Forge World: The Full Metal Fantasy Role Playing Game

by shenadri

1: Pen & Paper

 
The door to the library wildly swung open as six singed and soot covered ponies limped into the foyer. The mane six all let out collective sighs and tried to find a suitable spot around the library/home to crash down upon. With almost a rhythmic cadence, six thumps could be heard sequentially echoing throughout the hollow tree.
 
"Ugh! My hooves are killing me!" Rainbow Dash complained as she rubbed her aching hooves to alleviate the soreness "How was it again that we got caught smack dab in the middle of a feuding dragon couple again?"
 
"Ah don't remember, nor do Ah exactly care anymore" Applejack raspily spoke as she put out the flames that were burning brightly atop her her favorite stetson "Heck, Ah'm just glad we managed to get those two to kiss and make up before they destroyed town hall!"
 
"Who knew how dangerous marital issues were?" Fluttershy said as she tried to brush away the soot from her pink hair.
 
"Apparently, when it involves dragons, there are possibilities of suffering third degree burns and several compound fractures..." Twilight winced as she pressed an ice pack against her left foreleg, the biting cold of the ice stung for a bit only to soon fade into a cool soothing sensation. She let out a great big sigh as she settled down into her armchair " *sigh* At least it's all over"
 
"Hey, where's Spike?" Rarity said when she noticed that everypony's favorite green and purple reptile was nowhere to be found. Everypony then began looking around the room trying to catch a glimpse of the baby dragon but they found nothing. Just as they were questioning about Spike's whereabouts they all heard some muffled shouting coming from above on the second floor.
 
"Huh? He's upstairs. We might as well check on him" Twilight said. Everypony all limped up the stairs to try and find Spike. However, as they ascended further onto the second floor, the muffled shouts grew more and more audible with each step that they took. As they all approached the door, a multitude of voices could be heard from behind it alongside Spike's own.
 
Curiously, everyone pressed their ears up against the oak door trying to make out what Spike and others were saying inside.
 
"Alright, Fordstadt!" Spike heroically shouted "We found what you lost, now pay me and my crew!" Twilight and the others only raised an eyebrow at what they had just heard. What was Spike talking about?
 
"Who's Fordstadt?" Pinkie asked “*Gasp!* Is he a new pony?! You know what that means, right!?" but all the others shushed her before she got a bit too loud. Patiently, they waited for the conversation to continue, not sure of how to react to the shouting.
 
  " I thank you for helping me find what I lost..." a dark brown voice stated "... Although I think you will be thrilled to know that I never lost it in the first place" the voice let out a deep and menacing laugh. Gasps could be heard all throughout the other side of the door when the people inside realized their folly. The others pressed their ears against the door much closer as the conversation suddenly became interesting.
 
"This explains far too much! You used us, you slimeball! You used us to steal that artefact for you!" a female voice shouted, although for some strange reason the voice sounded familiar almost like they'd heard it before "There never was any gold involve was there? No priceless artefact that was stolen from you, you made us do your dirty work!" the voice spoke with venom dripping from her lips.
 
"Ahahahaha! All I had to do was mention one thousand gold apiece for you mercenaries and you come running!" the dark voice laughed menacingly again. The ponies were stunned, speechless beyond belief at what they just heard. Mercenaries? Artifacts? One thousand piece of gold? Was this some kind of secret life of Spike that they had accidentally stumbled into?
 
"You played us for saps!" a canine voice spoke "Because of you the entire Silverus military is cracking down on us!" the voice shouted.
 
"We won't let you get away with this!" Another canine spoke, this time with a gruffer more broad voice.
 
"We'll stop you no matter what!" a lighter more high pitch canine spoke.
 
"And how, pray tell, are you planning on doing that?" the dark voice taunted. Twilight and the others were starting to grow terrified with each passing second of the conversation. They had far too many questions that they didn't have the answer to.
 
"What’s going on in there!? Spike and his crew have some nation's military out for their head!" Rarity shakily whispered. Everyone else shook their head, they were all equally confused as she was.
 
