//------------------------------// // Chapter 5.5: Adventuring Neighpon (O&O): Part 1 // Story: The Rebel and The Bookworm (CANCELLED) // by qiley //------------------------------// Six ponies trudged down a run down path. Ragged and dirty, the exhaustion from their long journey finally hitting them. In the distance they could see a bustling town, all kinds of creatures entering and exiting from the entrances.  “Don’t falter everypony,” Gleaming Hope croaked out. “We’re almost there…” “You know I’m not a pony, right?” Cadance frowned. “I’m a kirin.” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “C’mon Cadie, do you have to be so nitpicky? Why didn’t you say anything when Thunder Sparks was narrating?”  “Because he’s the DM and no one wants to annoy them,” Cadance said, everypony at the table nodding in agreement. “Fair point,” Shining Armor mumbled. “What do you want me to say then?” “Maybe everycreature?” Cadance offered. “It sounds so awkward though,” Shining Armor frowned. “I just don’t you ruining my immersion,” Cadance giggled. “You of all ponies know I take roleplaying seriously,” she finished with a wink. Shining Armor flushed a bit. “F-Fine…” he stuttered out. “Ahem…” Thunder Sparks cleared his throat. “Can we continue playing, please?” “Yup!” Cadence said while Shining Armor just nodded. The group approached the gate, stopped right at the entrance by the two guards. A griffon stood on one side and an earth pony on the other. They were suited in full samurai (karuta) armor, helmet and all. In their hooves were long spears and slung on their sides were katanas.  “What’s your business here, travelers,” the earth pony stated. “We’re just weary travelers seeking some rest,” Flowing River replied. “We’ve been on the road for months now.” “A kirin?” The griffon examined her and the rest of the group. “I guess we could let you in. Just don’t go causing trouble or the daimyo (feudal lord) will have your heads.”  With that, the two guards stepped out of the way, allowing entry into the town. The narrow streets were bustling with all kinds of creatures. Griffins, kirins, dragons, and ponies were the majority of the creatures there, but there were a handful of diamond dogs and hippogriffs wandering about.  Lining the sides of the street were buildings, vendors, and stores. From inns to weaponsmiths, there wasn’t a single thing missing. The buildings were unsurprisingly constructed of timber, as that was the most abundant housing material present.  “What should we do first?” Gleaming Shield asked. Midnight Blade raised her hoof. “I’ll go snoop around for some information.” She started walking deeper into the town away from the group. “I’ll go with her,” Soaring Punch said. “Somecreature has to make sure she doesn’t get in trouble.”Gleaming Shield nodded while Soaring Punch turned away, running after Midnight Blade.  “I think the rest of us should stick together then,” Gleaming Hope. “Don’t want to draw too much attention to us.” “Who appointed you as leader?” Sunset questioned. Shining Armor tilted his head. “What do you mean?”  “I mean, you are kind of acting like the leader, ” Sunset pointed out. “Shining Armor usually is the leader of the group,” Sharp Edge shrugged. “Although, we could change it up since you two are here.” “Nah I’m good,” Sunset replied. “Was just wondering how that came to be.” As Midnight Blade and Soaring Punch made their way to the heart of the city, the rest of the group decided to find a place to rest their hooves. They searched around town, looking for an affordable inn that could house their party of six. “How many bits do we have left?” Flowing River asked as they trotted down the roads. “Not much, only about fifty,” Dusk Swirl sighed.  “That’s why I said we shouldn’t spend so much on equipment,” Gleaming Hope muttered. “We’ll only be able to stay a few nights here with that kind of money.” “We could always just take up some requests,” Flowing River suggested. “Earn some quick bits while we’re here.” “We’ll probably have to,” Gleaming Hope nodded. Let’s head over to the guild hall I guess.” “What’s the guild hall?” Sunset asked. Thunder Sparks smacked his forehead. “Oh yeah, you haven’t played O&O at all.” “The guild hall is basically where creatures go to take on requests from creatures in the town,” Cadance explained. “There’s all kinds of things you can do like gathering herbs or killing nearby monsters. Things of that nature.” “Interesting…” Sunset nodded slowly. The four made their way towards the guild hall, which was even more packed than the streets. Creatures dressed up in all kinds of attire. Witches hats, robes, plated armor, you name it. There was even a pony petting what seemed to be her pet, a mini cerberus. The crowd was most dense by a wooden board, papers hung up by pins covering it from top to bottom. Creatures were basically on top of each other, reaching out to grab some of them.  “So what kind of request should we take?” Quickhoof asked, the four of them watching the crowd topple over one another. “Probably some monster hunting,” Gleaming Hope said. “There aren’t many strong ones around here anyways.” Gleaming Hope made his way through the crowd and closer to the board, they looked at all the requests. The majority of the requests were herb gathering or recruiting guards for a merchant. Not many monster hunting ones were there, the handful of them being taken almost immediately.  There was one request, however, that stuck out to Gleaming Hope. It was to clear out a nearby building that some bandits decided to occupy. There was very little information on it, but the reward… One thousand bits! Quickly grabbing the paper, he returned back to the party. “Look at this,” Gleaming Hope said, showing them the paper. “This would take care of our money problems for a while.” “I don’t know, Gleaming…” Flowing River frowned, eyeing the request suspiciously. “There’s not much details on it. What if it’s a trap of some sort?” “The guild would never put up something like this if they knew nocreature could handle it,” Gleaming Hope dismissed her comment. “We’re strong enough, we should take it.” “It sure is a lot of bits,” Quickhoof commented. “I’m in.” “I don’t see why we shouldn’t do it,” Dusk Swirl nodded in agreement. “But I think we should still discuss it with Soaring and Midnight.” “Good idea,” Flowing River simply said.  “Guess we should look for that inn now,” Gleaming Hope concluded. They made their way through the streets, eventually finding a cozy inn on the edge of town. It was completely separated from the rest of the buildings, right outside one of the entrances. A sign hung above the door, reading “Blooming Sakura Inn.” As the sun was already setting, they quickly made their way into the building.  Through the door was what seemed to be the dining area. There were lots of chairs and tables, but no creature to be seen. To their left was the bar counter while straight ahead were some stairs leading up to the second floor, where the rooms were.  "Customers!” Behind the bar was a small female pegasus. Her coat was dark brown while her mane and tail were dirty blonde. Her mane was well-kept and long, pulled back into a neat ponytail. She wore a brown vest, her wings sticking out of holes on the sides. On her flank was what seemed to be a mug filled with something. “I’m Sour Whiskey, the innkeeper here,” the pegasus introduced herself. “So what can I do for you folks?” We’re looking for a place to stay for a couple nights,” Gleaming Hope answered. “In total our party has six members.” "Alrighty,” Sour Whiskey nodded. “How many nights are we looking at?”[ “I’d say three or four,” Gleaming Hope continued. “Perfect!” she smiled. “That’ll cost ya forty bits.” “Is there any way we could get a discount?” Twilight asked, looking at Thunder Sparks. “Roll for persuasion,” Thunder Sparks said. Twilight picked up the D20, shaking it in her hooves. Gently rolling them onto the table, the D20 landed on seventeen. “Seventeen!” Twilight cheered. “Plus my charisma bonus, that makes it nineteen!” “Quite the lucky filly, aren’t you.” Thunder Sparks chuckled. “You have a  high chance of getting the discount. What do you say to the inn-keeper?” “Is there any way we could get a room for thirty?” Dusk Swirl asked. Sour Whiskey eyed Dusk Swirl, cocking an eyebrow. “The lowest I can do is forty.” “By the looks of it, there aren’t many creatures coming to this inn,” Dusk Swirl shot back, a devious grin on her face. “In fact, I haven’t seen any creature go in or out of here for a while.” “Business has been a little slow recently,” Sour Whiskey frowned. “Ever since they built those bigger inns in town less and less creatures have been showing up here.” “Oh, there’s fancy inns in the town center? We had no idea!” Dusk Swirl feigned ignorance. They already looked at those and they were way out of their spending range. “Guess we’ll go stay there instead.” Dusk Shine turned her back on the, winking at her fellow party members. Catching on, the rest of them turned around and headed towards the door. "Wait!” Sour Whiskey called to them, biting her lip. The party stopped in their tracks, turning their heads towards the poor pegasus. “I can do thirty,” She reluctantly said.  