//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Oubliettes and Ogres // Story: Where did you come from? // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Cheerilee sighed as she pushed open the door of her room. To her amazement, there was only one pony standing guard. She looked around in confusion. “Where is everypony?” The pegasus gave a sheepish grin. “Still on patrol. A few of the guards went missing last night and they're combing the Everfree forest.” He gave another soft sigh. “We warned them to try and stay above the trees whenever able, but I'm guessing they ignored it. They're probably halfway to Dodge City by now. Those trees are a maze.” He then smiled. “Worry not, though. There have been no more signs of those spiders.” She chuckled and gave a nod. She'd heard of that happening on more than one occasion. The Everfree Forest was not the kind of place you wanted to go in without a guide. At least not far. They'd probably turn up in a week, dirty and tired. “A package arrived for you, from the princess.” The pegasus motioned towards a nearby mini table holding a vase and an envelope. The teacher grinned and trotted over, pulling it open and then letting out a gasp. “Finally! About time!” She giggled happily. “Err, ma'am?” the guard asked softly. “What? Oh! It's the therapist I requested. Apparently a specialist in these kinds of situations. Twilight was able to expedite it. Val will finally get the help he needs!” The guard nodded. “Oh! That's wonderful!” He then glanced towards the door. “Should we waken him?” “What? No. Let him sleep a bit longer. The therapist won't be here until noon, anyway.” She then glanced towards the door and smiled. Well... it would just be for a little bit. “Can you keep an eye on him for about half an hour? I doubt he'll wake up, but just in case?” “Ma'am, you shouldn't be leaving,” he said firmly, stomping a hoof down. “I just need to grab some books from home, I'll be fine. If Val wakes up and you can't handle him... well... get Flash. He seems... mildly talented at keeping Val from destroying things.” Quite the good talent, all things considered. He hadn't been lit on fire, yet. “I'll be back before you know it. If he's hungry, feel free to feed him whatever's available. Thank you.” The guard watched the mare leave, frowning. He didn't like this one bit. What if something happened while she was gone? Like the child awakening? He'd heard the stories of fire and brimstone! He liked having feathers, but they weren't fire proof! ------ “Ooohhhhhhh!” a voice said, startling Rarity awake. She looked up in bleary eyed confusion at the wide, grinning faces of her sister, cousin, aunt, uncle and... whatever Claw was. Son/nephew/possibly? Why in Equestria were they all grinning like Opal after she found where the cat treats were stored? Then she felt something warm and hard held tightly in her hooves. She looked down at the sleeping form of Spike and her cheeks turned almost solid red. “I-it's not what it looks like!” she shrieked, flailing so hard she managed to send both of them toppling off the couch, tangled in their blankets. “What? Huh? What's goin' on?” Spike asked drearily as he looked around, trying to fight back against the entangling mess. All their struggles did was make their audience laugh harder. Finally Rarity gave up and stopped. Her horn glowed and, slowly, the blanket untangled and lifted into the air, dropping them both out of it. She then jumped to her hooves and stared, her cheeks bright red. There had to be some way to shake this off. No. No there was not. Oh, the shame, the embarrassment, the-- “I had a nightmare,” Spike said valiantly. “Rarity was just trying to help me sleep.” Rarity paused, the grogginess in her stiff mind grasping onto that notion. Yes, a nightmare. She was merely comforting him and trying to keep the poor dear from... what? She looked down at him. And realized far too often she had looked down ON him. Her horn glowed and she pulled him close, a hoof going over his side. “No, he didn't. Last night we slept soundly together, cuddled in each other's hooves. And, well, claws. I've decided to pursue a relationship, a very slow, gently paced relationship until he ages a bit more, with Spike.” “I knew it!” Sweetie said excitedly. “I knew he had a crush on you!” Rarity chuckled. Poor Spike, his desires hadn't even been hidden from her younger sister, one of the more naive ponies she knew. Her aunt just grinned knowingly, before trotting towards the kitchen. “Well, I suppose I'd best get started on breakfast then. Rare, please come help me.” Her husband obeyed obediently. Rarity sighed, her cheeks still burning. Fine, he was going to be her special somepony. Yet it didn't make them being found all... snuggly together, any less embarrassing. She let out a shriek as Claw lunged. “Mommy! Daddy!” The sheer force of the lunge