Back in the tree house, in a remote corner of Sweet Apple Acres, a trio of fillies were huddled around a small table. Each of them had some notes in front of them, along with a few statistics cards and multiple die—each with various numbers of sides. Scootaloo had discovered a new game, and was trying to teach it to her friends. It was a table-top, role-playing game called Creatures and Crusades.
In this game, they could create a character of any species, class and profession, as defined under the established rules. As these characters, they could explore a world, talk with other characters, go on quests, and encounter many creatures. The rules, mechanics and story were, thankfully, in a guide that Scootaloo had in front of her. She was acting as something called the "Crusade Master", but she was also playing her own character as well. It seemed really fun, and they were all eager to try it out. However, things were not going so well.
"What do you mean Ah' missed?" Apple Bloom complained. "It's magical dust that can go everywhere! How could Ah' have possibly missed?"
"I told you," Scootaloo sighed. "There are certain requirements for your attack to work, and the creature has a high resistance against magical attacks. You needed at least a 12 on your second roll, you got a total of 6. Basically, you missed!"
"Okay, fine!" Apple Bloom relented. "What are we fightin' again?"
"A wyrmling...it's a small dragon," Scootaloo added, noting the look of confusion on her friends' faces.
"So, like Spike then?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No!" The pegasus-filly exclaimed, wings buzzing in agitation.
"But he's a small dragon," Apple Bloom stated.
"It's not the same thing, trust me!" The stressful Scootaloo said.
Finally, Sweetie Belle chimed in. "Why can't I use the Thunderbolt spell again?"
"Because you already used all of your Thunderbolt spells!" Scootaloo said. "Once you use a spell, it cannot be re-used. You need to find more magical scrolls with that spell if you want to use it again."
"But magic doesn't work like that," Sweetie Belle stated. "Once you know a spell, it can always b—"
"It can always be used!" Scootaloo finished. "I know! That's just what the rules of the game say!"
"So, when did I use my last Thunderbolt spell?" Sweetie Belle squeaked.
Scootaloo face-hooved, "When you scared off that chupacabra."
"Chupacabraaaa."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked around for the strange, whispered voice that seemed to come from absolutely nowhere in particular. A mixture of confusion and terror were planted on their faces.
"The chupa-what now?" Apple Bloom finally asked.
"The mysterious vampire creature that was never seen and seemed to dissapear into the shadows whenever you looked for it," Scootaloo explained. "We encountered it in the desert of Trotsas."
"Oh," exclaimed both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in comprehension.
"Right," Scootaloo said, relieved that her friends at least understood this part of the game. "And for some reason, that...thing happens every time you say 'chupacabra'."
"ChupaCABraaaa."
"Weird," Apple Bloom concluded, Sweetie Belle nodding in agreement.
"So who's on first?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking at her stat cards.
"Exactly," Scootaloo replied. "And What is on second and I Don't Know, third."
"What?" Sweetie Belle squeaked.
"I...don't know," Scootaloo said, wondering for herself where that thought had even come from.
"Anyhow," Apple Bloom said, breaking the awkward silence. "This game is strange. Ah' mean, all of this stuff is already 'round us: the creatures an' magic objects. We even have ponies who can do magic. So what exactly is the point of this game?"
Scootaloo finally snapped.
"I DON'T KNOW!" she screamed, and then proceeded like a runaway train. "I just found a game a couple of weeks ago about fantasy, exploration, sword fights and stuff and thought that it would really cool to have my friends play but it can be really hard to get into and I decided to be the Crusade Master which is a difficult job and I wanted to play too but you're not supposed to do that since you will know all of the obstacles and encounters and what will and won't work but I thought it would be okay since I would be acting like a guide but that didn't work and the most important job for the Crusade Master is to make sure all of the other players have fun BUT I FAILED!"
Scootaloo's head hit the table and she buried it with her forelegs. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other and then back at their friend. She was clearly upset, though not quite to the verge of tears like the time she had given up all hope at flying during their flag routine tryouts for the Equestria Games. Concerned, they both knew they needed to do something to cheer her up.
"Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said, putting a hoof on her friends shoulder. "We were having fun."
"What?" Scootaloo asked, lifting her head up.
"Yeah," Apple Bloom agreed. "But it's like you said, it's a hard game ta' understand. Maybe we should take a break an' go to Sugercube Corner. We can try again another time, maybe with others who know what they're doing with this whole 'master' business. What do'yah' say?"
"Yeah, I'd like that," Scootaloo said, a smile forming on her face.
"Great!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Last one out of the clubhouse is wyrmling food!"
There was a mad scramble to descend the tree, all three fillies galloping towards town. Having eaten cupckaes to their hearts' content, they left the pastry shop. It was a beautiful day out, and the three fillies took a pleasurable stroll around town.
"So how did you get into that game anyways?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Well..." Scootaloo started nervously.
Just then, two colts ran up to them.
"Hey Scootaloo!" The short one, named Snips, said. "Are you coming to our C&C session tomorrow after school?"
"Yeah," the tall and lanky Snails added. "I get to be the Crusade Master this time."
"And Rumble will also be there," Snips added, with a slight tone that was trying to bait her.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle fell over, laughing like there was no tomorrow.
"WHAT?" Scootaloo demanded.
"That's how you got into the game?" Apple Bloom said in complete hysteria. "You have a crush on a colt who plays it too!"
Struggling for breath, Sweetie Belle sang, "Scootaloo and Rumble, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-"
"SHUT UP!" Scootaloo shouted, clearly blushing.
~~~