Dusk Swirl twirled fully around, smiling. “Perfect!” “You’re so evil Twilight,” Sunset snickered.  “She's quite the manipulator,” Shining Armor frowned. “I don’t know who taught her that!” “She reads a lot, Shiny,” Cadance said. “Where else do you think she learned how to? “I guess you're right,” Shining Armor sighed. Turning towards Twilight, he smiled weakly. "Just don’t go doing that to other ponies in real life, okay?” “Okay!” Twilight chirped. Sour Whiskey led them upstairs to their rooms. They got two rooms right across from each other at the very end of the dimly lit hall. The rooms weren’t the largest, with only two beds and a small nightstand with an unlit candle in between them.  “Hope this suits your needs,” Sour Whiskey said. “We provide breakfast and dinner at sunrise and sunset. There’s some food ready if you’re hungry.” “That would be great,” Gleaming Hope nodded. “Thank you very much.” “I’ll go warm them up. They’ll be ready in a little bit,” Sour Whiskey smiled, making her way back downstairs. “So, who’s sleeping where?” Gleaming Hope asked. “Obviously you’re going to be in the same bed as Soaring Punch,” Flowing River said. “Other than that, it doesn't really matter.” “Seriously?” Shining Armor frowned. “What kind of pony do you think I am?” “Aww, don’t take it so personally Shiny,” Cadance smirked. “If we really went on an adventure together, I wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with you.”  Shining Armor stared at Cadance with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape. He didn’t even try to hide his reddened face. “I used to sleep in the same bed as Shiny, so I wouldn’t mind either!” Twilight innocently said. Starry Moonlight started snickering at the filly’s comment. “I don’t think she meant it like that.”  “What else would she mean?” Twilight tilted her head. “It’s best you don’t know,” Sunset simply said, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “But I want to know!” Twilight frowned. “Maybe when you’re older,” Cadance winked. As they were chatting in one of the rooms, an aroma caught their attention. Heading downstairs, the aromatic, savory smell became stronger and stronger. “Wow, that smells delicious!” Dusk Swirl chirped.  “Why thank you,” Sour Whiskey replied, placing bowls on the bar counter. “Tonight we’re having vegetable stew and some freshly baked bread.” Sitting down at the bar counter, they looked down at the wooden bowl. The bowl was filled to the brim with a thick, brown liquid with chunks of vegetables floating around. This seemed to be the source of the wonderful aroma that filled their nostrils when coming down. Next to the bowl on a small plate were two steaming bread rolls. “This looks great,” Flowing River said. “Thank you very much.”  “My father took great pride in taking care of creatures who stayed here,” Sour Whiskey proudly placed a hoof on her chest.  “Are you the only one working here?” Gleaming Hope asked in between spoonfuls of stew. “I am,” Sour Whiskey said, a small frown on her face. “My brothers all went their own ways, seeking glory or money while I stayed here and helped out my dad at the inn.” “How about your mother?” Gleaming Hope continued. “I never met her,” Sour Whiskey sighed. “She died giving birth to me.” Gleaming Hope cringed. “I’m sorry to hear that.”  “Don’t be,” Sour Whiskey smiled weakly. “There’s nothing you could’ve done about it anyways.” Gleaming Hope smiled back. “How about your father?” “He passed away recently as well,” Sour Whiskey said, a solemn look on her face.  “Oh you poor thing,” Flowing River joined in. “So you’re running this inn by yourself?” “Unfortunately,” Sour Whiskey sighed. “And as you can see, business isn’t going that great. More and more of my customers are being poached by those darn new inns. As much as it pains me to say, I might have to see this place soon.” Flowing River frowned.  “Why?”  “Well ever since business slowed down, I started falling behind on some payments for the inn,” Sour Whiskey explained. “My father borrowed money to get this place and planned to pay it off over the years, but obviously he can’t do that anymore.” “I see…” Flowing River simply said. They continued their meal in silence, the air feeling heavier than before. Sour Whiskey’s smile never seemed to falter. During the whole conversation she was smiling. Soon they all finished their meal and bid Sour Whiskey goodnight. “Now I feel bad for haggling her,” Dusk Swirl frowned, trotting down the hallway. “Yeah…” Gleaming Hope replied, his head a bit hung.  “I think we should give her some of the reward if we complete that request,” Flowing River suggested.  Gleaming Hope chuckled dryly. “I would feel bad if we didn’t.” Making their way to their rooms, they decided to contact Soaring Punch and Midnight. Gleaming Hope took a crystal out of one of his pouches and handed it to Dusk Swirl. After a quick spell cast, the crystal blinked over and over. “Think they got caught up in something?” Flowing River joked. Gleaming Hope chuckled. “Knowing Midnight? Most likely.” Eventually the blinking stopped, and the crystal shined brightly.  “Hello? Hello?” a familiar feminine voice said. “Midnight? Is that you?” Gleaming Hope replied. “Yup! That’s me alright.” “And is Soaring Punch with you?” “Yup! I’ll give the crystal to him.” Soon after Midnight said that, a bit of shuffling came from the crystal. “This is Soaring Punch speaking.” “Did Midnight get into any trouble? I bet she did,” Gleaming Hope snickered. “I can still hear you ya know!” Midnight shouted. Gleaming Hope smirked. “I know.” “If I could punch you right now I would,” Midnight grumbled.  “Go ahead and try,” Gleaming Hope taunted. “Anyways, we found a place to stay. We’re at the Blooming Flower inn outside the east wall.” “Roger that,” Soaring Punch said. “We’re on our way now.  “We also have a request we could do for some extra bits,” Gleaming Hope added. “We’ll explain all the details when you two get here.” “Okie dokie!” Midnight said before hanging up. “So when’s the action gonna happen?” Sunset asked, playing with her figure. “Eventually,” Thunder Sparks replied. “Our group likes to worldbuild a lot more than others. It helps us really get into character.” “I see, I see…” Sunset nodded slowly.  “Thunder Sparks is the best DM out of all of us,” Shining Armor said. “We’ll have some action-packed scenarios soon enough, believe me.” Sunset shrugged. “If you say so!”  Soon enough the whole group was back together at the inn. All huddled into one room, they sat around and started their meeting. “Got anything you want to report first?” Gleaming Hope asked, looking at Midnight and Soaring Punch. “There’s some rumors of bandits occupying a nearby building,” Soaring Punch said. “Somecreautre even said they have some sort of ancient relic with them which is why the daimyo doesn't disturb them.” Gleaming Hope took out the request paper, handing it to Soaring Punch. “We found a request to clear them out.” “A thousand bits?!” Midnight gasped.  “Kind of the reason we took it,” Gleaming Hope chuckled. “It’ll last us a while.” “If I had to say, I bet the daimyo put this request out anonymously,” Soaring Punch theorized. Gleaming Hope nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised.” “So we’re accepting the request?” Flowing River took the paper from Soaring Punch. “It’s just so suspicious! There’s little to no information.” “C’mon Flowing River, what’s the worst that could happen?” Midnight playfully elbowed her sides.  “You know in movies whenever a pony says that, something bad is bound to happen,” Cadance said. “But those are movies, and this is O&O,” Moonlight pointed at the map. Cadance frowned. “Which is just as fictional as movies.”  “I’m sure nothing bad will happen,” Moonlight continued to dismiss her worries. “Right, Thunder Sparks?” “No promises,” Thunder Sparks simply said. “If something goes wrong, just know I’m blaming you Moonlight,” Cadance relented with a sigh. “I’m completely fine with that!” Moonlight grinned. There wasn’t anything else to report, so the group decided to turn in for the night. Bidding goodnight to one another, they rested their weary bodies. Gleaming Hope woke up to the chirping of birds and a beam of light slipping through the curtains directly on his face. Snoring loudly next to him was Soaring Punch, all sprawled out on the small bed. Gleaming Hope slowly and carefully got out of the bed, yawning. Looking at himself in a nearby mirror, he noticed that he fell asleep fully geared.  “Now how the hell did I do that,” he quietly chuckled to himself. Even his large warhammer was still slung on his side. Shaking his head, he continued towards the door. In the other bed was Dusk Swirl and Quickhoof, the youngest of the group. Gleaming Hope smiled as he walked past them. They were sleeping peacefully, facing one another. Their breaths were soft and controlled, the blanket rising and falling slowly.  