gilda's jaw dropped, seeing Sunset crawling around on her hands and knees, babbling about magic and princesses... and then her eyes narrowed, noticing a mousy girl with green skin and darker green hair slipping away from the scene
Wallflower Blush darted around the corner of the school building, panting. "Whew... I'm just happy I thought to run after stealing all of Sunset's memories clear back to middle school in front of everybody... Or I'd just to erase their memories... This isn't fun. Why does this feel so empty?" A shadow fell over her. "Who..."
Gilda punched Wallflower hard enough to lay her out on the ground, then crouched down and and picked up the Memory Stone. The moment she touched it, Gilda hissed and shuddered, as if she'd grabbed a chunk of solid ice. "Yeowch! I don't know what kinda magic is in this thing, but the kinda magic I've got really doesn't like it."
Wallflower groaned, sitting up. "What are you doing? Give that back!"
Gilda blinked. "Uh, why would I let you let you get this back and erase my memory? 'Oh, you asked nicely! Here you go!' As if." Gilda slammed the Stone against the school building, but the Stone only chipped the school's brick exterior. "Dang, this thing's tough." Gilda grinned mischievously and griffoned-up, brandishing her magical warhammer. "But I'm tougher!" She dropped the Memory Stone on the ground, screamed an old Griffonstone High athletic cheer, and brought the hammer down.
The hammer-blow made a foot deep crater in the pavement, rattled Gilda's teeth, and made both her arms numb, but the Memory Stone itself was undamaged. "Holy squawk, that's one tough cookie!"
"I said, give it back!" yelled Wallflower, diving and making a grab for the stone.
Gilda nonchalantly held Wallflower back and punched her again. But before she could...
"HEY! STOP THAT YOU BIG BULLY!!!"
The glow of Equestrian magic came from Wallflower's smart phone, and out flew a holographic Screwball, her beanie buzzing, looking very angry at Gilda.
"You again? For the last time I'm not interested in buying-"
Screwball slaps Gilda in the face several times using the Equestrian Magic that allowed her to manifest in this world the size of a tinyy little breezie like figure. Then she backflipped Gilda a couple times for good measure.
Screwball and Wallflower turned to see the humane six... with Sunset Shimmer...
"That magic... familiar..." Sunset whispered.
"Girls... she says she erased your memories..." Gilda said on the ground and dizzy, Wallflower picked up the memory stone.
"Hey! You're the NPC who sold us things while the Dazzlings turned the whole town into sirens!" Sci- said.
"Yep! Dra-Gon wasn't a fair fight! But you're bad for hurting Wallflower!"
"You don't have long before your memories of her are gone for good anyway, I'd say about six hours at most, right at midnight..." Wallflower shrugged.
"Does that stone really erase stuff?" Screwball asked.
"Uh, yes."
Screwball whispered to Wallflower.
"... Alright, this world always treated me like the dung under their boots anyway..."
Wallflower held up the stone, and Screwball glowed.
There was a flash of light...
And...
Wallflower was now dressed like the hero from dragon warrior, Screwball was now a Breezie and... Wallflower was riding a golden horse with a white mane with violet highlights.
"I am Gildie the Horse." The grown golden mare said with a huge grin. "I carry the hero Wallflower from place to place! I am not hungry. I am very happy. I am at maximum hit points! I do not need to go potty right now."
Wallflower patted her on the neck and Gildie the war horse whinnied happily.
"What did you do to her?!" Rainbow demanded.
"Oh, the memory stone emptied out her brain."
"And I filled it up back up!" Screwball said, "She was mean before, now she's nice, it's like debugging!" Screwball said without a trace of malice or irony. "It's the circle of digital-life!" Screwball made a digital rainbow arc between her hooves.
"Come on Gilda! You have to remember that you're not any dweeb's steed!"
"Dweeb is a bad word, I will not say bad words because they are bad, and that is not good, because it is bad which is bad." Gildie the horse said with her grinning face.
"Uh, girls, notice how everythin' seems taller?" AJ asked.
The girls looked around, and down, and yelped.
They were now little green goblins with swords and armor, but looked like the programmer had 'forgotten' to make most of their armor from the waist up.
Fluttershy yelped and covered her chest blushing.
"How the heck can we this short and have chests this big?!" Rainbow declared.
"What game did you even base these on?!" Rarity shouted.
Screwball shrugged, "I dunno, I found it abandoned and in beta on this dark scary part of the internet with no outward links to it."
Twilight looked above their heads, and saw names like 'Meanie Pants' 'Always Ignores Nice Girls' 'Arrogant Jerk' 'Cares More about hurt animals than hurt people' and the their hit points... and saw Wallflowers, "She's a level 10 player character... we're level 1 goblins... RUN FOR IT!"
'The Meanie Pants Ran Away'
"... Screwball... I... I didn't want to hurt them... I... I just wanted everyone to see Sunset still treated others like dirt..."
"Don't worry Wallflower, you don't have to fight them if you don't want to, this is your world... let go play some mini-games!"
"O-okay!" Wallflower smiled and directed Gildie her horse the direction Screwball guided her.
+++
At the Friendship Castle, Princess Twilight strode resolutely towards the portal room, flanked by Starlight and Princess Celestia. "Sunset's stopped answering her journal. I knew we shouldn't have let her go back alone. It might already be too late to warn her... but she doesn't have much time to help their... our friends!"
Princess Twilight entered the human world... and... it was a bright sunny day in spite of Twilight checking her iphone to confirm it should have been sunset. Humans were walking around putting one foot in front of the other, and with her hand waving at her hips, all with hug grins on their faces.
"And what's that pleasant unintrusive music in the background?"
= Animal Crossing - XX AM/PM =
"Hello. What a lovely day this is. Would you like to trade some wallpaper for a chair?" Indigo Zap asked with a grin on her face. And she had the pony ears and tail.