"I never even heard of a nation called Silverus!" Rainbow replied with fear in her voice "Oh man, this is bad! Spike just got trapped in some out of control international affair!" everyone continued
 
"Oh, you know exactly how this is going to end" an older voice threatened. The scraping sound of swords being unsheathed along with several pistols and rifles being cocked could only be interpreted in one way. A fight was going to happen.
 
The girls trembled from behind the door. Spike and his crew members were about to go medieval on a back stabbing benefactor. The air that surrounded the room seeped underneath the crack of doorway and it made everyone feel terrified beyond belief.
 
"Hahahaha! Very well then! If you are so eager to die then allow me to hasten your death!" the dark voice threatened. The mane six couldn't take it anymore, they had to intervene, they had to save Spike!
 
Without giving a second thought everypony broke down and door and rushed on through, stopping just before the cloud of dust they created all the while striking an epic looking pose.
 

                    
As the dust settled Twilight and her friends were not greeted with the sight of Spike and his fellow mercenaries fighting some mysterious and malevolent benefactor. Instead, they were greeted with the queer sight of Spike and most of their former nemeses huddled around a table playing some board game while dressed as a band of mercenaries.
 
Sitting around Spike was the draconequus Discord. Rover, Fido, and Spot, the diamond dogs from a while back. Queen Chrysalis the changeling queen. And the (no longer evil) King Sombra.
 
"Oh. Hiya, Twilight! How'd the dragon thing go?" Spike asked as he waved to them. The others were speechless at the sight before them, they had no idea what the hay was going on.
 
"Bu-b-bu-bu-b-b-but-b-b-bu-b" Twilight stammered incoherently with a dumbfounded look.
 
"Bu-b-b-bu-bu-bu-b-but what dear?" Discord asked with a grin "As fun as it is to watch you babble on like a complete and utter idiot, it's interrupting our little session here" he pointed to the board, books, and several dice scattered before him.
 
"Eh don't sweat it, Discord. We were going into the initiative round anyway" the little dragon waved him off as he tossed a d20 on the table "Yes! 27, that means I’m going first!"
 
"That's a good roll there buddy" Rover complimented as he began to throw his own dices. With the soft sound of dices pitter pattering against the wooden table, his number appeared along with a wide toothy grin on his face "Aha! 24! Not bad, huh?" his compatriots cheered for him, completely oblivious to the group of ponies that broke down the door.
 
"Wait, what? What's going on here?" Rainbow dash exclaimed "We thought you guys were getting into a dangerous fight!"
 
"Well we technically are" the changeling queen spoke up "This crazy griffon, Fordstadt, has at least twenty minions alongside him. Plus he has some very powerful weapons and abilities" Chrysalis explained which only drew more confused looks from the other group "Count in the Silverus military that's on our tail and we're definitely in for the fight of our lives!" she exclaimed as she threw her own pair of dices that were interestingly enough, in her colour scheme.
 
"No, what we're trying to say is why in the great wide world of Equestria are y'all here, dressed up in some silly costumes and rolling around dice?" Applejack asked with a perplexed look on her face.

"Hey! These aren't costumes certainly aren't silly!" Discord snapped back at her, clearly offended by her insult "I made these myself, you know, and I would very much like an apology"
 
"But why's a chaos god like you got a long white beard and a cloak! Don't you feel silly?" Pinkie quipped as she appeared beside the draconequus using her signature pinkieness "And what's with the stick? Are you gonna hit a pinata or something? Well? Are ya, are ya, are ya? Cause if you are then let me have a crack at it!" she playfully giggled as she reappeared back with her friends.
 
"We're just playing some 'Forge World'" Spike said as he showed them a large hard cover book with a picture of a large menacing robot with two adventurers on the cover "What do you think we all do when you're off on your adventures and stuff? We have adventures of our own too you know?"
 
