//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Recap and review 
// Story: The Equestria Diaries 
// by Istaran 
//------------------------------//

"So to review", Twilight began, "what do we know so far about this 'survival game'."

"We know there are twelve humans that were forced into as players. The phones apparently alert us to when one is eliminated, so we are down to ten. The phones also apparently need to be used to collect these QR codes. One was here in your library, which apparently has something to do with 'magic'. We know there are six altogether, so we are guessing they are connected to your Elements of Harmony. That would make the others 'honesty', 'kindness', 'loyalty', 'generosity' and 'laughter'. We know that phone reports starting locations of players that are eliminated, and one of the QR codes was in a player's starting location, so it's a good guess that all of the QR codes are in starting locations. There are twice as many humans as QR codes, so either there are duplicates out there or not every starting location has one. And lastly: if the 'survival game' follows human culture's meaning of the term, one player will need to get all six QR codes to win, and the rest are doomed. But if it follows Equestrian culture's meaning, then it will probably need at least six of us, each with a distinct QR code to somehow work together and activate them all." 

Twilight nodded as I finished my recap. "Right. So.. what will you do now?"

"I'm going to head to the badlands. My 'magic blood' should give me the protection I need, hopefully, and it sounds like a good place to do a little.. aggressive experimentation. I'll see what I can learn about Robert's fate, and look for a QR code in the area. I'll need to check out the dragon's lair eventually as well, but it sounds like there's more than one of those about and none of them are as easy to find on a map as the badlands is. Also, I feel like I have a long way to go before I'm ready to face off against a dragon in its own lair."

"Why would you need to face off against him? Or her?" Spike chimed in. "I mean, how would you feel if someone invaded your home just to attack you? Violence doesn't have to be the answer."

"That.. is a very relevant point. And probably points to Ben's failing as well. He probably felt he could take on the dragon, when that was the last thing he should have been even trying. I'll try to sort out a more.. diplomatic approach. Once I know which dragon and where its lair is, that is. In the meantime.. I need you and your friends to find Frank and bring him back here. I know things will be strained, but he needs friends now more than ever. And I may need him some day to activate one of these codes. Show him the one in the book when he gets here. Oh, and keep an ear out for word of any other humans. We should stand out enough to cause rumors to spread, I would hope. I don't suppose you have any magical way of reaching me?"

"I can send you letters with my breath" offered Spike, helpfully. I looked at him with a raised brow. That just didn't make any damn sense. "I can!" he insisted.

"Okay. Tell me what you learn. I can also communicate through the spider Frank took, at least when it's in range. I'll send word that way when I have updates. And now.. I really should get going."

"Alright, Daniel. Be safe!" Twilight bid me as I made for the door.

When I opened the door, however, a certain pink pony was waiting to ambush me. I ducked and covered as the bazooka was aimed in my direction. Colorful streamers bounced harmlessly off my back as the sounds of kazoos summoned a herd of technicolor equines. "Happy So-Glad-You-Miraculously-Didn't-Die Party, Daniel!" Pinkie shouted at the top of her lungs. Everypony cheered. In all fairness, I was quite happy about not dying.

"I am afraid I must amend the subject of the party, however."

"You wouldn't dare!" Threatened Pinkie.

"But I must, as this must also serve as my going away party." I cringed under her stare. "Until later when I come back and have a welcome back?"

"YAY!" I was quite relieved that she accepted it so easily, and also that there was a generous buffet to prepare me for my journey. I was a bit surprised to see that the bouquets on the table were apparently part of the buffet rather than the centerpieces I had mistaken them for. Fortunately, the ponies took no offense at my passing over that particular delicacy, and focussing on things like apples.

"So.. what was all that earlier with the black and grey decorations?" I asked when I had had a bit to eat and had gathered my nerves.

"Oh, that was for your funeral party. I just had to get them out of the Party Cannon to load up more appropriate decorations, of course."

"Of course."

The party was nice enough, but I had never been a big fan of parties and barely knew anypony there. So when I had eaten my fill, I thanked Pinkie, said my goodbyes to Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight, and took my leave. I noted idly that Applejack was nowhere to be seen. 