"I'm Wallflower Blush's friends, are you Wallflower Blush's friend?" Asked a grinning human Starlight again in pony form. In fact... Twilight saw every human she laid her eyes on was in 'anthro' mode.
Princess Twilight check the time. "Not long at all before their memories are gone for good... No time to waste on distractions!"
Session 80.7 Grogar-the-oneser
"What the- I clearly grounded her!" Discord shouted as he look outside. "Huh- so this is what it's like to be an authority figure when someone doesn't listen to you... Not sure I like it. Though that begged the question... why wasn't I changed?"
"Oh I avoided that building cause I think if I did, Daddy would get strong enough to return thing to normal if he changed, and we can't have that." Screwball said as they played a mini-game.
"Err... Right." Wallflower said, with her grin getting more force by the minute. She was kinda creeped out, by what happened, and that she MIGHT have overreacted when Gilda punched her. Heck if she being honest, She was sorta glad Gilda (A person) noticed her. Granted she punched her, but after seeing Sunset freaked out with no memory as a human, made her feel like she might have deserved it.
Also, the vacant eye stare of people claiming to be her friends was seriously creeping her out.
"Man this place got creepier." Pony! Starlight stated (She decided to follow Twilight). "I mean I'm one to talk but the vacant-eyed look is seriously creepy."
"Agree that why we have to keep looking for Sunset and the others," Twilight said.
"But this place is huge, where are we suppose to look?" Starlight asked.
"OH MY CELESTIA JUST STOP!" Sunset voice snapped annoyed "So you're missing a piece of clothing, big whoop, where I'm from, where mostly naked 24/7."
"I think I have a good guess," Twilight stated in a deadpan tone.
"Think she got hit by that stone." Starlight said equally deadpanned.
"Most definitely."
Session 80.8 Alex Warlorn
The pink AI Diana private messaged Screwball:
"See? I told you this would work! And see, everyone is happy, and Wallflower and you are happy!"
"It did all work out didn't it?" Screwball said, the idea that Wallflower had used the memory stone on her when they first met didn't occur to her at all, after all, she and Wallflower were friends.
Wallflower admitted to herself, on top of everything else, seeing Screwball be so eager to help her and literally move worlds for her... when it was all based on Wallflower erasing the memories of Wallflower's completely pathetic hacking attempts and then telling Screwball she'd been told by the company as part of a secret project to punished Sunset.... Wallflower felt sick to her stomach. She had a "real" friend in the little computer program, and it was all based on a lie. She didn't fear what the magically charged Screwball would do to her, she feared that friendship, no matter how false the foundation, breaking.
Diana gave another private message, "But why didn't you go off after the short stack goblins? The one with glasses deserved it!"
"Wallflower says she doesn't want to hurt them. So she won't."
The AI Diana within the WOH servers snorted.
Session 80.9 Alex Warlorn
Human, now goblin Pinkie Pie sighed sadly. "I can't believe Screwball would do this... we're friends... well, online friends but still friends, but still friends, I wonder what kinda magic she got that she can do all this and can appear as a tiny version of her WoH self!"
Session 80.10 Ardashir (like added by me)
A few weeks ago, after the Great Siren Uprising but before the current catastrophe:
Garble wandered the school halls, listening to the students hunting for him. The last time the brats nagged him he'd chased them away with some dragonfire. That little traitor Smolder complained to Ember and the puny purple princess pony which lead to him being dragged before Smolder's mother -- and the mothers of the other kids -- and warned in detail what he could expect if he ever tried that again. "Play nice with our kids. OR ELSE."
So here he was. Playing with little kids. Could his life get any more humiliating?
"Yeesh, bad enough I gotta 'pway games with the adorable kiddies'." He minced as he spoke. "And hide-and-seek? That's for losers like ponies and numbskulls like yaks." He took one more step, stopped in front of the library doors, and stomped in disgust. "Forget it! I'm a dragon! I have my pride! I'm not scared of a bunch of old women wanting me to play nice with their brats..."
"Hey I think I can smell him down this way!" He froze as Smolder's voice echoed down the hall. "Come on, don't be afraid of him! Remember what my mom said?"
Garble suddenly remembered that massive head lowering to look at him as he twitched in her claw, the sulphurous breath blasting his face as Smolder's mother hissed, "If you ever hurt or frighten my daughter again..." That giant maw opening beneath him like a fang-lined cavern...
"Okay, hide and seek it is!" Garble dashed into the room and blinked to see the mirror flashing before him. "Eh, Spike told me this is some kind of gate to other worlds. Pff, yeah, like I'm dumb enough to believe that."
Claws clicked on the floor outside, getting ever closer. "Remember: Sweetie said if we caught him, she's show us how to give him a makeover!"
Garble choked and dove through the mirror without hesitating.
***
Moment later, on the other side of the mirror, a red and yellow large mongrel dog emerged before Canterlot High. Several nearby people noticed and approached the stray, along with a uniformed man bearing a net. Garble looked around and sniffed.
"Yeesh, this place is a bigger dump than dumb Pony land." Garble sneered as he looked at the buildings around him. He looked down at himself and recoiled in disgust. "And I look like one of those stupid Diamond Wolf-things. Maybe I shoulda listened to Spike and stayed away from that dumb mirror... Nah. How much trouble can I get in? Besides it's all probably just some dumb illusion the purple pony put together to rattle me. Like those dopey comics that Dragontown traitor Mina keeps sending Spike. I'll teach 'em all!" He started scratching behind one ear with a hind leg. "I'm too smart to be tricked."
He gave a howl as a large net promptly slammed down over him.
"That's gotta be the ugliest stray I've ever seen." The Canterlot City dogcatcher looked through the mesh at the snarling dog. "He looks familiar too. I thought he hung out at the town dump with those other mutts?"
