Session 17.6 BrutalityInc
It was game night for Shining Armor in the Canterlot High Universe, and for this session, he was bringing in two extra guests.
“I’m glad that you would be joining us.” Shining Armor said to his sister, as Sunset Shimmer and his sister, Canterlot High world Twilight, followed him to where Shining’s game group is playing their session. “Mother was relief that you are no longer cooped up in your lab anymore, but she’s still bugging me to get out more and socialize with more people than her new circle of friends. She thinks that playing MMORPG games doesn’t count as a social event.”
“Well, here’s hoping that playing tabletop RPG games counts as one in her eyes.” Sunset Shimmer remarked as they walked up some stairs, “It’s too bad that the rest of the gang couldn’t come tonight. But then again, we all have a life beyond playing games…”
“And we all should have life beyond our work, or research in my case…” Human Twilight sighed, “Of course, after seeing, touching and analysing the real deal, playing a sorceress who wields magic in a tabletop game just seems to pale in comparison…”
Shining Armor shrugged. “Well, no big loss there. Truth be told, even though I know now that magic is real, I still think it’s kind of overrated.”
“What?!” Twilight exclaimed, incredulous, “How can you say that, big brother? A few moments through a magical portal to Equestria turned Spike, our world’s Spike, into an intelligent puppy who has full command of human language, even though he didn’t even have the brain size for sapience, let alone ever read a book!”
“Not to mention, we have been using magic to pummel magical monsters in the past.” Sunset Shimmer reminded, careful not to mention Twilight and her own previous transformations into demonic monsters via dark magic, lest it reopen old wounds.
“Well, you got me on the first one, Twi,” Shining admitted, opening a door, “As for the second, believe me, Sunset, there are other ways to pummel magical monsters…”
There was something in that statement that sent a chill down Sunset’s spine.
They entered the room where they were holding the tabletop game session. As expected of any respectable tabletop game rooms for nerds, graphs, maps and figurines covered the table, tabletop game magazines, old pizza boxes and beverage cans were piled up in a corner, and extravagant sci-fi and fantasy posters covered the walls and even the roof.
Canterlot High world’s Gizmo, Gaffer and 8-Bit were already here and set everything up. As they walked in, they could just hear the discussion they had amongst themselves while they waited for them.
“I only work to support my hobby. If I have to choose between work and hobby, I’ll naturally choose hobby!” Gizmo declared.
“Wait, Gizmo, when did we started talking about your hobby?” Gaffer asked, scratching his hair with his right hand.
“I… don’t know. I guess we just drifted off-topic.” Gizmo said, shrugging. Seeing them walking in, he and the other two greeted their friend and guests, “Hail one and all, Shining and Twi! And please to meet you, Ms Sunset. It’s good to meet you in person for once instead of over the computer screen. Welcome to our Adventure Dungeon!”
“We’re in the attic room.” Sunset pointed out.
“Well, ‘dungeon’ sounded better…” 8-Bit admitted. Then asked, “So you’ll be joining our game tonight?”
“What kind of game were you playing exactly?” Sunset asked, recalling Shining Armor’s peculiar statement.
“A recently published game that I got from the store.” Gizmo said, handing her a gamebook. “I’ve heard that it was based on that Anime that has been getting popular recently. Let’s just say the concept behind it is… a bit out of the ordinary, to say the least.”
The two girls eyed it curiously. Twilight was the first to ask, “Why is there a picture of an orc with an axe facing a modern human soldier with a bayonetted assault rifle on its cover?”
“It’s all to do with the premise.” Shining Armor began, “Basically: One day, out of the blue, a portal appeared in the middle of a modern city. Out from it poured a whole army of warriors and creatures straight from a fantasy world, who proceeded to pillage and terrorize the city with impunity.”
Both Twilight and Sunset paled at this horrible scenario.
“That’s horrible, a whole HORDE of evil monsters and mages?!” Sunset Shimmer gasped. She and Princess Twilight, together with the rest of this world’s Mane Six, had fought hard against the Sirens and barely won. She shuddered to imagine what a whole army of those creatures would do with their magic, rampaging across Canterlot High, the city, than the rest of the world.
