//------------------------------// // Afterward: Roleplaying // Story: In Praise of Twilight // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// "Who knocks upon door?" "The Lieutenant Captain, brightest star in the night, accompanied by the princess of the crystalline heart." "... You have permission to open the door. We will be along in a minute." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadance waited patiently at the door to Princess Luna's royal suite. The sun was still fully in the sky - it would be at least an hour yet before Celestia's time to set the sun - but all were already awake for a session of Oubliettes and Ogres. Although the club was "officially" for LARPing (essentially treating it as a theater club under castle regulations, so that the paper-pushers that organized usage of castle space had an idea how to manage it properly), in practice most activity involved intense tabletop sessions of Oubliettes and Ogres which then used as the basis for a LARP "script" to be performed later. Despite attempts to get it shut down by Lieutenant Captain Aten (who publicly called it a "vanity project of Celestia's favorite"), most approved of the club's presence simply on the principle it was helping Luna. And make no mistake, it was helpful to Luna, who now had a productive outlet for her natural dramatic streak and was helpful in strengthening and forging new friendships. This was counterbalanced by what Shining told his old gaming friends was "symptoms of early-stage munchkinism" present in Luna and her characters - the first facehoof-inducing sign being the obviousness (particularly to the experienced players, who had seen young Twilight act in a similar way before) of her having read the manuals cover-to-cover. Between dealing with Luna's budding munchkin tendencies and having to train the inexperienced players in the group, DM Shining Armor had his hooves full on game night, and often it seemed like an exercise in futility to even try to convince Luna of anything. Still, the game went on, because it would've been worse to stop it. As Shining couldn't really do anything to curb Luna's "misbehavior", he felt he was only storing up trouble for later DMs (including his own sister, as it turned out) that he could do nothing beyond facehoofs and arguments to deal with... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well this is different. Usually I've had to look a different angle - you've gotten taller, Aunt Luna." Princess Cadance says when the primped Princess Luna stops near the door, the latter gently smiling at the other two. "We take it as evidence of progress of our powers returning." Luna explains. "We still are not at our full height yet, and the coat has not deepened in coloration either, but it is certainly progress. Particularly in combination with the flow of our mane and tail." "Well I'm sure the other members of the group will be eager to hear the news. Shall we?" Shining Armor comments. "Indeed we shall." Luna affirms, and the three set off for the room where the game would be played... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The guard that awoke us told us Spike is visiting here." Luna says to Shining Armor as the trio travels along. "Yes, but we don't have time to arrange a meeting with him now. He took all morning with the Finance Minister and because of all the trouble he caused I've had him stay in my quarters over the night." Shining Armor replies. "You mean the stubborn-as-a-mule Finance Minister. That's why Twilight couldn't just send messages back and forth from Ponyville." Cadance comments. "Cadance, that's still not nice." Shining says, turning to Cadance as he speaks. "I'm just repeating what Aunt Celly calls him." Cadance replies unapologetically, which provokes a sigh and eyeroll from Shining and a small chuckle from Luna. "We certainly agree with sister about the stubbornness. Particularly as he dragged his hooves about financing the supply of such wonderful things as Neigh's potato chips and Nut-ella." Luna comments afterward. "'New-tell-ah', Your Majesty." Shining Armor gently corrects - it seemed to have become a running gag that Luna would always mispronounce the extremely tasty spread of hazelnuts and chocolate, and at this point Shining had begun wondering if Luna was doing it on purpose to get a reaction out of him, in the same way Celestia and Cadance engaged in occasional metaphorical leg-pulling at his expense. "'Tis not how it is spelled on the label." Luna replies in a flat literalism, meaning now it was Cadance's turn to chuckle at Shining's eyeroll. "More seriously though, we can understand the dilemma of Twilight Sparkle and her young dragon companion. We had hoped to communicate with the young dragon to send a message back to Ponyville, but it appears that it will not be possible this time." Luna continues on, unable to hide the disappointment in her tone. "You had really had hoped to talk with him?" Shining asks in response to the disappointed tone. "Indeed. We... I had hoped to communicate my gratitude and hopes to Twilight in a more frank manner than would normally be possible." Luna answers, dropping quieter as she speaks. Shining noticed the pronoun change dropping the royal we as well as the quieter tone and used those facts to carefully couch his next statement: "I don't doubt for a minute that one day she will at least visit in Canterlot, or you visit Ponyville, and at that time you will be able to communicate your gratitude and hopes unfiltered. Until then, we must abide by the plans Celestia has for us all, and hope we can fulfill them as best we could. Celestia has her reasons for keeping Twily there and you here, and we all have to trust she knows what she's doing." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Luna is quiet for a moment, then nods in acknowledgement. "You're right, you're very right, we all have to trust in my sister's plans and what she has in mind for the futures of us all. I've already suffered immensely for breaking harmony, I dare not disrupt my sister's plans." she acknowledges. "That's a good idea for all of us. Now come on, we're all waiting for you in here." the voice of Lieutenant Aldebaran interrupts, the source being from a nearby doorway the Lieutenant peaks out from. "Sorry Lieutenant, we got distracted." Shining Armor comments as he, Cadance and Luna make their way to the doorway. Aldebaran clears out of the way to let the other three pass through unimpeded. Inside the room are the other members of the roleplaying group: Gaffer, 8-Bit and Buck Withers (all Guards Upper Class) as well as the previously-mentioned Lieutenant Aldebaran. Including Shining Armor as DM, Princess Luna and Princess Cadance as a recent addition to the club, that made a group of seven, which