The open road was lonely, but it gave a lot of time for introspection. And reading. I had an entire library in my head, or more accurately my blood, and finally had time to try to internalize the information. The information on history was interesting and informative, but most of it had questionable application to me at best. The few mentions of past 'survival games' in Equestria were brutal despite the authors' attempts to describe them as vaguely as possible. Apparently they were used by despots on occasion as a matter of sport, challenging groups of ponies to survive impossible odds together. They often liked to through in individuals with existing feuds against one another to mix things up and make teamwork that much more challenging. 

The information on magic was incredibly interesting. Tantalizing, but quite frustrating. It was written by unicorns, for unicorns, and it showed. The few works that even tried to go 'back to basics' in even side notes always did so by referencing the horn. You should push more power into the outside of the horn for this spell, less for that, or vary it to achieve different effects with this other spell. Without the experience of actually having a horn, there was no way to begin to apply the knowledge. That said, reading through it did give a good idea of what pony magic could and could not do. It started to feel less like an all-purpose handwave and more like a well defined aspect of reality. Or 'sufficiently advanced technology'. 

[<Hey, magic blood.>] I thought.

[<Yes, meat sack?>] Deus replied. 

[<I know you have some inherent magic in your design, but can you do other kinds of magic? Is there any way you could do any of the magic we read about in Twilight's library?>]

[<As a minimum, I would need to connect to the mind of a magic user, like I have connected to your mind. I would not need to 'talk' to them, necessarily, but I would need some degree of cooperation from them. And because I cannot coexist with their immune system, I would need to either become a permanent aspect of their body or leave them with a probably fatal, though not necessarily permanent, case of autoimmune deficiency. Then I might possibly be able to gather enough data about first hand experience of magic use to begin to experiment with building a magical device that can emulate a particular spell. If that is successful, it may be possible to create a more generalized magic-use device.>]

[<So.. in other words I would need to do something drastic and possibly deadly to a cooperative magic user to have a hope of maybe possibly getting you to do magic with enough preparation?>]

[<That is an accurate summation. I would like to stress that even if you meet this prerequisite, I cannot promise success. This may simply be impossible or outside of my capabilities. The ability to manipulate matter on a subatomic level does not necessarily imply the ability to manipulate magic outside of the specific magic that is a part of my core functionality. Your previous plan of making lasers is much closer to being a sure thing. At least in that case we know it is a thing that can be done.>]

With my thoughts occupied, I barely registered an earth pony approaching along the road ahead. His eyes were shadowed under a broad brimmed hat which kept me from seeing his face from my tall vantage point, but he didn't give any obvious reaction on my approach. The moment I was passed him, however, he made it very clear that he had noticed me. A powerful pair of hind hooves slammed into my back, sending me flying forward. I tried to land on all fours, but underestimated my momentum and skidded painfully along the ground. As I turned and pulled myself up, I caught a green glint in the eyes of my assailant as he appraised me. He had no words for me as he charged in to follow up on his first attack. 

Adrenaline surging through my system, this time at a more manageable level than when I had faced the Manticore, I rushed forward, then spun off to the side as he reared up and tried to lash at me with his fore hooves. A kick of my own landed squarely in his side, knocking him over but not looking like it had done much damage. Not believing he deserved any particular 'fair play' considerations after his unprovoked attack, I rushed in to try to kick him while he was down. 

Green light flooded my vision, blinding me momentarily, followed by a thick cloud of dust. I covered my eyes, trying to keep aware of my situation as best I could. Flapping wings and disturbed air.. followed by a sharp hoof to the head. I was down on the ground, bleeding from a gash on my temple before I caught sight of him again. Somehow he had grown wings! This was no ordinary pony.. a changeling? Funny. I guess they were non-specific enough to retain my memories about the show. But why the unsubtle hostility? 

"Why are you attacking me?" If he could be unsubtle, so could I.

"This is for our Queen!" He said as he winded me with a hoof to the gut. "This is for our hive!" he said as he shoved me against a tree. "And this is for my brother!" he said as he brought a pair of hooves down on my head. At least I got him to talk. Too bad I was too out of it to continue the conversation.