“Is one of those games where monsters from another dimension invade Earth and we play as characters desperately fighting to survive?” This world’s Twilight asked. She isn’t entirely ignorant of videogames and other forms of media, if generally uninterested.
“Come on, who plays that sort of stuff anymore? The ‘Only magic can defeat magic’ trope is clichéd as heck these days.” 8-Bit commented, slightly incensed. “Is it a rule somehow that the modern world and modern technology must always be portrayed as helpless in the face of the supernatural, utterly dependent on some small group of magical guardians for safety and survival?”
“No, and let me finish, 8-Bit, because I was just getting to the twist.” Gizmo admonished, before continuing, “Actually, what happened was that later that day, they were driven back through the portal by the police force and the army, the latter whom systematically annihilated most of the invading forces and liberated the city in short-order. That day became what was known as the ‘Portal Incident’. The portal itself, strangely enough, was left open.”
“Okay... I didn’t see that coming.” Twilight muttered.
“That’s actually kind of obvious.” Gaffer commented bluntly, “I mean, we’re talking about an invading army from a standard fantasy world, which would be medieval at best. How well do you think knights with swords, men-at-arms with spears, archers with bow-and arrow, and whatever monsters they brought would fare, facing a technologically modern military force armed with tanks, assault-rifle touting infantry, jet fighters and cruise missiles?”
“With around a thousand years’ worth of disparity between technology and warfare experience? It’s going to be a bloodbath.” Shining Armor answered. Given he is the group’s military enthusiast, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of military history, tactics and ordinance, his opinion carried weight. “Do you think they would have even heard of something called ‘Beyond-Visual-Range’ warfare, for example? Everything would be like magic to them, their power like the wrath of the gods. Despite the internet, most people seemed to be ignorant of what our modern age military hardware and capabilities are TRULY capable of.”
“Pretty much.” Gizmo concurred, before turning back to the girls and continuing. “Needless to say, fearing future incursions, the rest of the modern world united to face this threat and assembled the JMEF, Joint Military Expeditionary Force, from the militaries of the major nations, which was then sent through the portal to the fantasy world on the other side to end the threat at its source. The JMEF quickly established a base of operation on the other side, annihilating several more armies from the Empire that sent the invasion through the portal in the process.”
Sunset shuddered slightly as she glanced through the artwork depicting, in vivid detail of the JMEF’s initial invasion through the portal, with the Empire’s troops falling before the JMEF’s superior firepower and technology. In one scene, the Empire’s auxiliary armies of orcs and goblins were ruthlessly cut down by machine-gun fire, the tracers illuminating streams of bullets as they brought death by the hundreds before they could even see the enemy lines. In another scene, explosions rocked the battlefield as the Empire’s human men-at-arms and armoured knights were blown up by heavy artillery and mines. Another showed a helicopter gunship bringing down a wyvern-riding warrior down with a single missile. Another showed an elf wizard, in the process of casting spells, being taken out by a sniper. A final picture shows a human JMEF general, with his retinue, looking over the horrific aftermath, with thousands upon thousands of dead Imperial troops scattered in bloody, mangled pieces across the smoking, cratered and decimated landscape.
Sunset remembered, when she became a She-Demon upon gaining the Element of Magic, that she had entertained the thought of conquering the Human world with her magical powers and army of transformed, brainwashed teenagers, even if her initial invasion of Equestria. After all, how could a savage, squabbling species who doesn’t know true magic stand against her in that state? Now she wondered what chance did she truly have against such an innovative and ruthless species. She should had taken it as a warning when she read in the history classes how Humans could, and had, willingly level their own cities to win wars…
“Well, this is… definitely interesting.” Sunset admitted, with a gulp, “And that’s where the players start the game, isn’t it?”
“Yes. The game is still new, so the campaign has us starting off playing as members of the JMEF’s advanced recon teams, sent out from the JMEF main base with the mission to thoroughly explore the other world. Future expansions might include special forces mission behind enemy lines, or have our teams participate in recon-in-force and small skirmishes as part of future offensive operations.” Gaffer finished the explanation for Gizmo. “For now, though, these teams would be running around, establishing friendly contact with locals, determine the other world’s societies, cultures and political structures, prospect for unique resources and lands, gather knowledge of magic and creatures, and most importantly, discover clues as to who it was that opened a portal between dimensions and allowed the opportunistic Imperials to invade the modern world in the first place.”