Slipping out of the room quietly, he heard muffled shouting and a crash. Making his way down the hall and towards the stairs, he frowned. “What’s all the commotion?” Gleaming Hope thought as he began to descend the stairs. Going down just a bit, he peeked his head out to see what was going on. The dining room was a mess. There were tables flipped over, chairs destroyed, and what seemed to be stew all over the ground. Standing in a clearing (where some tables used to be) were five guardsmen, only suited in armor. Their helmets lay on the bar counter next to some mugs. They seemed to be surrounding something… Not something, but some pony: Sour Whiskey! “Where’s the money Whiskey?” A purple-maned pegasus growled. “You’re already behind a couple payments!”  “I-I don’t have it all right now,” Whiskey stuttered out. “I can only give you this much.” Whiskey reached into a pouch hanging on her side, handing over the thirty bits they had given her.  “This is all you’ve got?” He shouted, grabbing the bits. “This isn’t even close to half of what you owe boss.” “I’ll get the rest, I promise! Please just give me some more time,” Whiskey pleaded. “That’s what you said last time,” the guard scowled. He reached for a wooden club with metal studs (an ararebo) that was slung on his side. “We oughta give you a beating so you remember.” “Please stop…” Sour Whiskey sobbed, cowering. She covered herself with her wings, fearing for the worst. “Don’t hurt me please!” Gleaming Hope’s blood boiled at the sight. He knew he had to do something. Ponies couldn’t just go around hurting others like that. Gleaming Hope slowly lurked down the stairs, trying his best not to alert the guards. “Cap, we should teach her lessons in a different way,” a teal-maned unicorn smirked. “If you know what I mean.” They eyed the cowering pegasus with devious grins.  “I think I do,” he snickered. “Now Sour Whiskey, if you don’t want to get hurt, strip.” “Wait wait wait WAIT!” Shining Armor shouted.  “What’s wrong?” Thunder Sparks asked. “What's wrong?” Shining Armor frowned. “What do you mean what’s wrong!? They’re literally going to…” He began to mumble to himself. “Going to what?” Cadance cocked an eyebrow, confused. “Going to do bad things to her,” he quickly said, glancing at his sister. “Don’t you think this is a little inappropriate for fillies?” “It’s O&O, there’s bound to be some inappropriate things,” Moonlight shrugged. “Not like this hasn’t happened in previous sessions as well.” “But don’t you think it’s a little much considering we have some new ponies,” Shining said, jerking his head towards Sunset and Twilight. “I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Twilight surprisingly said.  “What do you mean you don’t see anything wrong with it? Do you even understand what’s going on right now?” Shining asked. “Historically, ponies with power would abuse it to do whatever they wanted, whether that be taking advantage of labor or mares,” Twilight replied. “The guards in this situation, for example, are able to do so because they work under some creature who has power!” Sunset laughed hard, holding her sides. “Wow, I was not expecting that at all!” Shining Armor and Cadance, however, both looked at Twilight in horror. “W-Where did you learn that?!” Shining Armor stuttered.  “I’d like to know that to,” Cadance frowned.  “It was in one of the history books in the Canterlot Archives!” Twilight smiled. “There’s lots of cool stuff to read in there.” “And Celestia doesn’t mind that you read those kinds of things?” Shining Armor continued. “She said that one should learn all of history. The good, the bad, and everything in between,” Twilight recited. “I remember her telling me that most things aren't black or white, they’re gray.” Sharp Edge nodded. “She’s right, you know.” “You know what? Never mind,” Shining Armor sighed in defeat. Weakly smiling, he looked at Thunder Sparks. “Let’s just continue playing.” “I’ll talk to Auntie Celestia later,” Cadence mumbled. “Alrighty,”  Thunder Sparks chuckled. “Now where was I…” Sour Whiskey, still in the middle of them, didn’t budge. She cried and cried, trembling in fear. “I don’t think she’s going to comply, cap,” one of the guards said. “Guess we’ll have to use force then,” the captain said, licking his lips. The group snickered among themselves, slowly enclosing Sour Whiskey. Unbeknownst to them, Gleaming Hope was almost right behind them. Igniting his horn, he unslung the warhammer on his side. The guards were too distracted to notice the hammer rise up behind their captain.  