brought both of them down on their backs, against the couch. None the less, she couldn't help but giggle as she hugged their child. Soon enough the other's joined in as well and laughter filled the house. ------ Cheerilee hummed softly as she trotted back towards the castle, her saddlebag filled with her books, papers, some pens and a whole bag of dice. She had more than enough to run a little game. There were eight kids over yesterday, so she could make eight characters and just give them out to the kids. Maybe a few backups, too. With so many of them, she knew they wouldn't get far, but at least they'd probably have fun in a little make believe. She could just dust off one of her old game stories and play them through it. Trying to tame a cockatrice was always an amusing way to start a game. The castle came into view and she let out a sigh of relief. No smoke, no screams, just the single guard outside giving her a wave. He pulled the door open and she trotted inside. “See, the big problem with your deck is that you don't have anything to do during the early game. It doesn't matter how good your late game is, if you don't have anything at the beginning,” she heard Flash's voice coming down the hall from the dining hall. She frowned and slowly inched forward. “But I want all the big dragons!” Val whined, making her roll her eyes. “Of course. But think of it like a real battle. As powerful as the big units are, they can take time to ready. You need protection for them, too. Otherwise they get hurt or something bad happens to them, then what?” She peeped into the room and Flash was at the table, the cards spread out all over it. “Well... I guess I did get overwhelmed a lot...” Val muttered. “Exactly. Now, I'm not saying big creatures are bad, creatures are awesome. But you need to have the little ones to back them up and support. Without them, you lose too quickly. They're a lot easier to play, too. For the price of just one of your big creatures, you can play three of the little ones.” “Yeah, but one of the big ones is stronger than all three of the little ones.” “But all three of the little ones can attack at once. And when they are defeated, they can make your others stronger.” Cheerilee smiled as she watched them. Val looked so focused, watching the cards and rubbing his chin, trying to understand everything being told to him. He seemed focused and determined. As if... she then rolled her eyes. He probably just wanted to crush all of his friends and hear their laments. Such a competitive child. She wondered if it was like that back home, did he always fight with his siblings? Did he even have siblings? No, wait. She remembered him mentioning a few, sisters. He didn't talk about them much. He mostly just talked about his mother, the horrible, evil woman. She could barely believe in any dimension somepony like that could exist. She'd... heard stories of ponies who didn't love their children, who even disliked them, but that had always struck her as odd. She completely understood not being able to take care of one's child, but that was why there were orphanages, as sad as it was to say. And she definitely understood ponies who didn't want to have children at all. She'd never been one, though. She'd hoped to have children one day, though she hadn't expected it to happen in a situation like this. Even temporarily. But for a pony to so adamantly despise their child, to treat them the way he said she treated him? To torture and abuse ones own child? How could somepony be so cruel? A world like that... how many other children like Val were in similar situations? “And then, you go, 'The greatest conjurer to ever live, I summon Starswirl the bearded to vanquish my foes!” Flash yelled before slamming the card down. “Let the magic of eons flow!” She rolled her eyes. Val just stared. “Wow. You're like... so lame. You're like mega lame. Like... if lame had a marriage with awkward and they had a kid, that would be you.” The pegasus' cheeks turned bright red. “I-I didn't... they never... i-it was really cool when they did it on the show!” Flash objected, looking down. “Wow, really? I find that very hard to believe. Did they do anything else on this... show?” He nudged the table slightly. “Card games on chariots...” “Wait, what?” “In the show, they fought the cards while riding chariots.” Val's eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh that sounds awesome! I wanna see this!” Flash blinked and then puffed up. “Well, I do have the entire first season. Not the chariots one, but the other ones.” “Wow...” Cheerilee sighed and shook her head. At least Flash was... a slightly good influence on him. Val was more interested in winning pretend wars than winning ACTUAL wars. That was progress. In a way. And at least it seemed mostly harmless. “Okay, so... Destroyer of worlds and eater of ponys! I summon Ragnarok, king