Starlight was glad when school got out that day. After Twilight left her in charge Discord had showed up and began making a mess of everything. As he is want to do. She certainly didn't enjoy having to get rid of his substitutes, though she did find some satisfaction in taking a little frustration out on the tree he had hired. And she still had no idea about what to do with all of that foul smelling cheese he had conjured … or maybe he really did order it. Knowing him either was equally possible.
James had been at the top of Twilight's list for substitutes, though why he agreed to this after flatly refusing to be a teacher was still a question she couldn't figure out. Twilight had designed a room specifically for him that was ready to be used but had been locked since the opening of the school. Maybe Twilight hadn't told him just how much she wanted him there.
She had some good ideas for substitutes as well, she and Spike couldn’t possibly run the school with only two teachers. Maybe Sunburst will be available to do a class or two. That would be great! She needed to get things running right, she had made a promise and she intended to keep it no matter who tried to stop her. With that in mind she made her way to New Guardia castle.
The castle was as quiet as it ever was, though that could be because it was just barely after Amber and Sara went to school themselves. This early Lucca was likely working on her current project, tearing down and rebuilding Gonzales. Lucca had told her about some of the new tech they got that she would integrate into him to make his fights more interesting.
Starlight looked down the hall where James's study was. He would usually do most of his work there so it would be easy enough to find him, but she also wanted to go get some tea with Lucca. …
James wasn't going anywhere … probably.
***
James certainly had his work cut out for him. It had been years since he taught any class, and the manual Starlight had given him didn't really help any. He had agreed to be a substitute thinking that he wouldn't actually have to, but he wasn't going to back out now that he was needed.
Discord presented him with an interesting challenge. There were a lot of options James could take that might work to keep Discord out. But that would also likely upset him further and he would then cause more trouble throughout the school. James could use some guards to create an anti-magic field again. But in addition to not knowing it's effect on Discord that could also strain the guards since they would be maintaining it throughout the day. And it would be seriously inconvenient for him since he would be teaching the class in alicorn form.
There were plenty of examples he could use Discord for in class, and not as bad examples either. Discord's entire relationship with Fluttershy was a testament to his ability to compromise and adapt. There was even a time, not that long ago, when he seemed to be on good terms with Starlight.
James rolled around an over sized novelty twenty sided dice that Lucca had given him as a gift years ago when the obvious answer made itself apparent. Discord loved games, and one in particular. Or rather two because of their similarities. Surely this would appeal to the Draconiquis, letting him cause some mischief and help the class learn about working with others with different strengths, and even unruly attitudes. This was going to work out great.
Celestia hadn't even brought the sun up when James entered the School of Friendship. He'd actually taken his time machine and gone back several days to plan out the real lesson with his brother's help. He was quite excited about this.
The moment he stepped into the school, however, he smelled something funky. It was a familiar stench, though faint. He inhaled deeply. It was Limburger! Not his favorite, but he could readily get exactly what he needed to go with it.
James slowly sniffed the air as he followed the smell through the school, thoughts of crackers and salami drifting through his mind. Until, quite by chance, he ran into Starlight and the other substitutes.
“James!” Starlight said happily. “I was afraid you might not show up. You're usually early so I got worried when you weren't … here …” She was quite happy to see him there, Discord was likely going to show up and do something terrible soon. However as she spoke she noticed that he looked distracted. “Is it the smell?” She asked, downhearted.
“Yeah.” He absently said, still trying to parse out where the wonderful stink was coming from.
“Sorry about that, Discord brought it while making a mess of everything. I still don't know how best to get rid of it.” Starlight said uncomfortably.
James's attention immediately went to her. “You're getting rid of it? I'll take it off your hands for you.” He said with a wide toothy grin.
“If you want it, please take it. That will solve another problem for me.” She couldn't believe anyone would like something that smells that bad, but James had drastically different tastes from anyone she knew. Without further delay Starlight showed the substitutes the rest of the school, letting them familiarize themselves with what was available. “Alright everypony, school starts in half an hour. We'll meet with the students at the first bell.”
Everyone began to walk off as Starlight approached James. “Wait, there's one last thing I need to show you James.” She said as she nodded for James to follow her. They walked down a hall on the first floor until they got to a door with an empty placard holder. Starlight brought out a key and unlocked it, opening the door for James.
