//------------------------------// // Is This the Real Life // Story: Marabian Knights // by silvershad0 //------------------------------//         The group awoke to darkness completely enveloping everything around them, only their fellow comrades in sight.  They each frantically scanned every direction for anything familiar as they tried to remember how they ended up here.         “So, anypony want to tell me what happened or, perhaps, where we currently are?”  Octavia said as she began subconsciously straightening her mane.         “I have no idea, but we must have drank some really good stuff last night,” Vinyl answered as she tried to remember the name of every alcoholic beverage she tried the previous night. 'It was probably that glowing, green drink. Mental note: Never again trust a drink that glows.'         Lyra and Bon Bon also thought back to the previous night before Lyra spoke up, “That can’t be it.  Neither of us had any sort of alcohol last night, right Bonnie?"         “She’s right,” Bon Bon replied, “We didn’t get the chance before we all headed for....The castle!” she suddenly exclaimed.  "We were invited to the castle by that strange mare who turned out to be Princess Luna!"         “Oh yeah, that’s right!”  Vinyl said, the past night’s events suddenly playing in her mind.  “We were about to start some kind game with her.  Then she said something about being the Princess of Dreams, and then....blackness.”  Vinyl’s trademark grin faltered as she tried to put two and two together.         “So, do you suppose this is a dream we’re all sharing then?”  Octavia looked to her friends for confirmation. She had heard of shared dreams before, but mostly in trashy romance novels.         “That is correct,” Luna’s voice echoed through the darkness, seeming to originate from everywhere at once.           The darkness encasing the party suddenly lifted to reveal a small populace of ponies surrounded by an endless expanse of desert.  The sun beat down on them in a dry heat the likes of which none of them had ever experienced in Equestria.   Each of them also noticed they were now covered in different types of armor, clothing, and weaponry. Octavia was wearing heavy, metallic armor and her favorite cello strung across her back. Vinyl had no visible armor to speak of, instead wearing a long, silken robe the color of rubies. Bon Bon and Redheart were wearing some kind of lighter armor, though they couldn't place their hooves on the exact material.         “Eeeeeeheeheeheee” Lyra suddenly shrieked with uncontrollable shock and excitement.  Everypony turned to face her to find she had undergone a slightly different type of change than themselves.  She was standing on two long, skinny legs and her nose had shrunken in size considerably.  The only hair remaining on her body was that of her mane, which had remained pretty much the same, though the same could not be said for her hooves.  Where they once rested, she now had five skinny digits she was constantly folding in and out.         “I-I’m a...a human!” she finally shouted as she jumped into the air with a small cheer.  “Look Bonnie, I have hands,” she waved them in front of Bon Bon’s muzzle repeatedly.         “That’s...that’s wonderful dear,” Bon Bon said with a defeated sigh, closing her eyes and trying to find her happy place.         “Ahem,” Luna cleared her throat audibly to get their attention.  “I’ve used my power to bring you here to my realm, the dreamworld, where I have total control over all that happens.”  To demonstrate, she turned the sand under their feet into snow, which quickly melted in the sweltering heat.         “This is amazing! I can’t believe that instead of having to imagine what’s taking place around us, we’re going to be living it!”  Redheart clapped her front hooves together in excitement. "This is going to be the best D&D session ever!"         “I’ll admit, this does sound like fun,” said Lyra.  “It’ll be like taking a vacation without having to pack or travel.”                  “Yes, I’ve often dreamed of visiting the middle of a scorching desert,” Octavia sarcastically remarked.         “Aw, lighten up Octy,” Vinyl said while admiring her new robes. "You of all ponies could use a vacation."         Twack!  Octavia’s hoof connected with Vinyl’s head with more force than she had intended.         “Owww.  Owwie, oww, ouch!”  Vinyl said, rubbing the small lump on her noggin.           “What’s the big idea, Tav?”  You trying to take my head off?”  Vinyl was yelling, though she was more surprised than angry.         “I-I’m sorry, dear.  I guess I don’t know my own strength,”  Octavia apologized as she stared at her own hoof in disbelief. 'I know I didn't mean hit her that hard. What's going on here.' As if she had been reading her mind, Luna answered. “That’s because all of your stats and characteristics have been modified to reflect what your character sheets you created show. All of the feats and skills you chose will also be modified while you remain in this realm."         “But I actually felt that blow,” Vinyl said, realization kicking in.  “What’s the big idea, Luna.  I thought you said this is just a dream!” she shouted into the air.         “It is a dream, but it is your mind that makes the pain real,” Luna said with a soft laugh.         “So then, whatever happens here our minds translate it as being real?” Octavia said with a gasp.  “So what would happen if we were to....die here?”  she asked, not really sure if she wanted to play this anymore.         “Fear not, my subjects,” Luna answered, “As I said, I have total control over this realm and will not let anything terrible befall you.  I can bring you back to the waking world with but a thought should you ever find yourself in mortal peril.  Now, if there are no more questions, you should probably introduce yourselves to the rest of the party before we begin with the storyline.”         “Welp, guess I’ll start us off,” Vinyl said, stepping forward.  “I’m DJ Tastybeats the Awesome, a mighty unicorn sorcerer on a quest to spread wubs to the far corners of the world,” she stated, striking a heroic pose.         “Really, Vinyl?” Octavia facehooved at her lover’s creative name and title.  “Do you think that, perhaps, we could just stick with our own names,” she pleaded.  “This is all confusing enough without having to memorize new names too.”         Vinyl tried pouting, but once she realized it was futile, an idea struck her. “Fine, but only if I can call you Tavi while we’re here,” she said, making sure she got something for giving up her amazing name.         Octavia sighed and nodded in agreement to her stipulations.  ‘I’ve a feeling I’m going to need a real vacation before this is all over,’ she silently mused.         “I had trouble deciding on which class to play, so I picked a bard as my class,” Lyra said, pulling out a golden lyre and playing a small verse to the party.  She seemed to be just as proficient with her new hands as she had been with her hooves or magic, perhaps even a bit more.         “I picked a pegasus rogue, so I can deal with any pesky traps we might run across and sneak around and rob ponies blind,” Bon Bon gave an innocent chuckle that came across as super creepy given the context.  “I’ve always wondered what flying would be like as well,” she said, flapping her wings a few times to get a feel for them.         “Who are you and what have you done to my marefriend?” Lyra bursted into laughter at how ridiculous the idea of sweet, innocent Bon Bon skulking around in the darkness, taking whatever she pleased before flying away at breakneck speeds.         “I just thought it would be fun to try role-playing something a little different, is all,” Bon Bon replied.  “Plus I get to use these neat little knives known as daggers,” she said as she expertly twirled the daggers in her hooves and wearing a wide smile.         “That does sound like... fun,” Octavia said with a nervous laugh .  “I chose paladin so that I could smite any ruffians we might encounter and because of their many defensive abilities.”  She then pulled her cello that was strapped to her back out and swung it around a few times.  “Luna said I could use this as a greatclub for all intents and purposes and I think you’ll agree it suits me.”  Lyra gave her a thumbs up, which the group just stared at blanky, causing her to fold her arms and pout.         “I guess that just leaves me,” Redheart said.  “I’m running a cleric, since it’s my favorite class and I like helping ponies in need.”         “But you pretty much do that every day in the real world,” Vinyl looked at her curiously.  “You can be anything you want to in this world, so why a cleric?”         “You have no idea how amazing healing powers are in this world, do you?”  Redheart retorted.  “With a single spell, I can mend broken limbs and close wounds instantly here that would take me weeks to treat back home!” she yelled, raising her voice further with each spoken word. “Wow, that’s sure come in handy on a long journey,” Bon Bon swiftly added, trying to calm the nurse down before she really became angry. “Sweet, so it sounds like we’ve got all of our bases covered and can get this show on the road!”  