“Which is a good set-up, since it puts the players at a disadvantage, cut off from reinforcements and supplies save for special events. That way, every battle against fantasy opponents would remain challenging instead of being repeated curb-stomp.” 8-Bit pointed out.
“Not to mention a chance to explore culture-clash in narrative, seeing that the Recon Teams are expected to engage in diplomacy as much as warfare.” With that, Shining Armor handed out character sheets to Sunset and Twilight, “Currently, our Recon Team has arrived in a forest glean and are about to make contact with a settlement of civilized unicorns. If you want, you can play as two of the unicorns, or a few elves who had decided to join our Recon Team from an earlier session…”
= = =
The first contact with the civilized unicorns – which more resembled unicorns as imagined in myths of the human world than the unicorns Sunset knew and once was in Equestria – was actually going relatively well, despite a rough start from the distrustful equines. But then an unexpected emergency turned the whole scenario over its head.
“Suddenly, smashing out from the woods, three ogres came barrelling into the unicorns’ settlement, attracted by the smell of cooked food!” Gizmo the GM declared, “Chaos ensured as the ogres rampaged, sending the unicorns scattering to the four winds. Those brave few who stood against them are being killed or swept aside!”
“Battle-stations!” Shining Armor, playing as the Recon Team’s first lieutenant, ordered aloud, “Gaffer, take a sniping position near the boulders! 8-Bit, contact the rest of the Recon unit at the forest outskirts to mount the 120 mm mortar turret on the APC and pop smoke shells near the Ogres’ positions! Everyone else, form on me! Our objectives are to protect and facilitate the evacuation of the unicorns, and drive back, if not neutralize, the ogre attack!”
“But how? These ogres are like walking statues!” Sunset asked worriedly, reading the ogres’ stats in this game. “Your assault rifles and grenades won’t be able to even scratch their hides!”
“Then we’ll just have to bring out the big guns.” Shining declared, then turn to Twilight, “Twi – I mean, Lavandula, are there still any unicorns near the ogres’ positions?”
“I…” She begin uncertainly. Then said, “I use my unicorn’s instinctive empathic powers, ‘Detect Being’.”
Twilight rolled the dice. She saw the results, as did Gizmo. “How do I do?”
“You detect one unicorn near the ogres. In fact…” Gizmo read the scenario outline, frowned, and added, “It’s a young colt, and it’s being held in the grasp of one of the ogres, which is about to take a bite out of his head!”
“We’ve got to save him!” Sunset Shimmer said urgently. “But at my current levels, my Elf Mage Starla can’t teleport him out of there at this range!”
“Not if you use a Homing Gem in your inventory, which allows you to teleport beings regardless of range.” 8-Bit suggested, “We looted one from the dead Imperial baron who pillaged the Elf village during the Empire’s retreat from the JMEF’s position at the Portal, last session. But someone have to wear it and literally holding the Unicorn colt to allow you to use your spell and get both of them out.”
“Allow me, then.” Shining Armor declared. Sunset nodded, realizing his plan. “I take the Homing Gem from Starla, and order a volley of flash-bangs to be launched via grenade launchers into the ogre’s positions.”
8-Bit and Shining Armor rolled their dice. Gizmo rolled for the rest of the Recon Team NPCs, then deducted the points, “The ogres are stunned and disorientated for three rounds, since their stats says they are semi-nocturnal hunters, meaning they are even more sensitive to loud noises and bright flashes than we humans are.”
Successful rolls in movement and dexterity, enhanced by Shining’s character’s military training perks and skill points, allowed Shining’s First Lieutenant to quickly make his way across the settlement and grab hold of the colt still in the flailing ogre’s grasp. One successful roll at spell-casting allowed for Sunset’s Elf Mage to teleport them out of harm’s way.
With that out of the way, it was time to deal with the ogres, JMEF style.
“I take aim and fire at the head of the ogre that seems to be leading the trio.” Gaffer, the Recon Team’s sniper, declared.
Dice rolled, and Gizmo saw the results. “Rolls are good; subtracting three due to smoke-screen but plus four accounting for your ‘Military Marksman’ perk, and accounting for the ogre’s defense, your shot went through the beast at the neck.
