//------------------------------// // End of The Line // Story: Playing With Fire // by Orion97 //------------------------------// Anders and I spent hours catching up while Fleetfoot and Vinyl talked about...whatever mares talk about when the guys aren't around I suppose. Anders gave me a brief tour and explained how things had been going with him the past few weeks, adding the fact that he and Vinyl have apparently been a couple for a few days now while I told him of my experience the past few days. I told him that as it happened, Fleetfoot and I had started going out only this morning. We were discussing the likelihood of more people arriving when Vinyl and Fleetfoot approached us with eager grins. Vinyl's horn was glowing and she appeared to be holding something behind her back. "So..." Vinyl began. "How do you boys feel about role-playing?" I noticed a bead of sweat quickly form on Ander's brow and he was clearly a little nervous. "Umm...are you sure? I mean with all four of us it would be a bit much but if you guys want to I suppose..." I glanced at him while Vinyl gave him a puzzled look. "Huh? I mean you guys interested in playing "Dungeons & Hydras?" Vinyl said, revealing a stack of nerdy books and maps, characters and other miscellaneous items. I nearly burst out laughing while Anders sighed in relief. "I mean sure!" He recovered quickly. "Great, we'll go set it up in the corner real quick." She said, turning around with Fleetfoot and going to the other side of the building. With them gone I patted Anders on the shoulder and laughed. "Someone's got a dirty mind!" "Shut up!" He responded. His cheeks were already beet red. "Oh relax. Hey remember that time you tried to hook up with that girl we played D&D with?" "James..." "You tried asking her if she wanted to role-play in the bedroom." I said, barely containing another laugh. "Also worth noting we later found out you accidentally gave me an alcoholic drink rather than the apple cider I asked for and that was after 3 full cups. And just for that I'm going to tell them the result of the date you went on with Jessica." My expression instantly turned serious. "You wouldn't dare." "That so?" He grinned mischievously. "Hey guys! We're ready! Get over here!" Fleetfoot called over to us from the table they were set up at. We approached while I kept my eyes on Anders, ready to strangle him if he spilled the beans. "Oh wow. This looks just like when we played Dungeons & Dragons back home! I'll be Cleric!" Anders said excitedly. "What about you, James?" Fleetfoot said, looking up from the rule-book. "I'll be Ranger." "Cool. I'll be DM." Vinyl said. "And I think I'll go Paladin." Fleetfoot declared. After Vinyl gave us some background info on the campaign she'd be starting us on the rest of us finished picking races. I chose to be a storm dragon while Anders went Gryphon. Fleetfoot chose a Thestral for her own character. Vinyl cut to the point fairly quickly and started us off at the entrance of some dungeon filled with goblins. We used some strategies suggested by Fleetfoot, which I'm almost ashamed to admit, trumped even extensive D&D experience. All was well until we came up to the final chamber and the massive hydra within. Anders fought valiantly but was quickly devoured by the hydra, leaving Fleetfoot and I hopelessly outmatched and without a healer as well. I tried to maintain a distance and fire arrows into it while she kept the beast's attention. "Fleets! Got anything you can use against it?" I asked nervously while Vinyl demonstrated her eerily well-perfected evil laugh. "Foolish mortals! I will enjoy the taste of your flesh!" Vinyl said in a voice that one would imagine an evil hydra might have. Eventually the hydra cornered Fleetfoot's Paladin and I after funneling us in by collapsing specific pillars. I could risk an opportunity attack but Fleetfoot's character was more unlikely to because of the heavy armor slowing her down. I hated to do it but it was my only chance. I made a mad dash past the Hydra's left flank, narrowly missing the opportunity attack while Fleetfoot tried to hunker down behind her shield. "Gah! You jackass!" She cried out. "Sorry, best of luck!" As I said that Fleetfoot located a sock she discovered caught in the stack of books and threw it at my head. The impact didn't hurt but the smell could have stunned a charging bull. I looked at Anders as if he had just tried to murder me. "What? Vinyl's friend offered to make me some socks but until then I've only had those." He said with a shrug. Apparently I wasn't the only one that could detect the stench and I saw Vinyl take the sock in her magic and try to burn it. "I'm sorry dear but this might kill someone." She said as the small flame quickly consumed the sock before dousing the flame. Anders gave a small pout. I knew that he usually liked to wear socks whenever he was indoors because he said his feet tend to get cold easily. After the sock of death was safely incinerated we resumed the game in which I was running for my life and Fleetfoot was about to get eaten by the hydra. That was when Vinyl rolled the number that would be the final nail in the coffin. The feared twenty. The critical hit was more than she could take and poor Fleetfoot was soon eaten by the monstrous hydra, leaving me standing on the other side of the chamber. I was next on the menu. "Come on man, you can do it." Anders encouraged. "You let me die! I'm gonna laugh when it eats you." She stuck her tongue out in a mock pout. My character's high speed was the only reason I wasn't a pile of bones yet