of the dragons!” Val threw the card down. Mostly harmless. “Good, you've got it down! You can do it for the other monsters, too. Develop attack names. Like I like to go 'Laser beam scepter attack!'” “Ohhhh,” Val said, grinning. “Super laser beam fiery breath inferno attack!” “Good, good, you've got it!” Maybe not so much mostly harmless. She pushed open the door and stepped inside. “Hello Flash, Val. Teaching him about the cards I see.” The stallion eeped, looking to the side. “How... much of that did you see?” “Enough.” Flash gave a meek smile and poked his hooves together. “D-don't tell anypony?” She watched him for a few moments, letting him quiver in worry, before smiling. “Of course not. Val, I have some news.” “Ohhhh, what is it?” Val asked, before eying the bags. “Did you get the game?” “Yes, I did. But that's not all. Your therapist is going to be here tonight to meet you.” He blinked a few times, before staring up at her. “Wait, what?” She gave a small sigh and sat by him, reaching out to pat his back. “A social worker. Her name is Sunflower and she--” “Wait, you want me to take a pony named Sunflower seriously? Next you're going to tell me there's a pony named Rainbow.” “Rainbow Dash actually. And I think you'd like her,” Cheerilee said with a sigh. “And yes, I do. She's a professional and she should be here around noon. Please show her respect and... you'll be able to talk with her about anything. Trust me.” Val blinked a few times, before glaring. “I don't like it...” She sighed(she wondered if eventually she'd run out of them?) and resorted to her number one tactic when it came to Val. Bribery. She dumped her bags on the table and she saw his face light up at the pictures of griffons and such on the covers. “If you're good and behaved, we can play this game today. Okay?” He stared for a moment, looked contemplative and then nodded. “Fine. But I doubt she'll be any good. Any pony named Sunpansy can't be that useful.” “Sunflower. And we'll see,” Cheerilee said before sitting down and spreading out the books. She then glanced up. “Flash? Is something wrong?” “Is that the first edition set?” Flash asked with wide eyes. “I didn't even know they made those anymore. I haven't seen one since I was a colt.” She nodded. “Yes, I used to be quite the little player of these games when I was in school. A fan?” He nodded. “A little. Though I honestly preferred fourth edition the most.” She blinked and stared, before rolling her eyes. “Flash... Fourth was... nevermind.” She rolled her eyes and opened the books. No wonder nopony seemed to like him. ------ Cheerilee gulped nervously as she paced just inside the castle. The mare would be here any moment and then Val would finally get the help he needed. Ohhhh, she could hardly wait. She hoped Sunflower was able to help him. What if she wasn't? What if he was beyond help? What if they decided he was to be sent back? Wait, what? That was nonsense. She was just a therapist, she had no power to send the child back. Even if she did, she couldn't see anypony being so cruel. The mare was here to help, not destroy the poor child's future. She took a slow, deep breath and shook her head. “Why are you so nervous? I'm the one meeting with some kind of psycho,” Val grumbled. “I told you, therapist. It's just somepony you talk your problems out with,” Cheerilee said with a smile. “You'll like it if you give her a chance. I promise.” He sighed and nudged the ground a few times. Both looked up expectantly as the main door opened. The guard moved aside and a pale earth pony mare stood in the doorway, smiling at them. She had a small saddlebag, though it was practically bursting with papers. “Ah, you must be Miss Cheerilee and Val.” The teacher sighed. Was her name now officially Miss Cheerilee? Had Twilight told her to call her that? Either way, she quickly smiled. “Yes. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sunflower. Val, this is the therapist I mentioned.” Val glared up at her. “Your name is stupid.” Sunflower merely chuckled as she walked forward. “Now, I'm afraid I'm not quite a therapist. I'm actually a member of the FPS, or foal protective services.” This made Cheerilee's mane stand on end. “Considering the stories the princess told, I was determined to have the most experience with situations of this kind of abuse. I do fall under the category of therapist, but only very broadly. I consider myself more of a Psychologist.” Cheerilee nodded. “I... see.” She was afraid to say it, but she wasn't quite sure what the difference was. She was a little wary of the pony being from the FPS. Was she under investigation? The mare merely smiled comfortingly. “I'm sorry if my form of employment worries you, but I assure you that you are not under investigation. With your report and the princess', it was tagged as a clear sign of abuse and I was merely chosen as the mare with the most experience in such cases.” Cheerilee nodded. “I... wasn't aware that there were... those kinds of problems in Ponyville.” She nodded. “In most cases, there aren't. Mostly just false alarms. But we can never be too careful, now can we?” She gave a small smile, but something about it just didn't seem right to Cheerilee. It seemed like... a very sad smile. “Well, anyway. Could you fill out some paperwork for me? Once that's done, I'd like to begin.