The room was large with bleacher style seating, filled bookshelves, a large oak desk, and the New Guardian crest on the wall behind the desk all beneath a coat of dust. This classroom was clearly larger than the others and even more obviously designed specifically for him.
James quietly marveled at his classroom as Starlight spoke. “Twilight's had this room locked since the school was built, waiting for it's teacher. I understand if you can't stay on, but always know that you're welcome whenever you come by.”
“Thanks Starlight.” James quietly said.
“Oh don't thank me, thank Twilight.” Starlight said with a smile.
“I'll thank her too. But if you didn't give me this kick in the pants I'd never have realized this was waiting for me.” James actually felt moved by the sentiment. Each time these girls did something for him he couldn't help but wonder why they cared as much as they did. “… And for the cheese, that smell is driving me nuts and I'm getting some before classes start.” He added as his stomach noticeably growled.
Starlight laughed as she heard the growl. “Thank Discord for that. Probably the only thing you can thank him for when he shows up.”
***
A blue pegasus was currently interacting with illusions of a centaur and a dwarf when James noticed the brilliant light coming from outside. Everything stopped and he watched as Discord appeared to burn away in an unrefined blast of magic. “Woah.” He whispered. “So that's how that spell's supposed to act.”
“What's going on out there?” Neighsay asked as he approached the window.
“Discord pushed someone too far.” James answered.
“Serves him right after the mess he made yesterday.” Neighsay offered haughtily.
“I'm not inclined to disagree, but that was a bit much.” James said before returning to the front of the class. “Thank you Star. Does anyone else want to take a turn with this scenario before class lets out?Don't be afraid if your ideas are different, the point is how do you get everyone to work together.” There goes the interesting lesson plan. James thought to himself as he turned back to his class.
He realized as he checked the clock that his lesson would have to be put off for another day anyway as the Spellvenger hunt was set to begin after this class. Honestly he was disappointed, his brother and he had worked hard on Discord’s lesson and now it would probably never see the light of day.
He sat down at his desk and sipped his coffee. One of the nice little bonuses Twilight had included in his classroom was a magic brewing machine, probably an expensive one too. She had really gone all out to cater to him here.
***
He wandered the halls as the Spellvenger hunt went on. And no matter how many students asked him he honestly had no idea where the items were. But one thing did make him curious, Discord's energy was still present. He wouldn't have expected the blast to kill him, but he had thought it would keep him away for a while.
Maybe the lesson wasn’t out of the question after all.
James began to wander towards where he felt Discord was roaming, to learn about the situation if nothing else. The real clincher for Discords mood, if anything more than the chaos was necessary, was the presence of a pink/purple mare with dark curly purple hair with occasional patches of white and a cutie mark consisting of a screw and a baseball bouncing around the halls. Screwball seemed to show up whenever Discord was out of control. She never did anything though, just showed up and minded her own business. James wondered what her presence might mean beyond Discord running amok. Perhaps he should investigate this later as there could be some significance.
From the corner of his eye James caught a glimpse of Discord phasing through a wall as he moved on to cause more mischief. Not that this surprised him any. He attempted to follow the chaotic entity but there was no way he could effectively do that without destroying the school himself. And unfortunately he didn’t know his way around the school and managed to get lost on more than one occasion.
It wasn't until he heard Starlight apologize that he finaly managed to find his way to the hall where Discord had gone off to. He watched as Starlight undid her banishment and explained why she was wrong, eventually offering Discord a position to help her in the school.
Everything appeared to be settled until Twilight and the other girls trudged into the School.
“Discord!” Twilight angrily said as she stormed forward. “I can't believe you tricked us into going on a friendship quest that wasn't real!”
“Oh … back so soon.” Discord said, both bored and disappointed.
“A glamor spell on our cutie marks!” Rarity accused.
“A fake summons from the map.” Rainbow Dash added.
Pinkie of course was looking on the bright side. “Hey, at least we got to go spelunking in that really creepy cave with all those eyeless worm creatures chasing us!”
That did not sound like a pleasant time.
Yona rushed over and hugged Applejack. “Yona so glad ponies back!” She announced.
She didn't mind the hug, but there was something going on here that they didn't know. “Uhh. Y'all get the feelin' that we missed somethin'?” She quietly asked.
“I'd offer to fill you in on the details, but I have no clue what’s going on.” James said.