"MUTT?" Garble shook his paw at the man. "HEY! Get the net off before I breathe fire on you, ya hairless monkey!" He huffed deep, wondering where the familiar furnace in his chest seemed to have gone.
As it turned out he didn't need it. The dogcatcher just stared. He blinked slowly. Then with a scream he hurled his net away and ran off wildly, waving his arms wildly as he screamed. "HAAAALP! I just lost my mind! Or I didn't, and that's even worse!"
"Hah!" Garble jumped up on his hind legs and shadowboxed. The crowd of students stared on in rising horror as he said, "Yeah, you better run, punk! What?" He turned to the students paws set on his hips. "Ain't none of you losers ever seen a guy talk before? Now I gotta find me some gemstones to eat."
Garble strolled off in the direction of the nearest gem store. Behind him, the terrified citizens gave one collective scream as they fled panicking through the streets.
"Aliens!"
"Werewolves!"
"Monster Dog!"
***
A few hours later Sunset Shimmer was settling down to the evening news. She watched, trying not to fall asleep - and then sat up straight, her eyes wide at what was being said.
"...And for our strange story of the evening, people are panicking in the area near Canterlot High as stories of a foul-mouthed talking dog threatening crowds and robbing a jewelry store flood the area. We asked a local expert for his opinion."
"It can't be," she moaned, facepalming. "Twilight said she'd be more careful. She wouldn't let any idiot use that gate."
Meanwhile the local 'expert', who looked like a vaguely intellectual Larry Fine in a bad suit, was talking on the show. Behind him was a whiteboard covered with drawings and photos of what Sunset assumed were supposed to be aliens. She remembered him getting a lot of airtime after the business with the Sirens last month, going on and on about space aliens, ancient astronauts, and the massive conspiracy to Hide The Truth. She'd wondered if she should just pony up and visit him to see what he'd do.
To judge by the TV screen it would have been a bad idea. He was pointing at a vague photo of Dagon and the Dazzlings, with her and her friends confronting them. Another, more recent photo of the upright dog was beside them, and he was in fine form as he spoke.
"I can say this without any fear of contradiction: the town has been invaded by space aliens." He pointed at the photos. "Last month their earlier attempt was thwarted by some top secret shadow government Black Project, so now a higher ranked member -- probably one those three homely fish women answer to -- has come to finish the job." He looked right into he camera, a smile tugging at his mouth. "It would be irresponsible of me to tell people to panic, but we're all as good as dead." He leaped to his feet with a mad laugh an thrust one finger at the screen. "HAH! AND YOU ALL SAID I WAS A NUT! THE ALIENS ARE REAL AND WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! WHO'S LAUGHING NOW??"
The screen went blank with a message reading 'Temporary Problems -- Please Stand By'.
Sunset just sighed and picked up the phone.
"Twi? About the news... You saw? And everyone's coming over here right now? Oh, he stole the gems from the store Rarity works at, so she already knew? Yeah, I'll meet you at the door. Yeah, I'll be ready." She hung up the phone with a groan. "I have got to talk to Twilight about keeping a closer eye on that gate."
-
"HOMELY?!" Adagio snarled. "I'LL KILL'EM!"
Session 80.11 Ardashir
"Auntie, are we going through after Twilight?" Cadence poked her head through the gate and quickly pulled it back. "Things look pretty crazy over there."
"Not unless Twilight needs us," Celestia warned her. Before her she had a card deck out and was playing solitaire. Very poorly; most of her attention was on the gate. "Right now we should stay here. If something dangerous tries to come through, we can fight it off and --"
At that exact moment a blue-green pegasus with a blonde man-bun mane stuck his head through. "Hey, you want to be friends with Wallflower Blush? And you busy tonight, ladies?" He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at them.
A spell bolt from Celestia sent him rolling back through the mirror gate.
"Anything dangerous, or just annoying," she said.
Session 80.12 Mtangalion
(continuing Garble's adventures beyond the mirror)
Ember stormed into the portal room, glaring daggers at the two armored thestral stallions who had been standing watch outside, even though Princess Twilight kept insisting that she didn’t really need a Dusk Guard or a Dawn Guard. Then Ember turned her wrath on Twilight herself. “I know Garble’s been a pain in the tail, but really? Losing him in *another world* in a game of hide and seek!?”
Twilight did her best impression of Princess Celestia’s smile #22. (Let’s all remain calm and not make this any worse.) “Dragon Lord Ember, I can assure you that Garble passed through the mirror of his own free will. My friends on the other side are already searching for him.”
Ember snorted a lick of flame. “Doesn’t matter. I made a mess of things, always pushing him harder, thinking he’d eventually shape up.” She laughed. “Heck, *Spike’s* done more to make that nitwit play nice than anything I did. I guess even a loser like Garble has his dragon pride. That’s why I’m gonna fetch him out of there myself.”
Twilight tensed. “Dragon Lord Ember, you really don’t need to…”
Ember paused on the threshold. “Say that first part again?”
“Um… Dragon Lord?”
“And don’t you forget it!” With that, Ember plunged into the mirror.
Princess Twilight sighed, looking at the portal wistfully. “Funny how history keeps repeating itself around this thing.”
Sunset and all of her friends were spread across the Canterlot High School grounds, searching in the dark with flashlights.
“Oh! Just wait until I get my hands on that thieving mutt,” grumbled Rarity.
“Here, Garble!” called Fluttershy sweetly. “Don’t you want one of my extra crunchy dog treats? Ooh, they’re really yummy!”
“He’s a talking dog like Spike, Shy,” deadpanned Applejack. “Doncha think he’ll just be insulted?”
Spike the dog rubbed against Fluttershy’s legs. “I’ll take the treat if that other dog doesn’t want it!”
Twilight smirked. “You were saying?”
Rainbow Dash yawned profusely. “Ugh… did we seriously cancel a World of Horsecraft raid to look for a missing dog? I thought that was just an excuse in case our parents overheard.”