though not many of my attacks were going to beat the hydra's daunting armor class. Then I asked Vinyl about the condition of the ceiling and began to hatch a plan. She said that it was weak from the already collapsed pillars and the center of the chamber was especially fragile. She cocked an eyebrow at me, rightfully suspecting what I had caught onto. Vinyl was no longer holding back as she used the hydra every way she could to try and kill me. I made it to one of the three remaining pillars and made a strength check against the unsteady beam. Vinyl rolled some dice and declared the pillar knocked over. She described the rumbling noise the ceiling would make and resumed running the hydra against me. I repeated the process for pillar two and the ceiling further destabilized. It all came down to the wire as I charged to the final pillar with the angry hydra hot on my heels. I hastily attempted to knock down the pillar as the hydra attacked. My hit points swiftly dropped down to the a single digit but I managed to knock down the pillar. Vinyl described the ceiling collapsing and the entire room more than a few feet from the sides became buried in a small mountain of rubble with hydra underneath. Vinyl described my character glimpsing a tail flailing in vain before finally going limp. Against all odds, the hydra was dead. Anders congratulated my victory and Vinyl did as well while Fleetfoot quietly let out a huff of disappointment but was smiling again only moments later. "I was wondering if any of you would catch on!" Vinyl announced as she began wrapping up the game for now. Anders gave her a puzzled look. "I thought you guys would get the idea when I started knocking over pillars but only James got it and by then the rest of you were hydra chow." I grinned a little while Anders and Fleetfoot tried to protest that they would have figured it out if they had the same amount of time I did before they got torn apart. After a moment I heard the protests die down and Anders whisper to Vinyl before picking up heading to the front door, picking up a bag set beside it. "Hey um...sorry to cut this short but there's this...thing I need to go to. I'll be back later tonight." I rose out of my chair before he opened the door, remembering what Nova had asked of me. "Anders." "Yeah?" "We know where you're going, don't worry." "I...don't know what you mean." He said as he avoided my gaze. "We saw Nova on the way here. She was interested when she saw me and asked me to accompany you tonight when you went to visit." "Oh...well then we'd best hurry. It's already getting dark and the way gets dangerous at night. I have the only torch so stick by me...and watch out for slopes and cliffs. It might rain later and it gets slippery." He said in a serious tone. "See you guys later!" I called to Fleetfoot and Vinyl. Fleetfoot seemed a little concerned by his warning and insisted on a quick hug before we left. I braced myself as she ran up and threw her hooves around my neck. "Be safe you two." She said, turning her head up to look me in the eyes. It felt like every time her bright and serene eyes met mine my heart stopped. A jeweler's masterpiece couldn't hold a candle to the gems I saw right now. It was unfortunate that it had to be cut short when Fleetfoot reluctantly backed away towards Vinyl so we could leave. "You too, Fleets. We'll be fine." I smiled. "Take care Anders!" Vinyl called as we were walking out the door. Anders likewise returned a farewell. Anders led us through the central part of the city during the day's twilight hours. Eventually the building grew smaller and farther apart until we neared one of the far walls of the city. "So...you met any of the princesses yet?" He asked with an eager grin as we departed through the gate. "Nah. I got here Tuesday and there was a letter sent out for me to meet Princess Celestia on Friday but some things happened and I figured maybe we could just visit the castle? Isn't that where she lives?" "Yeah, well best of luck with that." "How was your first meeting with her?" Anders gave a chuckle. "Awkward. As. Hell." "How so?" "I'll tell you later. You'll get a good laugh out of it...Vinyl sure did." "Oh, ok. How much further is it anyway?" "A while. Hold up one sec." He said as we neared a large bush just outside the edge of the city. He dug into it and pulled out a mace. He passed it to me to hold on to while he lit the torch. We continued under the darkening skies with him bearing a torch up front and I wielding a mace in back. I inspected it and quickly realized it was the real deal. "Um...Anders...what's the mace for?" "First time I went this way Timber Wolves tried to kill me." "Oh...sounds fun." I remarked sarcastically. "I mean actual wolves made of timber. They're animated by magic or something. Still eat meat for some reason." "Do you ever wonder if we're really here and not just on one hell of an acid trip or something?" "...maybe." We continued talking as we made our way along the convoluted path that led to where Nova lived. The journey was uneventful, the destination however, was not. Eventually we neared the mouth of a large, dark cave. "NOVA! I'm here with James!" He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted into the cave. A deep groan echoed back from something within and the cold torches that had been resting on the cave walls burst to life. From deeper within I watched a massive blue creature approach. Anders doused his own torch and encouraged me to set down the mace. "Can't you be late for once? I was almost convinced I had enough time for a