Twilight smiled at her guidance councilor. “Thank you for filling in Starlight.”
Starlight rubbed the back of her head nervously at the gratitude. “It was a challenge.” She admitted. “But I think things turned out just the way you would have handled them.” At least she hoped they turned out that well.
James waited for Twilight and Starlight to stop talking to eachother before approaching them. “So I was wondering … If it's alright with you I'll be back tomorrow. I actually didn't get to the lesson I was planning on today and it's not fair to the students if I just leave with only half the class done.”
“Of course that's alright with me.” Twilight happily said. “You can teach any time you like! I mean a regular class would be best but if you can't manage that perhaps a scheduled weekly class. Or whatever you can do.”
“Thanks.” James said with a smile. “I am going to need a little help though.”
Twilight smiled as she looked to James. “Of course, what do you need?”
“Discord.” James calmly answered.
“What?!” Starlight and Twilight gasped in unison.
“I built a lesson plan around the idea that he would be interrupting. I thought if he was going to be here anyway I should get his help.” James explained.
“You did, did you? And what makes you so sure I would want to help you?” Discord asked as he floated by on his back with a yellow duck inner tube around his waist. Even though he tried to sound disinterested it was obvious that James had his attention.
“Take a look at the plan for yourself.” James said handing over a packet to Discord. Discord plucked it out of the air and put on a pair of reading glasses as he flipped through the pages, licking them before he turned them. He began to laugh evilly as he read. Once done he tossed the pages behind him where they promptly turned into paper butterflies and flew away. “You've got a deal.” He said with a smile and ourstretched claw.
“See you tomorrow then.” James said, matching Discords smile and placing his hoof in Discords grasp.
Starlight hurried over to Rainbow Dash. “I’m scared. Should I be scared?” She asked seriously.
“I am.” Rainbow Dash answered as she looked to the two. “Whatever it is though, it's going to be interesting.”
***
Several copies of Discord each stood with a group of students while James began to explain his lesson. “With Discord's help each of you will be taken to a scenario not unlike the illusions I presented you with the other day. But there will be a random selection of characters, some friendly some not. It's your responsibility to make friends or even just alies and get to the end of the scenario. It's not going to be easy, and I don't think anyone will befriend everyone. But this is a test of more than your ability to make friends. It will test your problem solving and observational skills. So with out further adieu …”
Discord smiled wickedly as each of him looked to their group. “Are you ready to enter the realm of … Dungeons and Dragons?” They all said menacingly before laughing.
Spike and Twilight watched closely from outside the door as Discord spoke.
“That actually was a good idea. I never would have thought about using D&D to get his cooperation. And it’s similar enough to O&O that Discord would probably have agreed just to play the game.” Spike said as they watched the students vanish one by one.
“This is why I wanted him to be a teacher here. He has a different perspective than anypony else and can see solutions that we may miss.” Twilight happily said.
“Why I'd be honored to, Twilight.” Discord happily said standing behind the two.
“Not you Discord.” Twilight deadpanned.
Discord humphed before turning to Spike. “You know, since we're doing this anyway, are you up for a round? It's quite a good scenario.” He said happily.
“Nah, I'm working.” Spike said. Truthfully he didn't feel like playing given Discord's recent foul mood. He was worried that it might reflect in the game.
“Go ahead Spike.” Twilight said casually. “I think I can make it through one class without you.”
Discord laughed triumphantly as Big Mac appeared in the hallway. “Come Garbunkle and Sir McBiggin! Treasure and heroism await!” Discord shouted before the three of them vanished.
Twilight chuckled to herself as she walked back to her office.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
It had been quite a while since James had put on his Green Robes. While they weren't necessary, he felt as he was presenting himself as the head of the Sorcerer's Guild he should dress in his color. The Mage who had chosen the color for him was either lazy or got a laugh about using a color that was technically his name, but in any event it was done and James then carried the institution to New Guardia where he changed many aspects about it and significantly added to it before turning it’s regular functions over to the acting head.
He had taught magical theory in here before, but then his largest class had been about five students and two of them only went in to see if they could bypass the access tests if they got to know James while the others thought it would make for an easy class hoping that “because magic” was an acceptable answer. He knew at least with Twilight and Sunburst he would have two enthusiastic students.