Pinkie Pie had a deerstaker hat and cape from the school’s drama department, somehow. “Gosh, I’ve checked my house, I’ve checked Crystal Prep, I’ve checked the Friendship Castle arcade, I’ve checked Camp Everfree, I just can’t find that doggone dog anywhere!”
“How…” Gilda groaned. “Never mind. If that mutt is anywhere around here, Ember will pick up his trail! Right, girl?”
The blue dog sniffed all around in a circle, then suddenly sat bolt upright, ears perked. “New person! At the door to the magic place! Hey! Hey, you! Hey!” Ember charged towards the statue, slipping right out of her collar and leash.
“Why did I bother?” grumbled Gilda, running after her. She reached the statue and raised her flashlight, illuminating *two* identical blue dogs.
Spike reached them first, skidding to a stop. “Two Embers!?”
Gilda looked from dog to dog. “What the squawk? I can’t tell them apart!”
One of the blue dogs struggled to stand on two paws, and pointed a forepaw imperiously at Sunset. “You there, furless minotaur cow! As Dragon Lord, I demand that you help me find my lost subject, Garble!”
The other Ember romped around, so excited that her own furiously wagging tail threatened to tip her over. "New dog, who looks just like me! Let's bark and play and sniff each other's butts!"
Gilda immediately relaxed. "Okay, yeah, that one's mine. Had me worried there for a second!"
Applejack blinked. “Hang on, did she say, Garble? As in, Garble the junkyard dog?”
A bedraggled red canine stumbled out of the brush, dragging a bag full of gems. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out. Ugh, it sucks here, I just wanna go home! No fire, no flying… I nearly broke a tooth trying to eat a gem!” Garble did a double-take. “Wha… Ember? You came yourself?” He smirked, turning away. “Heh, don’t tell you were actually worried about me or something.”
“W-worried? Of course I wasn’t worried, scalebrain!” Ember the transformed dragoness padded over and lightly cuffed Garble’s ear. “I just came to tell you… um… that I’m returning your hoard! Do you think you can manage to stay in Equestria and stop making trouble for everydragon now?”
Garble’s jaw dropped. “What, really!? I mean… finally, it’s about time! I can do that first part for sure. Home is where your hoard is, after all.”
Ember grinned toothily. “I’ll have it brought to your ambassadorial suite in Twilight’s castle, then.”
Garble fell over. “Still? I’m still… Arrggh!”
Ember rolled her eyes. “I’m Dragon Lord Ember, sulfur breath! Dragon Lord Aaagghh was my grandfather.”
All of the humans started giggling for some reason. “Argh?” echoed Sunset.
“No, I think it’s supposed to be 'Aaaauugggh', at the back of the throat,” said Pinkie Pie brightly. “Aaauugh.”
“Shut up!” barked Ember. “That was a super honorable name back then. Ugh, let’s just go.” Garble tried to bring the bag of gems with him, but Ember swatted it out of his teeth-grip, and then the two dragons returned through the portal.
As Ember and Garble left, a curious swirl of magic was left behind. It rose, unnoticed, and flew across the countryside, homing in on a certain red junkyard dog, and settling into his head and throat.
Garble the dog snorted awake. “Wha? I’m talking? Yes, YES! I have the voice of the masters! Best dream ever, even better than the squirrel dream!” He turned around three times and settled back to a contented slumber. “Mmm… Squirrel! Hehe…”
Session 80.13 Ardashir
"Fluttershy!" Applejack hurried up to her friend's front door. Behind her, in the cool Spring night, panicked whinnies and neighs rose from Ponyville. Balls of light flew over the town, blood crimson and electric blue and vivid green. "We need ya here!"
As she raced down the trail to Fluttershy's house, three dark forms charged at her from the darkness. Applejack froze, only to sigh in relief when she saw the Flower Trio go racing by her.
"We saw it in the woods!" Lily cried as she ran by, her ears pinned. "It had a glowing red face! And a black body!"
"And no legs!" Rose yelled. "It floated and it smelled funny!" Applejack was about to ask them what they'd seen -- the small monsters she'd seen at Sweet Apple Acres were short and silver with big eyes and they'd scratched at the windows, floating away when apples were tossed at them -- but froze at what Daisy said.
"It went into Fluttershy's house, along with the flying monster with the pony head and dragon wings!"
"WHAT!" Applejack would have grabbed them to get some more answers, but right then a hideous shriek like a mare in terror blasted her from overhead. She flung herself flat and saw a massive black form, seemingly headless but with two giant glowing red eyes, wings outstretched and motionless, head for Fluttershy's house. It flew in through a window to the sound of a equine shriek.
"Fluttershy!" Applejack raced to the front door and smashed through it, snorting and ears pinned. "Okay, ya darn no-good monsters! Now we're gonna..."
She blinked at what she saw. The huge Phantom the Flower Trio saw, the silvery clawed monkey-things from the farm, the dragon-winged pony-monster and the huge flying moth-man, and several less describable things were all gathered around the table in Fluttershy's living room along with Discord and Fluttershy herself. Dice, a plate of -- something vaguely akin to food, cups filled with what looked like silvery mist, and a copy of the Crystals and Rainbows rulebook lay there.
The Moth-thing waved its wings and made a loud chirping sound like a giant bat.
"Now, now, Mothy," Discord said to it. "No, you don't get extra points for hugging Nessie twice. No double-dipping. Oh, hello there, Applejack." He smiled at her. "I just invited a few of my friends over for a visit and they decided they wanted to play a few rounds of C&R."
"Discord!" He smiled innocently as she pointed back at the town. "Yore friends scared everypony in town half outta their wits!"
"Oh, please, like that's difficult." As she snorted, he added, "Besides, Fluttershy agreed to it."