Twilight stared at the book, she recognizes it. It was the same one that she found on Spike's shelf next to his collection of miniature figurines and the framed lipstick mark from Rarity that he treasured so much. She didn't know much about the book, not even after reading the short description on the back.
 
"What's this all about?" Twilight asked "I always thought that these were one of those comic books you loved so much"
 
"It's the full metal fantasy role playing game where average dragons like me and changelings like Chrysalis are daring adventurers!" he hopped off the table and showed himself "I'm a Myrmidon/Guardian!" the purple and green dragon was covered head to toe with a full set of gleaming silver armor complete with a flowing red cape and an adorably tiny lance and shield.
 
"I chose something fitting to my nature. I'm a spy/gunslinger" Chrysalis proudly announced with a flick of her hair, she was wearing a set of tailored plate mail that conformed beautifully to her changeling anatomy. She also had a black hood and a set of gun braces with two quad barrel pistols nestled within.
 
"We're pirates!" the diamond dogs exclaimed together.
 
"Well technically I'm a pirate/military officer, I get to point and order stuff around!" Rover said as he assumed a militaristic stance. He was wearing some type of highly decorated old fashion navy officer uniform with a tricorn hat and had peewee sitting on his shoulders. He also had a flintlock pistol that was holstered and a sheathed cutlass.
 
"I'm a pirate/thief, I'm good for stealing things!" Spot said, he was wearing a horizontal striped shirt with a bandanna and an eyepatch. He also had a dagger sheathed on his back but it was so big it was like a sword to him.
 
"I'm a pirate/brawler, I punch stuff! It's fun!" Fido said, he kept his black vest but it had alteration to make it look like the sleeves were ripped off. He also had a fake hook for a hand and a mean looking knuckle duster on the other.
 
"Lastly, I'm a magus/priest. Who would've expected me to be the healer of the party? Hehehehe!" Discord laughed, his beard was longer and bushier than usual and he had a large grey hooded cloak with a tall wizard cap and a large wooden staff. Needless to say he looks kind of like a certain wizard whose name shall remain anonymous that was associated with a specific golden ring.
 
"And together, we are members of the 'Krimson Klaw' mercenary group!" Spike exclaimed "We're hired for missions that would make lesser ponies and diamond dogs quake with fear!" the crazily dressed group performed a group high five "We're the best at what we do! And what we do ain't nice!"
 
"What about him? He hasn't said anything yet" Fluttershy pointed to King Sombra who shyly hid behind a game board, trying his hardest to avert his attention elsewhere "O-oh dear... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable... I-I mean i-if that's okay with you...." she averted her gaze as well, completely flustered by the fact that she may have hurt somepony's feeling.
 
Sombra didn't say anything still, but after a few seconds he slowly rose from behind the board and graced the group with a weak yet sincere smile. Applejack slid by Twilight and quietly whispered to her."Wow, Ah didn't think the feller that enslaved an entire nation of ponies would turn out to be shyer than Fluttershy" Twilight chuckled when her friend finished.
 
"He's the game master; he controls the events that we experience with our heroic personas" Spike explained "He may be shy but once he warms up to you you'll find out he's a crazy great linguist!"
 
"You do know what linguist means right?" Twilight said flatly, clearly disappointed that her draconic son/younger brother didn't know the word's definition.
 
"That's an easy one! It means someone who speaks well right? Right?" Spike's response was only met with silence "....Right?" no one said a thing. It was way too awkward after that display of knowledge "Anyway, as I was saying before I was hit with a pop quiz...." he glared a Twilight before dropping it "He knows how to create some wildly entertaining campaigns for our adventure! I take it you heard him speaking the bad guy’s lines?" he pointed to the broken door which drew embarrassed blushed from his friends.
 
"You're telling me that all this time you've been having fake adventures with this dumb book while we were out saving the world? Pfft, laaame" Rainbow said which caused Spike and the other's glared at the multicolored pegasus with a look that could've melted her on the spot.
 