A second shot blew out the ogre’s brains, killing it in short order.
“But how can a mere sniper rifle take out a monster that big and tough?” Sunset asked, confused.
“If you read the weapons manual, you’ll find that 8-Bit’s .50 BMG Anti-Material Rifle has a muzzle velocity of around 853 m/s at an effective range of 1800 metres. Accounting for the mass and ballistic performance of a 12.7x99 mm .50 BMG round, it’ll translate to around 18,000 Joules of energy.” Shining Armor explained.
“That’s… that’s enough to penetrate concrete blocks, or straight through an engine block of a car!” Twilight gasped in realization, crunching the numbers in her head.
Sunset nodded, realizing the implications that meant for the mere hide, flesh, bone and brains of an Ogre.
“The other two Ogres charge in your direction out of the smoke-screen, having finally seen where their attackers are at!” Gizmo announced.
“I use my shoulder-mount 66 mm Light Anti-tank Weapon on the closest-charging Ogre.” 8-Bit announced
Again, it took two shots, while the supporting LMG and small arms fire from the rest of the Recon Team distracted it. But an Ogre’s hide, resilient against arrows and small-arms it may be, is still no match for a 66 mm anti-armor HEAT warhead, capable of penetrating 20 cm of steel plate and 600 mm (2 feet) of concrete, using a shape-charge propelled stream of molten metal to penetrate tank armour. (The weapons stats, written as a JMEF field manual, were very clear in its description of what to expect if used against the many types of fantasy creatures)
And as an added bonus… “The last Ogre, frightened by the demise of its fellow, has suffered fatal morale damage and is turning to flee.”
“We… we did it! We saved the Unicorns’ home!” Twilight gave a tired cheer.
“Not yet..” Shining Armor noted. “My First LT orders the 120 mm mortar to engage with anti-armour ordinance on the ogre’s projected retreat path.”
Sunset and Twilight almost winced as the weapon subsequently dealt the last ogre.
“Was this entirely necessary?” Twilight asked, feeling rather disturbed at Gizmo’s vivid description of the last ogre’s messy end.
“The elves in the last session told us that the ogres live in large packs that split up to forage for food. If it runs back to its lair, it might come back with more ogres reinforcements.” Gaffer explained. Then he shrugged, “It had to be done.”
“Back in Equestria, even after all it did, we ponies would had given them a chance. But I guess that’s how you humans do things in this world.” Sunset sighed. “Does all your battles go like this?”
“Not always. Maybe I should tell you about that one session where we fought off a fire dragon that was attacking a caravan of traders. Now that was a tough fight.” 8-Bit recalled. “We didn’t kill it, but we did managed to drive it off with some casualties. I don’t think it’ll forget how we blasted off one of its arms with a MPAD anti-air missile any time soon…”
Session 17.7 Alex Warlorn
Princess Twilight Sparkle now sat behind the DM screen. Having heard about the events from Sunset Shimmer, she was naturally intrigued. Then.. she seemed rather offended. But then a few days later, after requesting from books from the human world, she'd requested to Human Shining Armor to DM a session, she gave her word that she'd be 100% within the rules and no cheating. "Having slaughtered your way through the orcs and goblins as usual, you find at the center of the enemy base a golem."
"So what type is this one? Iron? Wood? Stone?"
"Actually, it appears to be made out of guns." 8-Bit asked.
"GUNS?!"
"It seems to a mass of various guns. It seems to be a prototype. And now that you've seen it. You naturally can't leave this place alive."
"SHOOT IT!"
"It almost seems to thank you, as the bullets are absorbed into its body, and fired out through it barrels."
- And Later -
"A fire ball lands from nowhere and vaporizes two of your men."
"WHERE'S THE DRAGON!?"
"She's somewhere over the horizon, which is where the fireballs are coming from. It seems the overlord has entered an alliance with the Dragon Queen Tiamat. After seeing one of her subjects so previously injured, she believed what the overlord said about her children's way of life being in mortal peril, and has roused her from her sleep."
-And later still-
You manage to finally stop the tank that spontaneous turned on you... you open it up to find the tank crew have been dead for hours, are just animated zombies.
- and later -
"The hear the banshee's death cry. Roll to resist death."