The robes fit poorly, the last time he had worn them he had been quite rotund. Now that he was sparring a minimum of three times a week he had gotten into shape and most of his old clothes hung strangely on him. He'd have to have Garrik fix them for him, he liked their banter and the casual abuse. It kept him grounded with the outpouring of special treatment he got just for his title everywhere. Even Quark would occasionally give him free drinks and meals, though he could never get James to gamble no matter how hard he tried.
James was just stalling now, he collected his papers with the key points he wanted to make and reminders of the spells he wanted to use to illustrate his point. He had prepared a one hour lecture and reserved another hour for questions. He wondered if he should make assignments for them to complete as well. It wouldn't be on the first day though, that's for certain. But he had time to think about it. Lucca had insisted on taking over his duties on fridays so he could alternate between this class and Twilight's school.
James sat in the foyer reviewing his notes when he heard the sounds of ponies walking his way. He had assumed only Twilight and Sunburst would be coming, though Starlight was certainly an option. Her thirst for magical understanding rivaled Twilight's and she certainly had the skill to back it up. She also had a knack for magical fusion and spell creation/modification. James had some skill in the latter field, but his former teacher at the Guild was much more talented. She had even assisted James in modifying the polymorph spell to allow him to keep all of his abilities after the change and temporarily give him the abilities of what he morphed into. It made the transformation take much longer and it had it’s serious draw backs but it was incredibly useful.
The group that came around the corner caught James completely off guard. Not only were Twilight Sunburst and Starlight coming, but Princesses Celestia Luna and even Cadence. Behind them was Moondancer and Trixie. Eight students was certainly more than he expected to have, and just as surprising was that Starlight and Luna were wearing their colors for the guild.
Moondancer seemed the most surprised out of anyone there as she looked around awestruck, though Sunburst had seen the Castle before and even gone to Truce it was still fascinating for him to find himself in a new world.
Twilight made a beeline for James while the rest of the ponies meandered, giving them space. “James, you told me you would actually talk to Moondancer!” She harshly whispered. “Imagine my embarrassment to find out that I had just blabbed about the Sorcerer's Guild to a pony who had no idea who you even were. Of course I had to tell her that you weren't a pony either, and explain how you saw her when she would have noticed a creature other than a pony at the library!”
James held his hands up as he spoke. “Sorry, but I never gave a time frame to talk to her though. Actually if this class went well I was thinking of inviting her. You told me she studied pretty much anything so this would probably interest her.”
“James! That was moons ago that you said you'd talk to her!” Twilight continued.
“I'm sorry. I'm terrible at staring a conversation.” James explained. “Seriously. Remember how we met? It wasn't until you talked to me more that I actually started to relax and really talk. And I'm especially bad with awkward situations. Which would definitely come up with me trying to explain how I already knew her.”
“Well it wasn't any easier for me.” Twilight countered. “But as far as she knows you just saw her in the library and were going to talk to her until I showed up. It's honest, if not complete.”
“I'll be sure to talk to her, it's a bit of a walk to the Guild anyway.” James said. He took a breath and stood up to greet his guests. “I'm glad to see you all. If you're ready, we've got a bit of a journey still to the Sorcerer's Guild. I believe Twilight's the only pony to have visited it so far. There will be a bit of a delay before class once we get there to register all of you not currently registered. But that shouldn't take much time.”
True to James's word he did talk to Moondancer as they walked towards the Guild, explaining several of his interests in Equestria. He also mentioned the medical index they were building for the archives, and how they had few volunteers. Moondancer was surprisingly quick to volunteer for anything she could, especially if she got to see the data. The ponies were nothing if not helpful.
Registry at the Guild was quick and consisted of a scan, basic information, and a private authorization. Luna and Starlight were surprised to know that all they needed was to create the authorization, which James explained that as they had colors in the Guild their registry had been handled for them.
The “classroom” was little more than a large conference room. It comfortably fit everyone even though James had been expecting far fewer to attend. James did have to replicate several more books for them, but that was handled quickly and he was able to start his lecture without significant delay.
“My first lesson is always the same. You would be surprised how many forget or ignore this most basic lesson. How you start matters. Everything can be in the right place, but if you don't start right instead of light you get fire. This is probably the simplest and most literal example I can give.”