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a few forms, before handing them to the teacher. Cheerilee nodded and trotted off, sitting at a nearby table as she filled them out as best she could, occasionally having to ask Val questions. Apparently he was allergic to poison. As helpful as that was. ------ Cheerilee paced back and forth outside the room, occasionally looking up at it. They'd been in there for well over two hours, almost three now. How much longer could they possibly be? She knew he needed help, but this was only the first appointment. The door opened and Sunflower appeared in it, stepping out and lightly closing the door behind herself. To Cheerilee's joy, the mare wasn't glaring. She also wasn't smoking, singed, or showing any other signs of attempted incineration. A record after spending two hours with Val. She didn't even have steam coming out of her ears. Though she did appear somewhat paler, though the teacher figured it was probably her imagination. Sunflower trotted over and offered a hoof, smiling kindly. She didn't say anything as they shook hooves, which concerned her. "So...uh. How did it...go?" Cheerilee finally asked, breaking the silence. The pale yellow mare seemed to consider the question for a moment. "I'm afraid that I will not be able to continue sessions such as this with your child, ma'am," she said, and Cheerilee slumped slightly. Partly because he had been called her child, but mostly because of the negative response. "I'm afraid he's simply too...." She trailed off thoughtfully. "Alien for me to establish any proper boundaries or points of reference with. Frankly, and I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think you'll find any foal specialist psychologists, or more general foal protective services members such as myself, who will be able to. Even willing to. I will try, but I make no promises." Cheerilee felt a cold stab of dread through her. “So there's... nopony who can help him? But... he needs it.” Sunflower shook her head. "Ma'am, I'm not saying its impossible to help him. You're just going to have to think... outside of the box to find the proper person to provide the necessary assistance. Somepony with experience in such... things. His case is just... so severe and... I wouldn't know where to begin. With his psychology I could even end up doing more damage than good. His mind is just far too alien to anything I've experienced.” Cherilee nodded and then watched helplessly as the mare turned to leave. Who could help, then? If not a professional? The princesses? Perhaps somepony from another dimension? Perhaps her? ------ Sunflower stepped outside and paused as the door clicked shut behind her. She looked round for a moment, enjoying the crisp, cool air, before she shuddered. "Nope. Nope. No. No no, nope. Freaking... creepy demon child. Not qualified for it. Nope." She gave another shudder before walking off. And here she'd thought she'd seen it all. ------ “That was kind of fun,” Val said with a grin as he sat apart from Cheerilee. “You should have seen the color drain from her face.” He paused and looked up. “Though... I think I sang at one point about the slaughtering of some of the clans. I don't know what that was about. I don't sing.” “That would be another spell cast by the princesses,” Cheerilee said softly as she watched him. “Wait, what? How does that work?” “I'm not sure on the specifications, but it's a very ancient spell that apparently the princesses cast many millennia ago. It makes it so ponies can sing and work in harmony. It is also set so only the ponies in the song can hear it, or those they want to hear it can. So no accidentally hearing it.” She smiled none the less. She wondered how many colts and fillies would be caught cheating on tests in unison, if not for that last attachment. “I'm not sure why it works like that.” ------ Luna hummed softly as she gently trotted through the miles and miles of the song chamber, a long chamber hidden away deep under Canterlot housing millions, possibly billions of song orbs of every single song ever sung in Equestria. So many songs in just the few millennia they'd had the spell up. Songs of sadness, of happiness. Sorrow and bliss. Some even raunchy enough to make her and her sister's horns blush. A small hint of sadness filled her as she thought of why they had originally created this spell. In some ways, it