"Discord has such wonderful friends," she said as she fluttered into the room with more of the odd 'food' already on the table. The various creatures took the plates with noises like chirps, screams, and crying foals as she hoofed them around. "He says they're a real scream back where they usually live. I like them so much, I'm going to ask them to come back every week!... Applejack, why do you look faint?"
Session 80.14 Mtangalion
(Some Infinity War references, but there shouldn't be any big spoilers if you watched the trailers.)
A portal opened, and Reaper the Mad Griffon arrived in the war zone that Zebrafrica had become, huge and imposing with his black fur, deep purple plumage, and golden armor. “Shining Armor. Princess Cadence. You have fought well, but you WILL surrender the Element of Loyalty to me. Once the Harmony Clawntlet is complete…” Reaper held aloft his left claw, showing off the flexible claw-armor already adorned with the other five Elements. “... I will bring Equus into balance at last.”
Shining Armor stumbled to his hooves and took deep breaths, decked out in the literal suit of shining armor that the Element on his forehead had created for him. “Actually… I think we missed some of the backstory. What does that mean exactly, bringing Equus into balance? Cady?”
Cadence shook her head. Her Iron Mare suit was battered and scorched and missing many pieces. “Sorry, I didn’t catch it either.”
Reaper arched a brow. “It’s quite simple. Equus has too many mares. With but a snap of my talons, half of all the mares in the world, chosen entirely at random… will be transformed into stallions!”
Cadence and Shining looked at each other, while Reaper waited and armies of zebras and aliens continued to clash in the background. “What, that’s it?” asked Cadence.
“What do you mean, ‘is that it?’” Reaper clenched his armored talons, growling. “This is my grand purpose, my long sought goal!”
“You know, that really doesn’t sound so bad,” said Cadence.
Shining Armor was nodding. “He does have a point about the mare-stallion imbalance being a problem. Nopony’s ever come up with a good solution, though.”
Cadence rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Shiny, let’s let him do it.”
Shining took a step back. “Wha… Cady! Reaper beat some of our friends to a pulp, getting those other five Elements!”
Cadence put a wing around her husband. “Yes, and we’re still VERY cross about that, but if Mr. Reaper will Pinkie Pie Promise to change half of the mares into stallions and *nothing* else, then give up the Elements and apologize… I think we can make a deal here.”
“That’s a lot of ‘ifs’,” said Shining. “And what if *you* turn into a stallion?”
Cadence grinned slyly. “Well, it’s not like we’ve never…”
Shining Armor blushed.
“You… you can’t do that!” stammered Reaper. “I demand that you fight me! There must be an epic final battle! With a shocking last minute twist!”
“No,” said Princess Cadence sweetly.
Cadence and Shining were abruptly catapulted back into the real world, where they found Gilda gaping at her enchanted comic, which had just frozen up and caught fire.
“What did you do?!” squawked Gilda. “I spent weeks on that fan adaptation! Weeks! It was perfect! Starlight must have messed up transcribing it! There’s no way…”
Shining Armor gleefully pointed a hoof at her. “HAH! Now you know how it feels!”
Session 80.15 Grogar-the-oneser
"Wow... she really downgraded you guys!" Princess Twilight stated.
"Yeah, you look like one of those H-games, and a really rape-y one at that," Starlight said.
"Oh great more people I don't know in this horrible place!" Sunset shouted.
"Wait, Twilight, the princess one, do you know what going on?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Wait, you remember Twilight, and that she's from a different dimension yet can't remember Sunset being a good friend in her reformed." Starlight said.
"Like I said, the stone is very good at memory editing. But it shouldn't have been able to do all... this." Princess Twilight said confused.
"You just gesture to everything." Starlight said confused.
"Exactly, this is like Discord level of weirdness."
"So, Umm... how long will everything be like this?" Wallflower asked.
"Hopefully forever." Screwball stated.
"Great...." Wallflower said feeling like a massive jerk.
"I am hungry and will eat the grass now!" Gilda said excitedly.
Session 80.16 Ardashir
"Wait. Screwball. You're saying that I did all this?" Wallflower touched the Memory Stone. "With this?"
"Yep!" The purple breezie nodded so hard her propeller beanie almost fell off. "Oh, and my help! You made the world all better!"
They currently stood next to a large pool and fountain in the center of town. It currently looked to be made of ivory and gold. Only a few members of the currently transformed population were around, all of them smiling broadly and staring at Wallflower like she was their reason for existing.
"You did this?" Wallflower almost jumped out of her armor as a snarling musical voice nearby asked. "Then you're the one we want to eat -- I mean meet!"
She turned and blinked to see three Sirens looking at her where they rose from the fountain's water. The lead one, covered in golden scales, smiled to display shearing fangs. The purple and blue ones behind her were watching carefully.
"Oh, hi! You can completely trust us!" The golden one said with a leer of her fangs. "I'm Adagio, and these are my sisters Aria and Sonata. We, uh, we were stuck in this fountain by an evil wizard..."
"With lousy musical sense," Aria grumbled. "And a bunch of jerks helping him."
Adagio gave her a growl. Aria shrank back as Adagio said, "All because we're magic wish-granting Sirens who, er, do whatever nice and totally not-evil monsters do..."
"Since when?" Sonata asked innocently. As Adagio glared Sonata blithely ignored her to snap at an overly curious pigeon.
As Sonata crunched her snack, Adagio said, "Thing is, uh, with a little magical help we could go and do nice things for everyone, urrgh," she looked nauseated just to say it, "like we used to, so if you just used whatever magic you did to change all this to help us...."
Wallflower interrupted. "Wait you three look like the monsters from that one expansion for World of Horsecraft. They were pretty evil." She frowned. "And you sound a lot like those three fish-women that almost destroyed the city last month."
"Well, duh," Sonata said, spitting feathers. "We, like, totally are those three." She fell back into the pool as Adagio's tail swept up and smacked her in the face.