James brought out a wicker basket and after placing it on the table he began to chant a basic shamanistic spell. A ball of light formed in his hand and he tossed it into the bin. Even in the lit room it cast a lattice shadow from it's perch on the table. The light lasted less than a minute and once it was gone James chanted what by all accounts was the same spell and held a similar ball of light. However when it touched the basket it burst into flames. Another quick spell drenched the flame in a small deluge of water. After which he spoke on several problems that occurred too often with simple spells.
“Now, I did have a request to cover Bucket and Pool capacity magic. That's not basic theory, but you don't need the background to understand it so let's leap in. Everyone has a replenishing pool of magic they can access. It recovers over time and at about the same rate you would recover stamina. It's generally a bit slower, but that's personal. Everyone heals and recovers at their own rate. There are magics that draw from other sources, but those still require you to have some reserved magic.”
“Now bucket capacity is how much magic you can draw from your pool at a time. This is also unique to the individual and can vary greatly from person to person.” James noticed that there was a slight rustle from Moondancer as he explained this. “Also, just so you know, I use person and people as a catch all term for intelligent life. So, back to the lecture. For example a well known powerful sorcerer may have a massive bucket capacity but actually have far less understanding than a quote unquote failed sorcerer who's limited on their bucket capacity to a few basic spells.”
“There are ways to temporarily improve bucket capacity, such as talismans and amplification spells the former being rare the latter not being as effective. You can also draw more magic for a less refined chaotic spell. And your own stamina has an effect on your bucket capacity, you can cast stronger spells when you're relaxed and rested then when you're stressed and exhausted.” James continued his prepared lecture for the remainder of his time before turning it over to questions.
“Can you teach us an Amplification spell?” Sunburst understandably asked. The explanation and it's implications were exactly what he had been hoping for. And that there was a chance that he could finally use some of the advanced magic he had studied for so long.
“Yes, I just need time to research it. I don't know any off the top of my head.” James calmly answered.
“What about that spell we used before … You know …” Starlight knew that it had been a spell, but was confused as to why James didn't acknowledge it.
“That was a spell activating my Talisman. It is an Amplification spell, but they work in tandem. Need one to use the other.” James explained.
“Where is this talisman?” Trixie asked, eliciting a concerned stare from Twilight. “I'm not going to try to take it. I'm just curious.” She said defensively.
“It's embedded in my forehead attached directly to my skull. Which I believe is why my magical aura when in my alicorn shape is the way it is. Unicorn horns are almost universally renowned as powerful magical focusing agents and my horn grows directly on top of my talisman. It seems to only be an aesthetic change however, though honestly I haven't tried much potent magic in Equestria.” James was talking freely as he had relaxed significantly after his lesson.
“How did it end up in your head?” Trixie asked, horrified.
“I put it there.” James said as if it simply made sense. “I've done a lot of magical experimentation over the years and have used myself as a test subject for most of it.” James didn't feel any reason not to say anything about this. Most of the ponies in the room knew about his implants and the whole guild knew he often was the subject of his experimentation.
“Isn't that dangerous?” Celestia asked, concerned that James would do these things to himself. Seemingly for the sake of curiosity rather than anything else.
“Yes. There are plenty of test records where the listed result is simply “explosion.” That's why the guild is located so far away from town, though the really dangerous tests are done in a separate facility.” Other than the pain, James had no issues with explosions as they had given him a few Zenkai boost and were responsible for much of his considerable strength.
This man is clearly insane. Intelligent, but insane. Sunburst thought as he starred blankly at James.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Rainbow Dash walked through James's castle hauling the Shadow Spade book Starlight had given her. She hated the thing, it was so slow and it talked endlessly about fashion! Half the book was probably just clothes! She wouldn't know for sure though, she didn't read the whole thing. She needed to get away and James's was a great place to do just that.
She threw herself into James's chair as she fumed, she was still furious at Rarity. How had they ever been friends? Or was it that they never knew each other that well and only thought they were friends? She sat staring at the wall for what felt like hours as she tried to think. She looked at the Shadow Spade book again. Why had she even brought it with her? She needed something to take her mind off things, and clearly sitting here wasn't doing anything.
She needed some way to vent. James was in his study, she knew that as she had heard Amber and Sara go to school a while ago. She left the book sitting on the end table as she got up and walked down the hall, knocking on the study door as she arrived.