"I recall Fluttershy over here telling me of a certain rainbow coloured pegasus calling books lame at one point too" Discord shot back which caught the pegasus completely off guard "Besides, we're as much heroes as you guys are"
 
Rainbow tried to stifle her laughter, but she could only hold it for a good three seconds before falling on the ground laughing her head off until she turned into a dark shade of purple from lack of air. The group glared at her some more, clearly annoyed by her antics.
 
"Bwuahahahaha! Like I said, laaaame!" she kept laughing as she rolled around hysterically.
 
However, her laughing was cut short when she heard several shots being fired directly at her, when the musket balls collided right beside her hooves she shot back in fear and hopped right into Pinkie's arms. She turned her gaze to the diamond dogs who all had a scowl on their faces and several pistols pointed at her, smoke and the smell of sulphur escaping the barrel of the firearm  "What the hay! I thought those were just props!"
 
"I pride myself on getting each and every detail of our attire to be as authentic and functional as possible" Discord smugly retorted with a wide cheshire cat grin.
 
"That doesn't give you the right to shoot at me!" Rainbow yelled once she got a hold of her footing.
 
"What are you so worried about?" Spike said as he walked up to there the bullets were and pulled one of them out. As it turns out it wasn't a musket ball at all. It was a jawbreaker "See? Nothing to worry about" he promptly ate the bullet like candy with relative ease. His draconic teeth allows for him to chew through minerals and rocks like they were made out of paper, a jawbreaker was no different.
 
"What? You didn't think I would give them actual bullets did you?" Discord asked rather dramatically when he received glares from his peers "Heavens no! That would be dangerous"
 
"You may be crazy, but I have to admit that is a rather dapper cloak you have on there. Is that cashmere?" Rarity asked as she examined Discord's wizard garbs "And Spike just looks absolutely adorable in that set of armor! Why he looks just like a tiny itty bitty wittle knight!" she exclaimed as she rubbed the little dragons head causing him to stomped his tail and feet about wildly like a dog getting his ears scratched.
 
"See? At least someone appreciates all the hard work I put into my outfits" Discord said.
 
"Okay. Okay we get it, we'll get out of your hair and let you get back to.... whatever it is you're all doing" Twilight said as she left the room with her friends. But just as she was about to make her way out of the door she felt a tugging by her tail. She turned to find that it was Spike who had the 'Forge World' book in his claws.
 
"Wait up Twilight! Don't you want to play too?" Spike asked "All that 'saving the world thing' seems to be taking a hit to your social time.... again" he stated with worry laced in his voice "Don't you think you should sit down a relax a bit with something that isn't a book?"
 
"But that is a book" Twlight deadpanned causing Spike to giggle.
 
"It's more than just a book, Twilight, it's an adventure! With robots! And wizards! And robot wizards!" shouted Spike with childlike excitement "Come on, how about you girls fight a dragon without getting burned for once?" he offered as he handed her the book along with a small black satchel filled with an unfathomable amount of dice of all varying shapes and sizes "If you ever change your mind you can always use my set of dice for the game"
 
Twilight smiled warmly at Spike, she was glad to know that even with all of her royal duties and the occasional 'stop some kind of disaster' bit that the little guy still cared for her. She was especially glad for him to offer her a book, normally he would offer some of his food or some bad dragon advice that reflected with his personal code.
 
"Alright Spike, maybe I'll just glance through it when I have the time" Twilight tried her best to remain unbiased in the matter. Though she didn't show it, she was a bit hesitant at the book. Spike, noticing her hesitation raised an eyebrow at her, he wasn't particularly convinced.
 
"Oh yeah? Are you sure you're not just going to blow it off for something else that's boring?" Spike asked with a wry smile on his lips.
 
"W-what!? How could you say that?" Twilight nervously shot back "I'll have you know that I know a lot of other fun stuff to do too!" Spike raised his other eyebrow while lowering the other one, still not convinced by her.
                    
"Uh huh, such as?" Spike asked with a touch of smugness in his voice.
 