Gleaming Hope swung the hammer downwards towards the captain, and in just mere seconds the hammer met his head, caving in his skull and instantly killing him. Blood splattered all over the wooden floor as his limp body dropped. The guards froze in shock, trying to process what just happened. Their eyes slowly rose from their captain's deceased body to the pony responsible. Gleaming Hope didn’t waste this opportunity, swinging at the teal-maned guard that suggested the other “lesson”.  The guard stumbled out of the way, the hammer barely missing his side. He planted himself into the ground firmly, drawing his sword (katana).  “Do you even know who you’re messing with!?” He spat as the rest of the guards drew their weapons. “A couple of thugs, that’s who,” Gleaming Hope growled. “You made a mistake boy,” another guard barked.  The odds were not in Gleaming Hope’s favor. Not only was it four on one, it was also an enclosed space. However, there were lots of things Gleaming Hope could do in his favor. A black maned earth pony charged forward with his sword in his mouth. Swinging it horizontally, Gleaming Hope hopped backwards, dodging the swing with ease. The guards, however, didn’t give him much time to rest, another one swinging at him from the side. Clicking his tongue, Gleaming Hope sidestepped the swing and retaliated with his own, swinging his hammer at the first attacker. He tried to dodge but was unfortunately too slow, the hammer meeting his side. A loud crack signified his ribs fracturing, causing him to cry out in pain and fall on his non-injured side. “Two down, three to go,” Gleaming Hope thought as he repositioned himself “You’re going to regret messing with us!” a white maned pegasus shouted. Two ponies charged at Gleaming Hope from both sides, cornering him. He, however, didn’t waver, getting into a defense stance.  “You’re dead meat!” the teal-maned cackled, swinging his levitated sword downwards towards Gleaming Hope. The other guard opted to swing from the side, trying to close off all angles.  Gleaming Hope smirked, his horn glowing brighter. Before the blades made contact with him, a shimmering bubble surrounded him, deflecting the blades. The force of the block knocked the guards off balance, causing them to stumble backwards. Just as quick as the bubble appeared, it disappeared. Not wanting to give them time to regroup, Gleaming Hope charged the teal-maned guard with his hammer, swiping at his legs. The hammer struck the first leg, causing it to break on impact. Gleaming Hope continued the swing however, hitting his other leg, taking out both of his forelegs.  The guard dropped to the ground with a groan. Gleaming Hope wasn’t done with him though, quickly stomping on his horn, breaking it off his head. He cried out in pain as he lay there. The last two guards looked at Gleaming Hope in terror. “M-Monster!” the black manned guard stuttered, backing up slowly. Gleaming Hope started to walk towards the last two guards. “One more step forward and she gets it!” the other guard yelled. He was levitating his blade right next to Sour Whiskey’s neck. Gleaming Hope instantly stopped in his tracks, glaring at the two. “You wouldn’t dare.” “You bet I would!” the guard replied, pressing the blade slightly against her, drawing a bit of blood. This caused her to yelp in pain. “If you want her to live, put your weapon down,” the black maned guard barked. Gleaming Hope complied, dropping his hammer onto the floor. “Very good,” the guard snickered. “But since you killed our captain, both you and her have to go.”  Gleaming Hope closed his eyes, not wanting to see Sour Whiskey’s Fate. For a moment all was silent. Gleaming Hope held his breath, his eyes tightly closed. All he could see was black. “How long are you going to stand there looking stupid?” a mare snickered. Opening his eyes quickly, he looked at where Sour Whiskey was. She was still in the same place but there was no longer a sword threatening her. Instead, lying next to her, was the guard who held her hostage. A blood puddle slowly formed around him. Standing above the two was a familiar bat pony. “When did you get here?!” Both Gleaming Hope and the last guard shouted in sync. “A couple minutes ago,” she nonchalantly shrugged. She scanned the room, chuckling. “You really made a mess in here, huh.”  “Oh shut it,” Gleaming Hope rolled his eyes. “So what happened here?” Midnight asked, looking at all the ponies on the ground. The last guard standing slowly backed away, trying to get the hell out of there while they chatted with one another. Right as he was about to bolt out the door, a dagger landed impaled his foreleg, causing him to fall on his face. “You really thought we would just let you get away?” Midnight tilted her head. “You’re stupider than you look.” The guard held his bleeding leg, looking up at the Midnight and Gleaming who were standing over him.  “This is all a huge misunderstanding,” he awkwardly chuckled. “We were just going to scare her, that’s all! Yeah…” Midnight shook her head with a frown, knocking him out with a quick punch. He lay there unconscious, the two of them just looking down on him.  “What’s with all the commotion so early in the morning,” a half-awake Flowing River asked as walk down the stairs. Behind her was the rest of the party.  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they all stood in place, looking at the scene in front of them. Five guards lay on the ground, two dead and three injured. Tables and tables turned over, blood splattered all over the place. It looked like a warzone, if warzones were much smaller and had furniture involved. “Do I even want to ask?” Soaring Punch said. “I sure don’t,” Flowing River frowned. “Is Sour Whiskey okay?”  “Yeah she’s alright,” Gleaming Hope nodded. “I think she passed out from shock though.” They looked at the pegasus who was laying next to a corpse. Her body rose and fell slightly, signifying she was breathing steadily, but other than that she was pretty still.  “So what happened?” Quickhoof asked, poking at the captain’s body. “You sure did a number on these guys.” “Long story short, they were trying to collect Sour Whiskey’s debt and were about to do some horrible things to her so I stopped them,” Gleaming Hope summarized.  “For justice and stuff, right?” Midnight stuck her tongue out at him. “I couldn’t just watch them hurt an innocent pony like that,” Gleaming Hope glared at her. “It goes against my code!” “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Midnight dismissed him. “So, what do we do about this mess?” “Well, obviously we clean it up!” Flowing River smiled, levitating over a mop and bucket of water. “So who’s cleaning up the bodies?” “Not it!” Everypony except Gleaming Hope said in unison. “C’mon guys, give me a break!” He frowned. “I had to fight them basically by myself.” “Okay fine, you can pick one pony to help you,” Flowing River smiled. “Really?” Gleaming Hope’s face deadpanned. “Yup!” Flowing River nodded. “Why do I feel like I’m always getting the short end of the stick?” Shining Armor sighed. “First I have to basically solo an encounter now I have to do this?”  “It just happens,” Thunder Sparks shrugged. “You know how our sessions are.” “I guess…” Shining Armor said.  “I think you’re lucky,” Sharp Edge chuckled. Shining Armor cocked an eyebrow. “How so?”  “You're the only pony who experienced some sort of action,” Sharp Edge replied. “Too bad we were all sleeping…” “Speaking of sleeping, I think we should end it here,” Cadance said, stifling a yawn.  “Is it really that late?” Sunset asked, taking a look out a nearby window. The moon was high in the sky. “Huh, I guess it is kinda late.” “I’m a little tired,” Twilight said with a small yawn. “But I wouldn’t mind playing some more.” “No way,” Shining Armor shook his head. “You’re still a growing filly. You need your sleep.” “Aww…” Twilight pouted, but didn’t completely reject the idea of sleeping.  “I guess we’ll turn in tonight,” Thunder Sparks said, gathering their character sheets and figurines. “Same time in a few days?” “You betcha!” Moonlight said, the rest of the group nodding. “If we don’t have any extra lessons that day, Twilight and I will be here for sure,” Sunset added. “Sounds good,” Thunder Sparks smiled. “O&O is always much more fun with more company.” Twilight and Shining Armor were the first to excuse themselves. Shining Armor walked with Twilight to her room before bidding her goodnight and heading to his own quarters. Sharp Edge, Thunder Sparks, and Moonlight left together, heading towards their sleeping quarters to get some rest. Cadance and Sunset headed towards their rooms together, as they were quite close to each other. Soon enough though, Cadance headed her own way, leaving just Sunset to trot the empty halls. Reaching her room, she lit a candle that sat on her desk. With a sigh, she levitated over some books and scrolls. “Guess it’s time to study.”