“Come in.” James called through the door. There was a brief shuffling of papers as Rainbow Dash walked in. James could see that she was angry about something, her wings were held tightly to her side and she was striking the ground harder than normal as she walked. He had even thought it was Applejack coming to his door.
“Or I guess you should get to the den and I'll be there in just a minute.” He said as he stood up, reaching into the cabinet behind him for lotion and wing balm. Lucca had grown to love the Eequestrian lotions and even the wing balm for any kind of massage and Rainbow Dash still asked for massages from time to time. Though she wasn’t the only one anymore. As such James had continued to keep a regular supply in all the scents he had from his stay in Ponyville.
Back in the den James found the Shadow Spade book on his end table as Rainbow Dash had already laid on the couch with her wings spread. “Rarity suggest that one for you?” James asked as he sat behind her and after getting some wing balm on his hands began to press between her shoulder blades.
Rainbow Dash moaned slightly as she felt the pressure working out the knot. “Mmh. No, Starlight said I should read it as a way to reconnect with Rarity. She gets to read Daring Doo and the Razor of Dreams. Ahn. This book is so-o-o lame.”
James continued to work out knots as he listened. “Well it's a noir. They can be really slow until they get to the action. Shadow Spade doubly so. Sara loves them though.”
“Tell Sara she likes, mnh, lame books.” Rainbow Dash insisted.
“It's also the only noir series I'm okay with her reading right now.” James explained as he chased down another knot. “Most from other worlds have descriptions I'd rather she not read for a few years yet. But why do you have to reconnect with Rarity? What's going on?”
“Mmahh. Rarity and I have nothing in common, I don't know how we were even friends-s-s-saaah to begin with.” Rainbow Dash was starting to relax her muscles, but she wasn't calming down any.
“Mutual respect I always figured.” James commented.
“Respect?! Rarity? Please, I don't think she-e-e-e even knows what it means to have respect.” Rainbow Dash explained. “She didn't even try to care about anything I-e-e-e liked. It was all about her. At least I sat through her boring shopping. Mn.”
“Guessing she got something with pink glitter.” James calmly said.
Rainbow Dash gave a frustrated moan. “Is there still some on my hooves? I've washed them like a-ah thousand times and I just keep finding more!”
“Well I doubt this will help you feel any better, emotionally that is. I bet you were cramping up though. You really need to de-stress. We could pick Dark Souls back up.” James offered.
“Ugh. Really? I'm still in Blighttown-n-n. Unless you'll let me fly I'll never get out of there.” Rainbow Dash complained.
“It's alright, I'll help you. We're at a middle point now. We can either finish the descent or go back up and open the shortcut.” James said as he wiped the wing balm off his hands to replace it with some warming scented lotion.
“Why didn't we take the short cut earlier?” Rainbow Dash asked, just getting more frustrated.
“Because it has tough enemies you have to get past. But they're enemies you have to face at the bottom anyway.” James explained as he continued the massage down along her sides and back.
“W-w-well we can try the climb down a couple more times, but then we're taking the shortcut.” Rainbow Dash wasn't happy about going back to Blighttown, but it was better than reading that book. At least there was action. She shivered as James thumbs pushed in on her back just above her hips.
Rainbow Dash smiled as the massage continued, slowly working the tension out of her muscles, she might just be late for Starlight’s “book club,” but that didn’t bother her in the slightest right now.
***
After a couple days Rainbow Dash came back to visit New Guardia. With James's help keeping enemies away from her she was able to navigate the rest of Blighttown and made it to the poison swamp at the base. “Ugh, another swamp?” She complained as she looked out over the expanse.
“Another? This is the only one in the game.” James commented. His glowing white spectral form stood next to Rainbow Dash, though he saw her human avatar.
“No, I mean that I was just in a swamp the other day with Rarity.” She explained.
“Only one reason to be in a swamp with someone you're mad at I can think of and I know you're not capable of that.” James said looking her in the eye.
“Not capable of what?” Rainbow Dash asked, genuinely curious.
“Nothing. Why don't you tell me why you were there while we work our way to the boss at the far end of the swamp.” James quickly suggested.
“Wait, my poison meter goes up for just touching the muck?” Rainbow Dash asked as she jumped back to land. “How are we supposed to get across? Is there a boat or something?”
“Nope. We've got to run from island to island.” James said as he dashed to the first island.