"Okay, yeah, yeah, we're the three monsters who tried to conquer the city last month and nearly got away with it too," Adagio snarled and pointed at the Memory Stone. Behind her Sonata rose from the waters, shaking her head. Aria grinned evilly and closed in behind Adagio. "Third time's the charm. If you did all this with that stone, we want it!"
"No." Wallflower frowned as she stepped away from the pool. Her horse Gildie and Screwball flanked her. "It's mine and I don't trust you with it. So go away."
"Really, honey?" Adagio asked in mock sympathy. She heaved herself out of the water and slithered after her, Aria close behind. "I'm not ASKING you, brat!"
At the sight of two large and vicious Sirens coming at her, fangs bared, Wallflower did the only thing she could think of. She raised the Memory Stone and yelled, "Forget the Stone, forget me, forget everything!"
***
Sonata blinked to see her sisters suddenly looking at her and each other blankly. The green-haired girl mounted her horse and rode away, the breezie accompanying her.
She slithered out by Adagio and Aria. "Hey, like, aren't we supposed to be chasing her?"
"Chase? Her?" They looked at her in utter incomprehension. "Who her?" They looked at each other and then at everything else. They looked utterly fazed by everything they saw. "What are we doing here? Where is the rest of the Siren pack? Is this the surface?"
Sonata was about to ask what kind of a game they were playing and if she could play too when she -- slowly -- thought. 'Adagio said that girl has some Memory Stone magic thingy she heard about back in Equestria. She said it could be used to, like, take memories from people.' Her eyes widened as she saw Aria and Adagio slither over to a rather ripe trash can, sniff at it, and recoil in disgust. 'Hey, she used it on Aria and Adagio. She told them to forget everything. They're, like, totally stupid now! Which means I'm the smart Siren, and that makes ME the alpha!'
'And now I'M the one who comes up with plans!'
"Aria! Adagio!" She slithered over to her sisters and reared above them, looking as intimidating as she could. They gave her blank looks as she said, "Okay! Like, from now on, I'm the pack alpha. That means you obey me, got it?"
"Yes, pack alpha," they repeated in unison. "What do we do, pack alpha?"
Sonata grandly waved one claw at a food stand on the other side of the pool. "Your alpha demands tacos! And fruit punch! And, I kinda guess I need a crown and junk now since I'm the Queen of the Sirens! So get going!"
Aria and Adagio crawled away to obey their new alpha. Sonata smiled and sank back in the pool, wondering if she should command them to fetch some humans to rub her scales. But it didn't matter.
This was already the best day Sonata had in a long time.
Session 80.17 Grogar-the-oneser
'Okay, so I did that to the siren but I did the right thing this time. They wanted to monster-up and I prevented that! That totally proves I'm still a good person... crap who am I kidding, just cause I look human doesn't mean I cause all this, lied to someone who actually paid attention to me, and those creepy vacant stares are still very creepy!'
"HEY!" A voice roared, causing both Screwball and Wallflower turn to see Princess!Twilight, Starlight Glimmer glaring at her.
"Oh look, it the other ones that appear during the siren crisis." Screwball said.
"Wait, shouldn't you be with the goblins?" Wallflower said.
"They don't feel comfortable walking around as they are at the moment," Twilight said.
"So we decided to issue a challenge." Starlight said.
"What kind of challenge?"
"Well, were tempted to fight physically you over the stone, but considering you did all this... we think maybe playing a game might be better." Starlight said.
"Ohh! What kind of game?" Screwball said.
"It can be any game of your choosing, we just ask that if we win, the world gets set back to normal with everyone being able to remember Sunset." Princess!Twilight stated.
"Fine, but if we win, you have to have your memory erased too." Wallflower said.
Session 80.18 Kendell2
"Wait!" said Pinkie Pie, poking out. "Screwball's doing all this, right?"
"Sorta," Screwball said, rotating in the air.
"You said your job is to make games fair, right?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Yeah, that's right! that's the job I do for daddy!" said Screwball.
"So any game Wallflower chooses, you'll make sure is FAIR right?" asked Pinkie Pie.
Screwball tapped her chin. "Yeah, I will."
Wallflower gasped. "Screwball!"
"Sorry, Wallflower, I have to be fair!" said the AI seriously.
"...Given a gamemaster who wasn't fair was a pain in my butt, I can respect that..." said Wallflower.
Session 80.19 Mtangalion
Gilda groaned and started to rub her eyes, only to stop in a hurry when she saw sharp claws in front of her face. “What the…” She flapped bronze-feathered wings one a time, then curled her paws and lashed her tail. “I’m a griffon again? Did I die and go to the catbird afterlife instead of people heaven? Somebody bucked up big time.”
A field of pixels appeared, quickly gaining high resolution and depth to become a grinning pink-haired girl with a propeller beanie. “Heehee, you’re not dead!” Screwball stroked her chin impishly. “Of course, I’m not sure you were alive to begin with!”
Gilda backed up, instantly wary. “You again?”
“Me again!” Screwball made several temporary duplicates of herself, examining Gilda from many angles at once. “I decided to reuse your old bad data for a video game that Wallflower wants to play, but when I stuck it to some Equestrian magic, I lost control of it, and it turned into you!” She gasped. “You’re a self-aware program just like us! Daddy will be so surprised when I tell him I can create life too!”
“Us?” echoed Gilda, not having understood half of that, and not sure she wanted to. She didn’t get an answer… instead, a huge floating window appeared, with giant images of Wallflower, Twilight, and Starlight on the other side. Almost as if… Gilda gulped… she was *inside* a video game cabinet, looking out at the people playing the game.
Eight-bit music started up, and an announcer shouted, “Get ready to play… Debug-It Diane!”
A video game sprite that looked just like Pinkie Pie appeared, floppy disc in hand. “I’m gonna debug it!”
“Can you help Debug-It Diane defeat the ultimate meanie, Punch-It Gilda!?”