was about the practical upper limit for a game of this type. Instead of chairs, all would sit on specific cushions - the ones for the alicorn princesses were colored to match their coats, Shining's was purple colored (a traditional color for a DM in a group), and the rest were a variety of other colors. The rest of the group was already arranged around the table, snacks and drinks placed conveniently nearby and the graph paper map with figurines as well as character sheets for the players already there deployed as well. Even with a big round table usually reserved for formal events to work with, it would end up quite crowded once play was going fully. "I appreciate everypony showing up on time. We only have about 45 minutes before the night shift comes on duty, so we'll get started right away." Shining addresses to the crowd as he and the princesses with him take their positions. Shining puts up the privacy screen which had previously been placed face down on the table, and the princesses deploy their snacks, character sheets and figurines of their characters on the map. There is a brief pause as Shining shuffles some items behind the DM screen, then he speaks from behind the screen: "We ended the last session with the end of the last turn, so we'll start the next turn now. Roll for initiative. Luna first, as usual." "Thank you, Lieutenant Captain." Princess Luna replies, her face changing into an eager grin as she picks up the dice bag (rolling by dumping dice out of the bag was a standard anti-cheating-by-unicorn-magic measure), shakes it a bit and then dumps a pair of D10s on the table. "HUZZAH, A NATURAL 20!" Luna exclaims, accompanied by a sudden gust of magically-generated wind. Her excitement was very quickly tempered by the realization that the gust of wind was strong enough to blow around everything on the table, spilling drinks and tipping over figurines in the process! Luna blushes a deep red as a chorus of groans and eyerolls spreads across the table. As Shining adjusted his knocked-over DM screen, he very quickly realized that not much was going to get done this session... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEANWHILE, IN THE CAVERNS BELOW CANTERLOT... Agent Snake smiles down upon the seven pegasi arranged before him in the underground meeting room. Snake, in his usual cloak disguise, stood on the elevated section of the cave floor to address the other pegasi at attention before him. Most of these pegasi knew each other, or at least worked together. The flickering torchlight around the room gave the atmosphere of a grand plan being formed in secret, which was mostly a correct impression. "Greetings fellow Agents." Snake began, pacing back and forth as he speaks. "A critical point in our operational history is in our near future, as Operation Whirlwind begins drawing closer. This operation must succeed, or the sacrifice of our fellow Agents will have been for nothing, and this organization will cease to exist. You have been called here because I trust you to lead important parts of this operation. Remember, our task is not to destroy the rule of the alicorns, but rather to resurrect the chaotic one that will accomplish that purpose instead. The spreading of chaos and destruction is paramount to the success of the mission." The pegasi remain in rapt attention as Snake continues after a brief pause: "There are six facets to Operation Whirlwind, and you Agents will be redesignated with the facet you will be assigned to command. Agent 4, you will now be 'Animosity', against Twilight Sparkle's 'magic of friendship'. Agent 6, you will now be 'Treachery', against the Element of Loyalty. Agent 7, you will be 'Greed' against the Element of Generosity. Agent 9, you will be 'Deceit' against the Element of Honesty. Agent 10, you will be 'Cruelty' against the Element of Kindness. Agent 11, you will be 'Sadness' against the Element of Laughter. Acknowledge?" The six Agents Snake had previously mentioned all give salutes, leaving only one - Agent WA aka Misty Fly - remaining standing still at attention. Snake makes a most evil smile under his cloak in response to the salutes - he was sure their real loyalty to the Agents of Chaos would be the means of achieving his goal of resurrecting the chaotic one. "Information regarding details of Whirlwind must be trickled out slowly, Agents, for security reasons." Snake starts up again. "It is highly recommended you have a Plan B for your operation ready fullcloth to be executed at the appropriate sign. Understood?" "Yes sir!" the saluting pegasi reply, the words echoing off the cavern walls. "Good, you are all dismissed except for Agent WA. Keep your ears and eyes open for the sign and for the plans. Glory to the chaotic one!" Snake affirms, giving a raised-foreleg salute as he speaks. "Glory to the chaotic one!" the other pegasi repeat in unison, also performing the same salute as Snake had done. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Misty Fly watches as the other pegasi around her begin to filter out of the room into the tunnels of the caverns below Canterlot. She turns her attention back to Agent Snake and notices he's gesturing her to follow him. She does so, the two only stopping in a little nook of the room. "It's important you know about Whirlwind, Agent WA, but you will not be directly involved in it. Instead, I have other work for you." Snake explains. "Oh? What is it?" Misty Fly asks. "There are many disgruntled rejects from Wonderbolt Academy out there. Your objective is to find them and promise them they will have their revenge for the ending of their dreams by Captain Spitfire. They will be your Wonderbolts beside you, and you will be their Captain. You will use them, if they are willing, to destroy the Wonderbolts as they currently stand and rebirth them like a phoenix. Reborn, they will be freed of the outside corrupting influences and return to their origins as for displaying the glory of the pegasi race. You understand, Agent?" Snake tells to Misty Fly. "Yes sir, I do." Misty Fly replies with a salute, taking his words at face value and not knowing of the lies hiding behind them. "Good, you may go. Do not fail me, Agent." Snake says, keeping hidden motives tucked away. For you see, Operation Whirlwind needed more than just loyal Agents. It needed an army, an army to cause the chaos he hoped would release the chaotic one to bring down the alicorns. And Misty Fly would be one way to build this army. As before, she would learn in due time his words to her were empty promises, and that she as well as Captain Spitfire were tools for the purpose of reviving the chaotic one. As soon as everypony else was out of earshot, Snake lets slip a final, chilling line: "Not even the great Twilight Sparkle will be able to stop us!"