"W-well...." Twilight locked up, beads of sweat formed by her brow as her eyes darted back and forth hastily "Well we shouldn't interrupt your game anymore! Come on girls, let's head back to the foyer!" without missing a beat she pushed all of her friends out of the door and back to the main room of the library.
 
"Oh kay! See you later!" shouted Fido as he waved them goodbye as they left the room. With that, Spike and the rest continued on with their game. Chrysalis had to reroll her dices after being interrupted by the others. With a quick flick of her hollowed hooves, the dice flew about on the table spinning wildly as it landed.
 
"Oh darn it!" shouted Chrysalis when she received her number "Snake eyes. That puts me at....."
 
 

 
Twilight was relieved to be out of the room but at the same time she was also annoyed by Spike's little comment about her doing boring things for fun, yet she was also touched by his concern for her. Reshelving books around the library and doing field research was fun! Right? Well even if others didn't think her personal interest are fun then maybe her friends did. Right?
 
As it turns out, she was wrong. For the next fifteen minutes of everypony's lives they did absolutely nothing entertaining at all, mainly because they were still sore after trying to fix some dragon's relationship. Instead, they all opted to do their own thing to pass the time.
 
Pinkie wasn't as full of pep as she normally was which was rare given her case, all she did was happily hummed a light peppy tune to herself and playing with her cotton candy mane. Rarity spent most of her time grooming her mane back to its former glory, making sure to hide any split ends and heat damage that may have occurred when dealing with the dragons. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack quietly chatted amongst themselves. All Twilight did was just sit in her chair trying to come up with an Idea for something fun to do.
 
Twilight ran through her mental checklist of fun things to do. "There was still reshelving and field research, those two were most definitely on the table. Then there was.... uh.... there's.... what about...." all the time that she was thinking her eyes kept gravitating to the large book and bag of dices in the middle of the room. She tried her hardest to resist the temptation, more out of pride rather than other reasons. She didn't want to let Spike know that he was right and that she was wrong about the game.
 
  Amidst the stark silence of the foyer Twilight could hear the sound of jovial laughter and wild ramblings on the second floor "Wow, they sound like they're having fun..." She raised her head ever so slightly, making sure to be entirely inconspicuous. She thoroughly examined the book, from the cover to the pages it was in excellent quality. Spike must've really loved it for it to be in such exquisite conditions.
 
The image on the cover was the focal point of the game. Twilight stared at the book, finally noticing the intricate detail of the drawing and the sheer amount of imagination that went into it. On the cover were three characters.
 
One was a gray diamond dog clad in metal armor with goggles and a massive wrench. Next to him was a female unicorn that had a light orange coat with a black mane, she was dressed like an aristocrat, yet she was holding two pistols in her hooves. Lastly and perhaps her most favorite part was the large automaton standing behind the two. It looked like some sort of massive bipedal creature was mixed together with a train.
 
"Maybe a little peek...." thought Twilight. Although when she tried to stealthily reach for the book she felt a sharp pain in her leg, causing her to stumble and roll across the floor where she crashed right into table that had the book with a loud thump! Her friends noticed this and quickly went over to help her up.
 
"I take it you were going for the book?" asked Rarity. Twilight nodded as she rubbed her head "Well why don't we try and play this game together?" Rarity suggested "In my honest opinion I think it looks fun! And these clothes that the heroes are wearing just scream adventurous"
 
"What!? Really?" shouted Rainbow "You're not actually serious about playing this lame game are you?"
 
"You know, it's funny" said Twilight with a snicker "This was how you acted when I first showed you the daring do series" Rainbow deflated a bit when she was told this not once but twice in the span of only half an hour.
 
"Ugh! Fine, let's give it a go" Rainbow conceded "Jeez you sound just like Discord..." Twilight and the others only giggled at Rainbow's folly. Without missing a beat, Twilight brought the large book over to a table and began sifting through the pages. As she was doing so everyone pulled up a seat around the table and awaited for Twilight to read them the rules. But before starting, Twilight had one last thing to tell Rainbow Dash.