Gilda couldn’t stop herself from striking a pose and shadow-boxing. “I’m gonna punch it!” Blink. “Hey, stop that! Don’t put words in my beak! Guys, you’ve gotta fix my real body and put me back in it somehow!”
In the transformed human world outside, Wallflower Blush smiled. “Mend-It Mindy is one of my favorite video games at the arcade. When I can play it…” She sighed. “When other people aren’t cutting in front of me because they didn’t even notice I was waiting to play…”
Inside the game, Gilda sat down, tail lashing. “This is so lame.” She pointed a claw at Diane, fuming. “I want to punch something so bad, but I *can’t* punch her. She’s my friend! At least, she looks like my friend. Super-wacky sorta annoying friend of a friend. You get the idea!”
Session 80.20 Kendell2
"Wait, before we start..." Sunset said, clearing her throat. "Why are you even doing this?!" she asked. "What did I ever do to you?! I don't even know you!"
Wallflower suddenly snarled. "That's the PROBLEM! You DO know me! I've been there the entire time!" she yelled. "I was there when you first showed up! When you turned into a shedemon! I was there for all of it! I'm in the year book club with you NEARLY EVERY DAY! But you don't remember me! NO ONE DOES!" she yelled, Sunset...actually taking a step back. "Screwball, can you show the school's virtual year book? Wallflower Blush's picture each year?"
"Sure!" Screwball said, doing so...
Sunset and Twilight gasped when they saw the blank photos.
"I show up! But the photographer never notices me!" Wallflower replied, now looking livid. "So why do you, someone who came out of nowhere, get EVERYONE to notice you just by saying a few words?! You want everyone to fear you? Done! You want everyone to love you? Done! Why can you do that while no matter what I do I can't get MY OWN PARENTS to pay attention to me?!"
Sunset...wasn't sure how to respond to that.
= Invisible - Equestria Girls Forgotten Friendships =
"You don't see me fitting in
I'm sitting here alone
Right beside my shadow
Always on my own..." sang Wallflower, looking to Screwball who nodded and used the powers she had to let Wallflower control their surroundings for a moment.
Sunset looked around as she saw the group's adventures throughout the school years flash by...Wallflower standing their for all of them, unnoticed by hero and villain alike.
"If I could share my wildest dreams
Maybe they would see
I'm more than just a wallflower
There's so much more to me," the young woman continued, their surroundings turning to a garden Sunset had seen at school but never taken a look at. It expanded out into something only possible in the imagination.
"I'm invisible, invisible
A droplet in the mist
Invisible, invisible
It's like I don't exist..."
Wallflower's average school day played, being ignored by everyone, student and teacher alike. Raising her hand first only resulted in someone else entirely getting called upon...until she just stopped raising it altogether. Trying to spark conversations ended in being ignored altogether until it stopped completely. The image of her faded like a ghost.
"Right beneath my picture
This is what you'll read
A laundry list of nothings
Not likely to succeed..."
The yearbook pages flickered by, each with a void were Wallflower should be in any club she belonged to. Sad part was, Sunset knew thinking about it those were REAL.
"A yearbook with blank pages
That no one wants to sign
A memory forgotten
Until the end of time..."
Sunset saw Wallflower walking outside the school as a kid...only to find everyone's parents pulling up and picking them up except hers...this went to middle school age...and then to high school were the bus slammed the door in her face and took off right before she could get on, all of them ending with her walking home on her own.
The image faded back to the situation they'd been in before. Sunset swore Wallflower's eyes looked...sad somehow.
"...Why do you get to have everyone's eyes on you while I can't even get my own parents to pick me up at school?" Wallflower asked. "...Let's play..."
Session 80.21 Grogar-the-oneser
"Wait..." Sunset mutter realizing something "I was a high school student in this horrible place."
"Oh right... the memory thing." Wallflower said "Should have given that song first before erasing your memory. But the point still stands I've been royally screwed over!"
"Go Wallflower Blush, we know her name, we are her friends." Cheered a grinning ear to ear pony anthro Trixie in a cheer leader costume.
Session 80.22 Kendell2
"So...did you ever resolve your...problem, darling?" asked Rarity as the group prepared for another Mother's Day game of O&O at the Crystal Empire.
"You mean the 'time paradox makes me have two moms' problem?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking nearby at Windy Whistles and Rainbow Dash Sr. glaring at each other. "No, we're just going to trade back and forth...Why is no one more concerned by the fact I have two moms due to a time paradox?! Scootaloo was excited!"
"Darling, we first became friends by defeating an insane lunar goddess, Fluttershy regularly has tea with the anthropomorphic personification of chaos, Shining Armor and Cadence's wedding was crashed by shapeshifting bug ponies who are now our friends, and they're now the rulers of a lost kingdom of gorgeous crystalline ponies," the fashionista pointed out. "Weird things happening to us is Tuesday evening."
"...Point taken..."
"Now Zephyr, remember, this is a team effort," said Fluttershy seriously as she, her brother, and her mother, Posey came to the table.
"It's fine, I gotcha..." said Zephyr. He then saw Rainbow Dash and smirked. "Hey Rainbows, nice seeing you here. You come all this way just to be with me?"
Rainbow Dash gave him a death glare that made it clear that was the opposite.
This continued until he noticed Windy Whistles and Rainbow Dash Sr. looming behind her, each shooting him a 'disapproving mother glare' that made him back up and return to his sibling and mother.
"Wow...we actually agree on something..." Windy Whistles muttered, eyes wide.
"Yes, we are both protective of our little Rainbow," Rainbow Dash Sr. replied, the two actually sharing a smile.
"Hello, Empress Blackrose, long time no see," Cadence said.
"I know, been busy with things..." Blackrose replied. "I brought Cicada given Chryssy...you know..."
"I understand..." muttered Cadence sadly.