"Where did she come from?!"
"She rose out of the ground behind you after your troops had already passed."
- And later -
"SNIPER IN THE WOODLINE! SNIPER IN THE WOODLINE!"
"What is going on!?"
"You have other things to worry about, as your spare uniforms comes to life on their own, and have pilfered weapons from the armory, and fire on you from behind."
- After the game -
"The auto-locomation spell Twilight... really? Wasn't that spell banned for making wars too impersonal and therefore, ponies would forget about the collateral damage wars cause to civilians, and be MORE eager to start wars?" Starlight asked.
"If it was that great a threat, I imagine the ban would be lifted. And I couldn't BELIEVE what I read when you showed me. I mean, an evil overlord discoveries weapons with that much destructive power, and DOESN'T try to assimilate them into their forces for themselves? Only if the opposition is made up of mindless cardboard cuts outs who EXIST to be slaughtered." Princess Twilight explained.
She picked up a book from the human world, titled 'Modern Warfare.' "Seriously, I've read up on some of the ... darker part of their history. The natives Amarians were technology inferior. But the vast majority of their numbers were lost due to plague. Granting the Europeans an overwhelming numbers advantage. And the natives ditched their bows and arrows for repeat actions rifles as soon as they could. Without plague being a factor, the conflict would have been VERY different." She snorted. "I've read so many sci-fiction books that have technologically superior aliens invade Equestria where they fold like a house of cards you think they were written by malequines! They treat ponies officers like they're incapable of learning, like magic is some stagnant thing that never progresses, and that they'll KEEP using inane tactics."
"Wasn't that the problem in their first world war though?"
"Actually, I dug some. That's a misconception. It wasn't an army of insanely incompetent officers sending waves after waves of humans to their deaths for four years. They kept coming up game changing strategies, but the other side quickly picked up on them and employed them too. The problem was that no side could maintain an advantage for long. And seriously, there was a LOT MORE to that war than just humans in disease filled holes running towards machine guns."
Session 17.8 Kendell2
"So this is a game from Equestria?" the human Twilight asked.
"Well, it wasn't easy to find one," Sunset replied. "I didn't want to bring certain kinds of magic that'd be too conspicuous and I wouldn't bring anything that requires magic."
"Hey, we have magic!" Rainbow Dash replied.
"Yeah, but you barely know how to use it," Sunset replied. "I'm still trying to learn how to use telekinesis as a human, and that's like the most basic of unicorn spells."
"Wait, ALL unicorns have telekinesis?!" Twilight asked.
"Technically, so do Pegasi," Sunset replied. "And KINDA Earth Ponies...maybe. You see Pegasi have tactile telekinesis that allows them to pull things through the air like they would on the ground. Earth Ponies MAY have some similar ability to prevent things they're moving with their super strength from breaking apart, but it's not been confirmed."
"Well Ah know that super strength has helped on the farm a bit," Applejack said. Sunset gave a look. "What? Ah'm a FARMER, what else did yah expect meh tah do with super strength?"
"...Just be careful...any way, this game just uses sounds to help direct the game," Sunset explained.
They started the game...and soon found that while the light indicating the sounds was working...they couldn't hear anything.
"I think that game is broken, darling," said Rarity.
"That's weird," said Sunset, looking the game over. "It was working fine back in Equestria when I bought it...I could hear it just fine."
Twilight tapped her chin, then gasped. "One of you...pony up? I have a hypothesis."
"Alright," said Rainbow Dash, she then focused on her loyalty to her friends, pegasus wings emerging on her back and her human ears being replaced by pony ears, her hair growing out to match a pony's tail.
Twilight started the sound tutorial back on.
Rainbow Dash's pony ears twitched. "Okay, that time I heard it. Though I've never heard a sound like that before."
Twilight gasped excitedly and looked like she'd discovered something fascinating. "Equine's auditory range is wider than a human's! The game uses sound frequencies outside the range of human hearing but inside that of an equines!"
Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion. "...Meaning?"
Sunset gasped. "She means that those pony ears aren't for show! You have a pony's HEARING too! That's...actually pretty cool."
"So...we've got super hearin' when we pony up?" Applejack asked.