“There's monsters on each piece of land!” Rainbow Dash complained. “We'll get poisoned and die just trying to survive and the monster's will just come back!”
“This game was meant to be hard.” James said as he killed a giant fly. “Also, there's plenty of monsters under the muck too.”
Rainbow Dash moaned, she welcomed a challenge but everything was stacked against them. She’d lost count of how many times she’d seen the “You Died” screen by their third game. And was, frankly, tired of always losing.
And it's not like they could slowly whittle down the enemies. When she would use a bonfire to recover they just came back. “Well, how do we deal with the poison?” She asked.
“Purple moss.” James called, beckoning her over.
“Fine. Here I come.” Rainbow Dash said as she charged across the muck. Once it was clear that if they did this slowly and took a minute at each island to let the poison wear down they could have this handled. It just looked worse than it was.
She was just telling James about the Bufogren when she spotted a familiar shape on the next island over. “Seigmeyer?” She asked aloud.
James stopped and looked towards the island. “Yup, that's him.” He calmly confirmed.
“What's he doing here?” She asked, turning to James. It was still strange to her that in the game James was the same height as her but it wasn't exactly a bad feeling.
“Probably the same as us. But it looks like he's stuck. Let's go talk to him.” He was all but literally holding her hand (or hoof) through the story, explaining events and characters after she had made her choice, or more often followed his advice.
After giving him a bundle of purple moss they continued to the large mound at the end of the swamp where Qualaag waited for them. The fight was hard and even with James's help Rainbow Dash died more than once. Eventually though, they rang the bell and got ready to advance.
“Hold on Rainbow Dash.” James said as she went to continue down. He was no more than a voice for her since he had vanished after the boss fight.
“Hit that wall behind you. There's a bonfire back there.” James knew what was coming, and it wasn't going to be a fun explanation. But he had warned her once they started that characters had reasons for where they were and that there were a few sad stories in the game.
“Ugh, what's that?” She asked looking to the infested human crawling on the ground.
“He's harmless, just agree with him and you can use the bonfire.” James explained.
Rainbow Dash shouted in surprise as she saw what looked like a pale version of Qualaag resting by the fire. She was moving, but only a bit and clasped her hands to her chest. “Who's this?” She asked once the surprise had passed.
“The pale lady. The sister of the boss you just defeated. She's very sick and her sister would gather humanity for her to help her feel better.” James explained.
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?! I'd have found a way around her! She was just trying to help her sister.” Rainbow Dash was devastated. She had to take a moment to remind herself that this was a game, no matter how real it looked or felt it was a game.
“It's the narrative. To progress you have to beat her sister. Think of this like a book, to get to the end you have to go through the rest, for better or worse.” James said, while Rainbow Dash couldn't see or feel it James had walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Isn't there anything we can do?” She asked.
“You have three options. First is to walk away.” James said.
“Not happening!” Rainbow Dash insisted.
“Second is to put her out of her misery.” James added.
“I can't do that. She's helpless, and sick.” Rainbow Dash was getting emotional at the options so far.
“And caring. She's sick because she was helping these bulbous things. Her sister just thought of them as food but she cares about them.” James said.
“Well, now I feel less guilty about beating her sister. What's the third option?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“You can give her humanity. You get it from monsters then give it to her to help her feel better. You do have to join her covenant to do so.” James explained.
“No problem there. But won't the purple moss work if it's poisoning like in the swamp?” Rainbow Dash was looking for solutions and not just a comfort.
“It's not like the poisoning of the swamp. So no. And that wasn't her only sister. Her other sister is in the swamp practicing pyromancy right now. It's not like she'll be alone forever.” James said with a shrug.
“Oh, well I'll still give her some humanity before I go.” Rainbow Dash said as she knelt before the fire keeper.
“You should give her twenty, it will open up a shortcut for later in the game and get us to an enemy that will give us an item we'll need sooner than that.” James said with a grin. He always played it this way, and he was glad to help her down his path.
“It's not somepony else's sister, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, a little irritated.
“Nope. It's a big weird bug that if we kill it now Sun Bro lives to help us at the end of the game.” James laughed. He wasn't going to tell her yet that doing this would destroy the Sun Bro's sense of purpose.
“Okay, I like that plan.” Rainbow Dash gave the pale lady all the humanity she could before moving on.