nap..." The dragon approached, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She came to a stop only a short distance in front of us and I got a true idea of just how impressive she was. As well as the primal urge to run away screaming like a little bitch. Apparently my mute terror was noticed. "Oh hello again, James. As always, nice to see you Anders. Can you wake him up? I think I broke him." "Oh crap. Yo, James, wake up." "Huh? Oh yeah. Please don't eat me." I said nervously to the she-dragon looking at me. "Then don't look so delicious." She grinned. "Relax, she's joking." Anders said with a wave of his hand. "Buzzkill." She huffed. "Anyway it's time I told you the real reason you're here. Anders. Demonstrate." He backed a short distance away from me and closed his eyes. He held out his hands and seemed to be focusing intently and just as I wondered why a crimson ball of fire appeared in each hand. I watched in silent awe as he began to artfully maneuver the flames around him, going to far as to make the illusion of having fiery wings. He opened his eyes to look at me and I was shocked to see that even his eyes appeared as if they had a small flame coming from them. Nova smiled and spoke in a soft but excited voice while Anders further demonstrated his abilities. "We are going to teach you how to use magic.." She held up a claw in front of me and a larger ball of fire appeared before she snuffed it out by closing her talons. We had spent the past three hours with Nova giving me a crash course in the use of magic. Only at the very end was I even able to cast anything and when I did I accidentally launched myself into the stone wall. After Nova peeled me off the floor she decided to call it a day so I could soak in what I learned. It wasn't as exciting as I expected initially but by the end I was ecstatic. I had just used magic! ...even if it almost gave me a concussion. We gave our farewells and before long I was holding the mace with Anders carrying the torch. Only on the way back of course did it begin to rain. The rain wasn't so bad at first but it only grew heavier and it doused the torch before long, leaving us to trek carefully through the dark. Soon it almost seemed like the ocean was raining down upon us. "Anders! I'm soaked to the bone over here! Can you use some of that fire magic you did?" I said loudly, the rain was deafening and I could barely hear myself think let alone speak. "It's a complete downpour and you think I can use fire right now?" "I don't know! You still know the way through this?" "Yeah but it'll take longer! Just watch your step! "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry I-WOAH!" I tried to wave him off but as I did I lost my footing. As I began to lose balance Anders was quick to grab my arm and pull me back towards him safely. "What did I say!?" He shouted. "Oh...shit man...thank you." Was all I could say in between ragged breaths. "Yeah...well, just be more careful please." He said almost inaudibly with the heavy noise of rain all around. We walked together in silence until we began to hear the troubling sound of thunder. It was very loud and sounded far, far too close for comfort. Anders stopped for a moment and my blood ran cold as I heard it rumble like a great beast. "MOVE! We need to get to the city now!" He shouted. He ran but he kept low to keep his center of gravity close to the ground and to make himself a slightly less likely target. I emulated him and we picked up our pace. All of a sudden I heard the ground only thirty feet behind us explode as it was struck by a fierce bolt of lightning. The sound was deafening beyond comparison and it served to double our pace. My heart beat like a mad drum and every hair on my neck stood up. Once more a streak of lightning erupted from the sky, this time it was further up the mountain. I thought little of it until rocks began to tumble down towards us. "Look out!" He quickly pointed to a rock that was sailing towards me from the ledge overhead. I ducked in time to avoid it but I only narrowly missed the one that sailed right past my chest as I did. We dodged the rocks and debris that came our way until it stopped at last. At last the lights of the city appeared in the edge of my vision but in my heart something felt wrong, somehow as if it wasn't to be. Then time just seemed to slow down. Anders was a short distance in front of me when I heard something crack the sky. The darkness was ripped asunder as a great arc of electricity struck just a few steps away from me on my right. The ground immediately around it exploded in a mess of disturbed soil and I recoiled away. I slipped and began to fall. Time felt like it came to a screeching halt. I saw everything. I saw the dirt still flying up and the look of pure horror as Anders looked back at the fate I was about to meet. I watched him spin on his heel in record time but I knew he'd never make it. I was falling down towards the mountain and whatever was hidden under the blanket of darkness. As I fell further I now noticed him prone over the edge reaching out towards me, his mouth looked as if it was moving in slow-motion, screaming my name. I tried to look behind down, but I saw nothing. I tried to say something to him but I'm not sure if he heard me say it. "I'm so sorry..." Was all I could think to say. Is this what everyone feels like? The moment they are about to die, does the world slow down just for them to torture them with a fate that has already been sealed? The last thing I saw was the broken look in Ander's eyes before my world went dark.