//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Twilight Sparkle and Her Friends Play Age of Empires II // by swirlstar //------------------------------// Prologue “Again?” Her Most Gracious and Royal Highness, the newly-crowned Princess of Magic Twilight Sparkle – just call me Twilight already! – muttered in wary disbelief. “You want to play again?” “Well, duuh! If I didn’t want to play again I wouldn’t have come to the Library to ask you, silly!” Pinkie Pie bounced around the spacious room, unfazed by her purple friend’s less-than-enthusiastic reception. “Don’t you find the game so utterly, totally, unbelievably fun?” Twilight bit on her lip, seeking to arrest any unintended outburst. “Well… yes I do, Pinkie, but… “ The alicorn glanced uneasily at her stack of unfinished reading – the Alexiad, the Chronicle of George Sphrantzes, and much, much more. It was moments like these that had her ruing the day she ever laid her hooves on that blasted game. “Oh come on Twilight, don’t lie!” The force of nature currently inhabiting her living room did not even pause for permission, already whirling around in a twister of cables and little gray machines she called ‘laptops’. “You love that game! You always get so worked up when you play it: you’re like ‘Grrr’ and ‘Argh!’ and ‘What the hay!’ all the time! It’s soo much fun watching you lose control!” Emphasizing her point, the pink pony rapidly cycled through a menagerie of angry-Twilight faces, which the lavender unicorn had to admit were indeed rather hilarious… No, no, no! If you think like that you’ll give in! And yet, despite her brain’s best efforts, the normally-studious pony could feel her vaunted mental discipline slowly eroding away, buckling under heightened temptation as machines bleeped and whirred into life. “There’s a time for play… Pinkie Pie… ” the alicorn murmured, half-heartedly mustering up some inane excuse for her last stand. “… and in any case, every single game we’ve played has ended in exactly the same way... ” “Come on, Twilight!” the party pony pleaded as her friend shunted her gaze back towards the Historia Arcana. “Just a little game between the two of us; just a teeny tiny game!” Stop bargaining! Twilight silently pleaded as she felt her worse nature tug at her heartstrings once more. “Erm… I guess we can’t play without Rainbow, though, can we? She’d be pretty annoyed if we didn’t invite her!” “Well we just won’t tell Dashie!” the gaming-starved pony haggled, hooves creating an invisible safebox for secrets. “I solemnly Pinkie Pie Promise, Twilight, I swear I won’t tell Dashie- “ “What about not telling me?!” A voice from up high cut in. Twilight’s eyes widened. “R-Rainbow Dash!“ she exclaimed, looking ceilingward, half-angry, half-guilty. “I told you to knock on the front door before coming in!” “Give me a break! I don’t even break any windows or walls when I come in now!” the cyan pegasus shot back unapologetically as she touched down. “But anyway, what’s this about not telling me!” The purple alicorn wisely avoided her interlocutor’s gaze, fixating her eyes on the book before her. “You know what you always do when we play.” “Do what?” “You know… ” Twilight cocked her head suggestively. “That.” The reminder was enough to drain the bluster away from Ponyville’s weathermare. “O-oh,” Rainbow Dash chuckled apologetically. “Well you know I don’t like losing, Twilight.” “It’s getting boring, Rainbow.” “Come on, Twilight! I won’t do it again!” Rainbow Dash pleaded, clapping her hooves together in penance. “I promise!” “Pinkie Pie Promise?” the pink pony advanced, eyeing her blue friend suspiciously. “Pinkie Pie Promise,” the prismatic mare nodded furiously, going through all motions of the sacred ritual. “I Pinkie Pie Promise that when I play the game, I won’t- “ “Last time you Pinkie Pie Promised, it ended with half the farm destroyed and Big Mac swearing off apple tarts forever,” the characteristic drawl of Applejack drifted in through the front entrance. “See y’all didn’t bother callin’ me in neither.” “Oh wow!” Pinkie Pie jumped up enthusiastically. “Who knew – we’re all right here now! I knew this game had summoning properties!” “It wasn’t that hard to realize you were planning a session,” the athletic weatherpony explained. “You were lugging your gaming wagon up Mane Street!” Twilight gave up on futile excuses. “Oh, might as well,” she grumbled, shuffling over to the center of the living room, now converted into a veritable gaming arena thanks to Pinkie Pie. “Thought you’d be working, AJ.” “Applebloom can handle the stall on her own,” the orange pony brushed the concern aside. “I got ‘important’ things to do.” “Sure, sure. Actually, where do you get these laptops, Pinkie?” Twilight wondered out loud as she examined the plastic casing of her laptop. “The technology in this is light-years ahead of Equestria... ” Pinkie ignored the question. “Game's on, everypony!” she bubbled happily, launching herself into a seat. “Are we ready to have the funnest time of our liiives!” “I’m ready.” “By Celestia, am I sooo ready!” “Waitin’ for y’all.” “Alright!” Pinkie Pie said, searching around the monitor for that familiar conquistador’s helmet – whatever a ‘conquistador’ was. “Let’s paartaay!” “Party in a pool of artificial blood, you mean- “ “Stop ruining the prologue, Twilight!”