"Maybe other senses too, oh there's so much research I could do on this!" Twilight said, producing a notebook and beginning to write things down.
Session 17.9 MtangaLion
Not many folks knew that Ponyville even had a video arcade, but that was fine with ponies like Button Mash. That meant fewer ponies using the machines and making him wait his turn.
Sweetie Belle fumed, watching Button play 'Night Guard Fighter: Eternal'. She levitated two bit coins in her magic, scraping them together impatiently. "Come on, Button! I ran out of ships ten levels ago! Let's start a new co-op game!"
Button Mash kept moving the joystick with one forehoof and tapping the fire button with the other, never looking away from the screen. "In a minute..."
"You beat the all time high score and got your cutie mark two levels ago," Sweetie pointed out, poking the D-Pad icon on Button's flank.
"In a minute," Button repeated, muzzle to the screen, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth, laser-focused...
Sweetie Belle tapped her chin with a hoof, then grinned and batted her eyelashes at Button, just like she'd seen her big sister Rarity doing when she practiced in front of the mirror. When that didn't get the colt's attention, she leaned against Button and kissed him on the cheek.
Then Button did the pony equivalent of blue-screening, and Sweetie discovered that she'd leaned too far, and both of them toppled over in a tangle of limbs. Button's propeller beanie stayed hovering in the air for several seconds before it floated down to join them.
"Princess Beach Volleyball Party!?" exclaimed Eight-Bit. He took that game out of the shipping box addressed to Ponyville, and shook a hoof at a snickering Shining Armor and Point-Dexter. "Very funny. You know my son isn't old enough for games like that."
Session 17.10 Kendell2 (with bits added in the middle by me)
"Ugh, how can Batmare vs. Superstallion be that lame?" Rainbow Dash asked in announce as they arrived back at the Castle.
"Because Batmare killed ponies?" Starlight asked. "Or that several of the bad futures my actions caused are less dark than that?"
"Or that it seemed more concerned about setting up the big team up movie than making that movie good?" Twilight questioned.
"I thought the action was good..." Spike said with a shrug.
Rarity couldn't resist a triumphant smirk. "Remember darling how much you defended Stallion of Steel? How you defended," Rarity mimicked Rainbow Dash's voice, "'One scene! One scene!' The Superstallion Story That Thought It Was A Batmare Story?"
"That was even darker! This pegasus has her limits!"
"The Celestia allusions in that movie were way too transparent." Twilight said matter of fact.
"Anyway, let's try something a bit more fun," said Rainbow Dash, putting an Enchanted Comic down.
"Batmare The Brave and the Bold?" Twilight asked. "The genre throwback comic?"
"Oh! That's one of my favorites!"exclaimed Pinkie Pie happily.
"It's an anthology one, which means we leave with each comic we beat or whenever we use the quit password. And since he teams up with different heroes we can all play. Figured it'd lighten the mood," Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk. "You girls game?"
"Oh! Is one of them the one where we fight the guy who's singing turns everything into a musical episode?!" Pinkie asked.
Rainbow Dash checked and nodded. "Uh...yeah..."
"Cool! Let's do it!"
The group nodded in agreement.
Rainbow Dash smirked. "Alright, let's do this! 'You can return to the place you started when the villains are defeated. Take a closer look to join the adventure in this book...'"
OOC: No offense to people who liked that movie.
Session 17.11 Ardashir (OOC: Here's an idea for that latest Batmare Brave and the Bold comic.)
"YAAAHH!" Spike's clawed feet dug at the dirt beneath his feet. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, er, make that Zapp and Filli-Second dragged him towards a vicious and mangy-looking female white furred Diamond Dog wearing a bridal veil. Spike, or rather Humdrum, yelled. "Guys! I don't want to marry a Diamond Dog!"
"Sorry, Humdrum," the Masked Matter-Horn said, smiling at him. She stood beside a bubbling cauldron and sported a headdress that looked like an owl had climbed up on her head and died there. Beside her stood a trenchcoat-wearing Starlight Glimmer, her face a blank. "But the Question and I said the words." She pointed at the snarling Diamond Dog. "You and her are now drake and wife!"
"WHY DID WE EVER DO THIS?" Spike yelled, and as he did a maniacal laugh sounded behind him.