"So last time I went with Maud, this time I'm brought Marble!" said Pinkie Pie.
Twilight blinked, looking at her character sheet. "A Barbarian?"
Marble gave a shy smile.
The ground shook as Tiamat and Bahamut landed with Babylon and Torch.
"...So, what was this about that play you had sent to Twilight's school?" asked Babylon.
"What of it?" Torch asked, the two glaring at each other...until all five of their mother's eyes narrowed at them.
"Stop bickering like welps!" Tiamat roared. "You're grown dragons! If you have a problem, find a remote volcanic island and level it sorting them out!"
"Yes mom..." said both like scalded teenagers.
"Now, let's have some fun..."
Session 80.23 Grogar-the-oneser
"So... should we tell our teacher they totally owe us one from saving them from principal twilight wrath about that failed field trip?" Gallus asked the group.
"Nah, they had a rough day." Sandbar refuted.
"Still odd though... I could've sworn from that book they publish they went through something like that before." Ocellus muttered.
"Yak said they too stubborn to let competitive streak die," Yona said plainly.
"Guys I found it!" Silverstream shouted as she held a video-game labeled 'Jumanji'. I heard this game is intense according to the CMC... though they said it was a board game."
"Who cares a game is a game. Besides as long as I don't have to do anymore outside activity like canoeing or crossing dangerous bridges over deadly wildlife, I say were good." Gallus said, unknowingly tempting fate in the worst way possible...
Session 80.24 Ardashir
(Note: Minor Spoilers Related to an Upcoming Episode.)
Blades flashed, arrows flew, spells lashed out as three heroes once more faced the undead minions of the Squizard, courtesy of being transported into the game by Discord's magic.
"This is a lot simpler and more fun than rolling dice all the time!" Spike hurled a lightning bolt into one gang of advancing skeletons. They flew in a hundred directions with a bony clatter. "Thanks again, Discord -- Sir Wuzz."
"Oh, don't mention it, Spike." Discord's bowstring hummed as he kept shooting. He saw a skeleton sneaking up behind Big Mac. He recognized it as one of the ones the CMC drew for the game by the long eyelashes and mane.
"Watch your flank, Big Mac! Er, I mean," Discord cleared his throat, let his bow float in midair to keep firing arrows -- that did very little against fleshless skeletons -- and said, "Pray defend thyself against a foemare behind thee, Sir McBiggun!"
Meanwhile the Squizard's new ally was cheering his servitors on.
"Yes! Yes! Destroy them all, my soulless slaves!" Poncererak cackled as the cardboard figure skeletons marched against Big Mac, Spike, and Discord. He floated in mid-air, aglow with magic. "Punish them for their insolence! Rend the life from their cringing mortal forms and revel!"
Spike coughed and gave him a dirty look. Poncererak grumbled.
"And serve our master, the great and mighty Squizard." He mumbled the words. Then he cheered as he saw the skeleton behind McBiggun. "Yes! Strike him down! Let his blood flood the ground!"
"Huh?" Sir McBiggun wheeled, sword in mouth. The axe descending towards his skull rang on his sword. He got his blade under the beard and against the belly of the handle. With a mighty heave he sent it flying.
The mare skeleton cringed before him as he prepared the final blow... And lowered his sword.
"Sir McBiggun, what is the problem?" Sir Wuzz fired arrows at Poncererak as he did. They cracked dully as they hit the floating skull and set it spinning in midair. Poncererak shrieked in fury.
"Did I possess but a fraction of my true might--!"
Spike gave the signal Discord showed him that temporarily stopped the game. "Yeah, we know, we know, you'd devour our souls and revel." The skeletons stopped moving, all save the one Big Mac had disarmed. She was watching him with an odd look in her eyesockets.
"Ah cain't do it," Big Mac called back to Sir Wuzz. The skeleton, eyeing him in confusion, rose to her bony hooves as he said, "Ah cain't hit a mare, even if she's undead."
None of them noticed 'Skeleanor's' gaze on Mac somehow soften -- well, her green-lit eyes turned a lighter shade -- as they kept speaking.
"Uh, Big Mac, she's only a skeleton," Spike said. He missed Skeleanor's glare as he reached up with his staff and tapped her head. It made a dull thudding sound. "She's just bones. She's not even bones, she's cardboard!"
"Bah!" Poncererak floated over, his voice dripping with contempt. "Filthy necrophobes. Hating the undead just because we want to destroy you all and enslave your souls for eternity." He floated away from the table with a huff, returning to his pillow.
"Well, looks like this session is over." Discord snapped his claws and the three heroes found themselves looking down on the table. The ranked skeleton figures marched to one side of the game board and froze. Big Mac had the oddest idea the one he'd fought was looking at him. All three headed to the door to leave. Spike stopped once there.
"Say Discord, I know the figurines only move when we play the game." He looked at the board and scratched his chin, making a sound like sandpaper. "You didn't give them individual minds or anything, did you?"
"Oh, please," Discord sniffed. Unnoticed, he grinned and snapped his claws once more. "Would I do something like that by accident?"
The door closed on the dark and silent room. After a few moments, Skeleanor shivered and, with a dry clicking sound as fleshless joints worked, hurried across the board to Big Mac's figure. She hesitated and laid her neck over his in an equine hug. She backed away, snarling in disgust. He was still and lifeless. She wanted the warm living one.
"Tell me, dear," she froze as a shadow hovered over the board. Skeleanor looked up to see Poncererak looking at her. "But how badly would you like to meet your, ugh, living friend in the real world?" She nodded so frantically her skull fell to the ground. As she picked it back up he said with a cackle, "Good. Set me free, and I'll set you free."
"Deal?"
Session 80.25 Alex Warlorn
"So... how we play this?"
"Easy, pick one of your friends, and they'll become your in game avatar the way Diana is yours... And meanwhile we'll compete to see who can fix up the most of the building the fastest..."