had been a weapon. Ponies worked together better during these songs, could solve all kinds of problems. If war were to ever come, the extra ability and unity it would create would be extremely useful. But more than anything, it was a testament. That each and every one of these ponies had lived. Each song a moment in their lives that they had, at least on a subconscious level, wanted to capture. She and her sister never, ever watched any of them while a pony was still alive. But when a pony was gone and the songs of their lives were played over again, they could often catch a dazzling picture of what kind of pony they were. A song was a perfect glimpse into their souls in many cases. She stopped outside one of the first songs and shuddered. She remembered that one all too well. A pony had broke into song about their intended... conquest of the princesses. In front of them. She still remembered the look of horror on the poor pony's face as the song had overtaken him. They'd barely, just barely been able to mute him in time to avoid a full court humiliation, but after that they'd made sure to add a silence enchantment to it, so only ponies they wanted to hear it could hear it. Stars knew she'd broken out into enough songs in her time that she'd rather ponies around her didn't know. She snickered softly as she thought of the time a few weeks back when she and her sister had broke into a dazzling duet about the annoying nobles and their attempts to curry favor at the expense of their peers. Especially her solo where she displayed a desire to buck one of the more annoying ones off the tower and into a lake. Perhaps one of the greatest uses of these song orbs, however, was their historical value. She gripped one by Starswirl the bearded in her magic, hovering it up. She stared at it a few moments before trotting upstairs. Perhaps this would be what they needed in order to better understand the crisis before them. ------ “Probably just some after effect of the spell, I suppose,” Cheerilee said with a shrug. “Just how many enchantments do your princesses have set up throughout their country?” Val asked, sounding just a tad awed. “Oh, I know of at least a dozen. Most are minor, but I think the song one is one of the more powerful. I hear its due to how much magic the land has naturally, it makes placing enchantments over everything in the land far easier.” He nodded slowly. “So... when am I meeting her again?” Cheerilee sighed. Now came the hard part. “She... won't be meeting you again.” Now came the disappointment. “Wait, really? Sweet!” “... You're not upset?” “Why would I be upset? I just met her. Why would I want to talk with her about this stuff?” Cheerilee nodded. “I... see. Do you want to talk with me about these things?” There was a few moments of silence before, slowly, he nodded. “I'd rather talk with you about them, than anypony else.” She nodded and smiled. In the end, she imagined she'd need some therapy of her own. But, for him, she thought it would be worth it. She shuddered slightly. She really was starting to feel like his mother. ------ The color had almost completely drained from her face by the time she heard the knock on the door. “Lady Cheerilee? The child's friends have arrived,” the guard called. “O-okay. W-we'll... we'll m-meet them in the... in the library,” she squeaked out. She stared at Val, more horrors racing through her mind. How was he able to do that? Just say all those... those horrifying things with a smile on his face? Had he really done those things? Watched those things? What kind of... no. He knew exactly what kind of world he came from. A horrifying world filled with monsters, demons and who knew what else. She gave a light shudder and got to her hooves. “Come along, let's go see your friends.” “Okay!” Val said, trotting up besides her. He then stopped and looked up. “Are you... mad at me?” She shook her head. “No. Why would I be mad at you?” “For telling you those things...” She grinned. “No, I told you to tell me. I wouldn't have asked you to if I hadn't wanted you too.” She gently pat him on the head. “And it's not your world, not anymore. You're free from it. So I'm not going to blame you, or judge you, for something you had no control over.” He nodded and leaned against her. “Okay. I... ummm...” He nudged the ground with his hoof and she stopped. He looked up at her. “I don't... I don't want to make you mad at me.” She smiled gently and reached out to pet his head. “Those things in your past... I know about them now. But they were in your past. Remember, Val, only you can change who you become in the future. What you are in the future. And I think you'll become a wonderful, delightful child who deeply cares for the safety and well being of those around him. You'll prove me right, won't you?” He nodded slowly before trotting out the door, running off ahead. She followed