"A-HAHAHAHA! Oh, Power Ponies!" Everypony froze as the Mane-iac slithered into view, supported by strands of her mane. She pointed one tendril at the scene before her and laughed. "And I thought I was evil! Marrying that poor dolt Humdrum off to a Diamond Dog?!?" She rolled on the ground, laughing some more before she got up.
"So, now are we evil enough for you?" Zapp said.
"Hahaha! Easily!" Mane-iac got up, wiping a tear from her eyes. "I admit, I have to take points off because, well, it was only Humdrum..."
Spike snorted smoke from his nostrils, then cringed from the Diamond Dog.
"But the way you ruined his life totally makes up for it!" Mane-iac looked around as though about to reveal a great secret, and then reached into her mane and took out a pile of maps, charts, and mimeographed glossies.
"Show-off," Filli-Second muttered.
"Here's my plan for breaking into the Second National Bank of Maretropolis," she began.
"Why not the First?" Question asked.
"Everyone expects somepony to rob the FIRST National Bank," Mane-iac snapped back. "I'm being original here! Now look closely at this."
"And you can look closely at this, darling!" Mane-iac yelled to see the 'female Diamond Dog' vanish, a power construct. Beneath stood Radiance -- who promptly slammed a purple energy cage down over her.
"NO FAIR!" Mane-iac shook the bars of her cage. "Faking humiliating Humdrum just to catch me!"
"You can complain about it as we take you back to Balkham Aslum," the Question said as she and Matter-Horn used their magic to send the villain rolling back to her cell.
"Yeesh," Spike grumped. "I hadda be Humdrum again, and you guys set me up like that!"
"Only because," Radiance, Rarity, said, giving the scaly little hero a kiss on the cheek, "Mane-iac knows that the clearest sign of our turning evil, would be doing anything to hurt you."
Spike blushed.
Session 17.12 Kendell2
"Besides," said Twilight. "Humdrum is theorized to have an innate power of being underestimated. If it'd been any of the rest of us, Maneiac would've suspected something."
Spike chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. Kinda like how King Sombra underestimated me."
"...He really likes to brag about that, doesn't he?" Starlight asked. She'd stopped questioning how she could see or talk without a face. She didn't know the comic book lore of her character that well.
"Let him have it," Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle.
Session 17.13 Kendell2
"Thank Celestia Cadence finally had her kid..." Eight-Bit said. "That was hectic."
"Hey, you don't have to take care of a baby Alicorn," Shining joked, little Flurry Heart currently on his back. The group had set down at a table to play.
"Well at least you finally got her power under control," said Poindexter, holding a hoof to the tiny Alicorn, who gooed and suckled on it.
"Yeah, Sunburst said the spell is meant to help stabilize young unicorn's power surges...mom said she wished she'd had it when me and Twiley were kids."
"I can't believe you named her Flurry Heart," 8-Bit replied.
"...Her full name is technically Flurry Skyla Heart Sparkle."
"I think I'll use Skyla, sounds better."
Shining Armor gave a glare.
Suddenly, another Poindexter burst into the room, shaking off some Changeling goo. "Guys! That's not me!"
Shining Armor gasped and blasted the first Poindexter across the room...only for it to REALLY be Poindexter.
"I'm not a Changeling..." he muttered.
"Oh..."
Shining snapped back to see the second Poindexter make a grab for Flurry Heart...only for the little filly to grab 'his' hoof with her front hooves and give the sound a filly throwing a tantrum. "Uh oh..."
Shining Armor's eyes went wide as his little few week old daughter proceeded to lift the Changeling off the ground and slam them into the ground on the opposite side of her father...repeatedly, each time getting a loud 'oof' from the Changeling until it's disguise failed and revealed a very stunned Changeling drone, all the while the little filly crying and throwing a temper tantrum.
"Ow..." the changeling whimpered.
Flurry Heart gave one last slam and drove the Changeling clear through the floor to the floor below...then kept crying.
"...I knew we were missing one aspect of Alicorns..." said Shining Armor, grateful they'd forgotten Flurry had Earth Pony in there too.
He then nuzzled his daughter to get her to stop crying.
"So what game are we playing today?"