Vinyl said, pumping her fist and flashing the group a smug grin. “Excellent!”  Luna’s voice once again shouted from nowhere.  “Then we shall begin at once.” Sounds of combat followed by a piercing scream could be heard nearby, causing each member to glance in the direction of the racket.  It clearly originated from a lone building on the edge of the city, several cloaked figures fleeing from the back exit and into the desert. “Don’t let them get away!”  Lyra shouted and began running towards them, the others soon following close behind. “Can’t you stop them with your magic, Vinyl?”  Octavia huffed as she was quickly becoming fatigued running in the heavy, plated armor she had chosen. “Not from this distance,” Vinyl said in much the same state due to the low constitution she had rolled during her character’s creation.  “I need to get within a hundred yards... before I can blast them...but I,”  she left off as she stopped to catch her breath. The others gave up not much later, none wanting to charge headfirst into the desert and risk getting lost.  The group regathered in front of the house the creatures had fled, staring at it’s door with a mix of panic and dread. Redheart suddenly stepped forward with a determined look on her face and threw the door open, revealing the destroyed remains of what used to be a living room.  The couch had several holes and was split almost all the way down it’s center.  Several cushions lie scattered about, either shredded to pieces or with crossbow bolts sticking in them.  An overturned curio cabinet left glass dispersed across the wooden floor, so she had to move slowly to avoid being hurt herself. As she entered the kitchen, she immediately covered her mouth with her hoof as she laid eyes on what she just knew she would find.  There on the kitchen floor in a pool of his own crimson life force, an elderly stallion lie motionless.  Redheart dropped to his side and begin checking for any signs of life before lowering her head, quiet sobs escaping her lips. The rest of the group entered the kitchen to find their new friend now completely bawling over the stallion’s corpse before turning to look them in the eyes. “I-I know what you’re gonna s-say,” the sobbing nurse said as she tried to dry the tears streaking down her face, “b-but it never gets any easier to watch another life extinguished and being powerless to help them,” she finished. “I think I understand how you feel, Redheart, but remember, he’s not real.” Octavia softly said, the sight of the nurse almost enough to bring tears to her own eyes. “Maybe not, but he's really dead now, isn't he?” Redheart asked.  “He may have had hopes and dreams just like all of us, but now he has nothing.  Real or not, I can see his lifeless body, feel his cold skin under my hooves, hear the silence that he will emit from now until oblivion.” Redheart sighed in frustration, the tears now freely flowing down her face.   “Wow, when you put it that way, dying really does sound awful,” Vinyl said, wearing an almost depressed look on her face.  “But the only thing we can do for him now is make sure that those who were responsible are never allowed to kill again,”  she said with her normal vigor returning. “She’s right, we must bring whoever did this to justice!”  Octavia suddenly shouted, her eyes filled with a burning fire she herself didn’t quite understand.  “We should begin by looking around for any kind of clues as to who did this or where they ran off to.” “I have a pretty high search check,” Bon Bon said, “I’ll see what I can find around here.” “And I’ll use my gather information and bardic knowledge skills to see if any of the local townsponies know anything about similar occurrences,” Lyra said as she turned to exit the building. “Cool, I’ll go with Lyra and help with information gathering, you two stay here and make sure Bon Bon doesn’t miss anything,” Vinyl motioned toward Octavia and Redheart.  “We’re only level one, so it can be easy to botch a check and totally miss out on useful stuff.  We’ll meet you back here as soon as we find anything.” With that, Vinyl quickly left to catch up to Lyra. ‘Hmm, they’re really getting into this,’ Luna thought to herself as she watched each event unfold before her.  ‘Oh, this is going to be so much fun.  I just knew these were the right ponies for my campaign.’  She let out a joyful squee as she began imagining what would come next for the intrepid heroes-to-be.