suit, a smile on her lips. He wasn't perfect, not in the slightest. But she couldn't really see him as being bad. At least not now. She froze when they came to the library. All of the children from before were here now, as well as Spike, Rarity and a mare she couldn't identify. “Hello, my name is Precious,” the mare said with a small smile. “Silverbelle's mother.” “Oh... oh!” Cheerilee said with a smile. “I'm Cheerilee, a pleasure to meet you.” “Quite. It is nice to meet you, Cheerilee.” The teacher preened. She liked this mare already. However, the mare was already walking off, looking through all of the papers Twilight had left around the room. She seemed quite interested in them. Granted, she couldn't blame the mare. Twilight was, if nothing else, something interesting to study. The teacher moved to sit at the table. “Err... hello everypony. Rarity, Spike, will you two be joining us today?” “No, we're just watching,” the mare said with a smile. “Do carry on.” Cheerilee nodded before smiling to the children. “Well, today I thought we could try something special. I dug up my old Oubliettes and Ogres game book and I figured I could run you children through a small campaign. Are any of you familiar with it?” She was greeted with a lot of shook heads. Of course. “Well, it's a role playing game. Basically you just use your imagination and the things I tell you to see how everything goes. Imagine it like a book, except one you get to react to and change the outcome.” Val cringed. “Wait, am I going to have to read?” Cheerilee rolled her eyes. “Just your character sheets. Here.” She pushed out a stack of papers. “I've made ten different characters, it's up to you to decide what you want to be. I'd suggest at least two support classes and three melee, front line classes. Other than that, have fun.” She backed up and smiled. Yay, that alone would keep them distracted for an hour. She'd picked out a few classes she thought the kids would like, she hoped she came close. “Dibs on the farmer!” Applebloom said with a big grin. “Weather herder!” Scootaloo called out quickly, snapping up the paper. Silverbelle gulped and picked one. “I'll... ummm... I-I'll take the enchanter. I-if that's okay...” “That's fine. That's one of the support classes, right?” Sweetie asked, looking up. Cheerilee gave her a nod. “Okay. Ah'll take... ohhhh, the garber. That's like a dress maker, right?” “Close,” Cheerilee said with a small giggle. “It's a pony who makes enchanted armors and the like.” “Ohhhhh. I'll be that!” Claw jumped in, grabbed one, and leaped off the table with a grin. “Dra-gon,” he said happily. Cheerilee rolled her eyes. She knew he'd be taking that one. Well, that was five down, three to go. She couldn't believe how smoothly this was going. She'd figured they'd choose those classes, but she figured it would take at least twenty minutes to get to that point. “I'll take whatever class blows things up with extreme precision and destruction,” Val said with a wide grin. “There's nothing like that,” Cheerilee said with a sigh. She wasn't sure how she really... felt about him playing something violent. “I'll play the gem mage,” Diamond said quickly. Six down. Two to go. Silver Spoon and Val looked over the papers. “Val, maybe you should try the nurse,” Cheerilee said with a smile. “The group should have another support class and they're very good at keeping the party going with their healing magic.” “Ugh, why would I want to play a nurse? Healing magic sucks! I want to have fire magic and things like that!” Scootaloo grinned. “Hey, Val, if you have the healing magic, in essence you get to decide who lives and who dies.” Val's eyes widened as he contemplated that. Then he instantly grabbed the paper. “Playing the nurse!” Cheerilee chuckled. At least one of the girls knew how to push his buttons right. That just left Silver Spoon. “I'll ummmm... I'll take the guard pony,” the filly said finally, scooping one up. “Okay, now, a bit of context and how each class is played,” Cheerilee said with a smile. “Diamond, Claw, Scootaloo, your classes operate best from a distance, so I'd stay near the back. Val, Silverbelle, your classes operate by powering up and healing your allies, so you want to stay near the middle. Silver Spoon, Sweetie, Applebloom, your classes work best in the front line, protecting the group. Other than that... well, I'll explain things as we go.” She could barely believe it. She'd have expected the deciding of who played what to end up in a screaming match or even a hoof fight. She'd have stopped it quickly, of course, but it had all worked really well. She guessed she had chosen the right classes after all. “Now, the story starts with your group arriving at a small town just outside Griffonstone...” ------ “Yes, beg for my healing! Mwa ha ha ha ha!” Val said as he laughed maniacally, pointing a hoof at Claw. “Beggggg! Perhaps if you swear never to lick me again, I will save your character. Or maybe I won't. For I hold the power of life and death in my hooves! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!” Cheerilee face hoofed. Of course. He just couldn't play well with others. She heard the inevitable tumbling of chairs, followed by Val's shrieks as Claw pounced and proceeded to lick him. She could have told him that was going to happen. “Off! Get off, offffff! I'll heal you, just stooooooop!” Claw grinned and pounced off, a big grin on his face as he slid into his chair. Spike snickered softly as he watched. “That's my boy.” Cheerilee chuckled softly. “Well, with a few uses of Val's signature spell, the gash on Claw's side heals fully. You've now managed to scare off the rock eels and get into their lair. Unfortunately, a quick look reveals... they don't have the eggs.” “Oh, come on!” Sweetie objected. “Ugh, ew ew ew ewwww. So much slobber. Whyyyyy?” Val whined. Silverbelle moved up besides him and slowly reached out with a towel. “U-uh... h-here,” she said softly, before gently dabbing at his face and wiping away... most of the slobber. “Ugh, thanks. Okay! This calls for drastic measures! If the eggs aren't here, the rock eels probably ate them!” Val said with a grin. “Ain't no way,” Applebloom said with a shake of her head. “The eggs wouldn't be movin' on their own an' rock eels wouldn't go eatin' them anyway. They only eat rocks. Probably only snapped at us cause we were out an' movin' about near their home. Ain't that right, Miss Cheerilee?” “Roll your animal knowledge skill,” the teacher said. She watched the die roll, before smiling. “Yes. As far as you can tell, there's no reason they'd have eaten the eggs.” “Huh, that probably means someone else beat us to them, then,” Diamond said, tapping her chin. “Scootaloo, can you do some scouting from above?” “Hey! I'm the leader!” Val objected. “I heal, remember? That makes me the leader!” The earth pony filly rolled her eyes. “Sure. I'm just... helping direct the units while you focus on solving the problem, oh leader.” Ugh, she could hardly believe this colt. Was she ever this obnoxious? No wonder nopony wanted to vote for her. Cheerilee smiled and watched as the ponies played and plotted out amongst themselves. The game had been going for hours, with plenty of little breaks. They'd had to stop for dinner, as well. Spike and Rarity seemed interested in the game, though they'd declined any offers to join in. Precious was off behind one of the book cases, looking through some of Twilight's notes. She couldn't imagine why, if the princess couldn't solve all these issues, she doubted anypony could. The kids seemed to be having a lot of fun, though they barely focused on the game. More time seemed to be spent making jokes or laughing as Claw tackled and snuggled Val than on the game. But then again, that's what these kinds of games were for. Being with friends. Why, they made the time just slip away. Her eyes then fell on the window and she cringed. It was dark outside. What time was it? “I think it might be about time to wrap all this up,” she said with a sigh before shaking her head. “We can try another session next week if you all feel up to it.” “Awwwwww,” eight simultaneous voices said at once. “Can we play just a little longer?” Val asked and then they unleashed it. Eight pairs of filly/colt adorable sad eyes looked at her. The sheer cuteness made her recoil back, falling out of her chair. “Ack! No, stop! A few more minutes! But that's all! Eesh!” She held a hoof over her chest. Such weaponized adorableness, it could have killed her! When did VAL master it? That wasn't fair! She picked herself up and stretched, putting her chair back up. She heard the door behind her open and she paused, smiling back at the unicorn who stood in the frame. “We're almost--” She stopped mid sentence. It wasn't a guard at all, instead a black unicorn with a white mane. Around her throat was a black gemstone necklace. “Oh, I'm sorry. The princess isn't here right now. She should be back in a few days.” She looked back towards the group, but stopped. The kids were still playing amongst themselves, except for Val. He was staring at the doorway with his eyes wide. The color had drained from his face as a look of pure terror formed across his features. Why would he-- Cheerilee let out a scream as pain assaulted her before she was sent flying across the room, toppling over one of the book cases. Her entire world ached and throbbed as she heard two more screams. One from Rarity and one from Spike. She had only a few moments to focus before the world went completely dark and she lost consciousness. “Hello, Valkala,” the mare said as she trotted forward, a smirk on her face. Val couldn't take his eyes off the mare as his friends all went silent. “H-hello... m-mother...”