Session 17.14 Alex Warlorn
"YOU TRIED TO KIDNAP MY FILLY! I AM GOING TO DESTROY YOU!" Cadence roared at Chrysalis.
Chrysalis proved her acting skills by apparently keeping her cool. "Clearly a independent rogue changeling acting on their own. In no way related to any hostile organization or nation. The changeling swarm denounces this blatant act of terrorism." Chrysalis said formally, properly, politely, with the smoothness of a centuries old politician.
"We'll just see about that once he wakes up and we interrogate him."
Guard Flash Sentry looked uncomfortable. "Actually Princess, the changeling claims to not remember anything and claims he was under the effects of black magic."
Chrysalis grinned. "Ah yes, evil black magic, amazing how whenever it's someling POPULAR (like Miss Rarity) they never remember anything, but when it's someling who you'd be OKAY WITH them doing those horrible things, (like that mare Trixie), they remember every detail of what they did."
Cadence glared at her.
"So... are we still on for game night?" Chrysalis said politely.
Cadence snorted. "We're playing Gamma Kingdom, I'll be game mastering... Brings lots of characters sheets, and prepare to die."
"I'm looking forward to it." Chrysalis kept a polite face. Inside she thought, 'WHY! Why does she get a super powerful heir on her first try! When I try three times, and first I get a rolly-polly garbage disposal, a failure who keeps biting off more than she can chew, and... my third one who seems to have every defective changeling gene known to the swarm...'
Session 17.15 Alex Warlorn
In the human world Gaffer said, "Ya know Shining Armor, that girl who looks just like your sister but isn't your sister, who says she's a princess from another universe-"
"Yeah yeah, I didn't enjoy last week's game either-"
"Are you JOKING!? I loved it!"
"HUH?!" Shining Armor gasped. He felt like the alternate version of his sister was 'punishing' them for some reason.
"I didn't want to say anything to Gizmo or Eight-Bit since they were really loving it but... for me? It was all getting kinda, BORING! It mean, everything was SO ONE SIDED! Orcs, elves, even DRAGONS, everything just falls to the player's superior firepower with no real hope of winning. I get the designers were deconstructing people centuries behind in warfare, tactics, and technology going up against modern firepower and how insane that would be, but... in terms of a GAME? There was never any real challenge! It was just a turkey shoot. What's the point of a game where you have to TRY to lose? For the first time since we started playing, I actually felt like I was being CHALLENGED! All the creative and new ways she was using all the oppositions abilities that were in the rules but not mentioned in the manual? For the first time ever I felt like I had to THINK about how to beat the enemy! I didn't feel like I was playing a game of Halo."
"Oh."
Session 17.16 Alex Warlorn
Pinkie Pie sat in Tartarus. Where Tirek was speaking in character to his character's in game friends as they played Rainbows and Crystals 3.5 once again. "Now remember, my sister is VERY shy about hugs, so when she says 'no' she means yes, and when she says yes, she means 'super-yes!'"
Somewhere in the depth of her mind. Pinkie Pie actually had to admire Tirek for bouncing back from his fluster of his long distant and long HATED brother joining him in the campaign Celestia insisted Pinkie Pie keep going for the tyrant. "Okay Tricky!" Pinkie Pie replied in character. "We'll give'er the best surprise party ever since you won't be able to be here for it!"
"Thanks! Your the best friends ever!"
And so it was, as Scorpan's character, Tricky The Unicorn's sister Score The Pegasus entered Tricky's house, she was tackled from every direct, hugging her so much she couldn't even move.
Meanwhile, Tricky followed up on where a group of Grumps were, and lured them through a one way street lane, and managed to huggle and cuddle all of them bottle neck style, managing to make them all happy, with only losing a little HP (Happy Points) herself and raking in the experience points, and of course getting more praise from Ponyville ponies on saving the town from the Grumps.
By the time Score had gotten out of the house of hug happy ponies, Tricky had already arranged a flying lesson with Thistle Whistle. "And you wouldn't want to make her feel unhappy and make her think you didn't want to be around her would you?"
This let Tricky get back to her scheme of enslaving all the Breezies in Ponyland, without them knowing they were enslaved, nor the big ponies knowing it. Tricky just told the breezies how every pony in Ponyville was now a Princess, and how every princess needed ladies in waiting...