The Dungeon Master woke up like a scared deer. She found herself constricted on one of the main hall’s chairs. The rope was almost crushing her bones. In front of her, Gilda and Nitpick were playing with their phones while eating some snacks. On the sofa, her brother and Sugarcoat were resting with a towel on their heads, still unconscious and breathing peacefully.
“So… I lost.”
“Ugh, yu wk up!”
“Could you please speak with an empty mouth? I did not understand you, Mr. Bittersweet.”
“You woke up.”
“Ah… yes. I am once more in the world of the awoken!”
“I’m surprised you woke this fast! I mean, you received two full blows to the head!”
“The Blueblood Lineage that runs in my veins has the silly property of enduring extinction! Don’t you find it strange that our lineage has very few royals on its history compared to others, and still be prevalent on modern times? We are like cockroaches that simply refuse to die!”
“You don’t sound very happy with your lineage!”
“My brother is there.”
The Twin-like Duo looked at Blueblood with a face of skepticism. “Point taken. Still, you gave us a lot of trouble.”
“We demand explanations.”
“You throw me on the trash bin, I don’t like Miss Sugarcoat, and my brother is an egocentric imbecile.”
“I told you it would be something like that, Gily!”
“Gily?”
“Ah, it’s a secret joke between us.” Gilda said.
“Something stupid happened while we dragged all of you here. But now… tell us about the traps! How did you do this? It’s exposition time now.”
“Money. Two million dollars were spent on this to be exact.”
“Who designed the dungeon?”
“I did. It took me four hours to design the layout, puzzles, poems and traps for the place. Then I hired theme park constructors and they worked day and night to revamp the basement and some parts of the house. The costumes were a greater challenge since I didn’t know your exact measures. I had to hire external help to make them quick and with the best quality possible. Miss Pommel and Miss Threads were her names, I believe.”
“This explains why my armor was so bulky and uncomfortable!”
“Oh no! Phase One armor was bulky in the description. Or I am mistaken?” Nitpick just gave her a little smile of approval.
“Some of those traps could have killed us.” Gilda said.
“You were never in danger.”
“What about the arrow room?”
“Only the first batch contained actual arrows. When you rode the CBT, all the ammunition shot at you were actually tennis balls.”
“The strange ooze!”
“That was a Middle East recipe of aromatherapy! The sulfur smell was only applied to the door. When you got inside the first room, the effects of the tranquilizer were taking place! Even if you managed to come this far, it certainly weakened you in mind and body! Why did you choose to go your separate ways to find me when strength in numbers would have been wiser in case of an attack? More importantly, the key on the room that Sugarcoat was supposed to go was the master key to the whole house. In the end, you had plenty of ways to escape. You just did not search good enough.”
“The gun.” Nitpick held the weapon.
“Aim to that pot near the window and shoot. I assure you that nothing will happen.” He obeyed, and the rifle only shot dark smoke. But there was no recoil or bullet flying from the cartridge. The pot exploded by itself. “It is laser based. All the ceramics had a little bomb inside. None of the explosives are potent enough to send flying away the rubble. I believe Sugarcoat noticed the mechanism before she lost consciousness.”
“The axe!”
“Touch its edge.”
“…It’s dull! Then you broke that door with pure strength.”
“And that was my downfall. I’m not really that strong or fit so I ended up expending all my energy in that action. I overestimated my chances. Ah… I wanted to win so badly.”
“Win what?”
“My Happy Ending!”
Both of them looked at her with an unimpressed face. “Survey says!”
“Pretty lame! That was pretty lame!”
“What?”
“Give us a reason to not call the police!”
“I don’t have any! I don’t regret a thing from my acts! Once the news spread on the media, I’ll be free from the façade of living in a cage of gold and silk!”
“Do you really want this to be made public? Are you insane? Think about your parents’ reputation!”
“We are not asking for bribery. Just apology and we won’t say a word.”
“Why I should care for the reputation of those two? Those money-hungry beasts that spread their tentacles on the globe’s economy and destroys the dreams of millions upon millions of citizens! Those filthy pigs that care not for the well-being of the world, or their friends, their family… their seeds!”
“Hey…” Gilda said softly. “At least you have riches to enjoy and your parents are still around. Perhaps they are just too busy… You can make a difference with that money while at it and… I don’t know. Explore the world or something!”
“For what? Filling my empty ego and become a social brat for the media to gossip? An empty soul whoring for attention and proving that I can do that most don’t? LIES! All what you see on TV are lies! Only a madman could enjoy such lack of privacy!”
“I don’t think that’s a healthy way to see the world. Media sucks, true. But, you at least have a family.”
“What do you know about my family?” Reem filled the air with hostility. The soft smile slowly turned into a medium of hatred. “Let’s pretend that she is a loved child! Let’s pretend that she is a perfect child! Let’s pretend that her parents love her so much that they are willing to let her run free on the wild. Let’s pretend… that they are always there…” Her tears came in full force. “Who was there to read a story before bedtime… and shun away the monsters… below the bed?” Her eyes shut down… and she wept.
In silence, with a little smile.
Gilda locked her eyes with hers, looking for the right words inside her mind. It wasn’t easy… but somehow, she felt it was something that must be shared. After a long moment of reflection, she slowly closed her eyes and sighed with shade of grey. “I don’t have parents.”
“…Excuse me?” She asked weakly.
“When I was born, Stalliongrad still had troubles embracing the Global Union policies for education and family. My parents, at least what my Grandma told me, didn’t want to be held back by a child that could increase their expenses. Grandpops was far away in an unknown country, looking for something to help us out and bring food to the table. One day, my Grandma had to go where he was… and my parents ran away.”
“Why… are you telling me this?”
Gilda looked at the roof, drinking her sweet tea in a snail’s pace. “I spent four years on the streets. I was seven at that time. I joined a little gang of thieves to stay alive. You know, teamwork makes for it. It wasn’t family, but at least we had some food on nights… when were lucky. Then one day, my Grandparents came for me. I refused to go with them at first. I was tough and stubborn… I still am.” She chuckled. “In the end, however, a sense of nostalgia dawned on me… the longing of tasting Grandma’s soup was irresistible. I eventually came here, to Equestria, the land of the free… the rest, is another story. So, don't think you had it rough! You are blessed, and you should embrace it!”
“I am so sorry…” Reem said humbled while looking to her feet. Her shoes were shinny and new.
“I…” Nitpick was struggling with his words. “I don’t have a past like that, to be honest. But I know what it feels to experience… family rejection. Mother always makes fun of me, even if she doesn’t realize it. Forcing me to marry as soon as possible, saying that a person without marriage is a person without happiness.”
“I know what you mean, Mr. Bittersweet… sick social system is sick.”
“My sister is a sweetie, so there is not much to say. The real problem… is my Father. No matter what I do… I just can’t ever please him! Always saying that I can improve on something! If I get a perfect note, he finds something to complain about it and offer improvement. I don’t have his genius and everybody around him expects of me… to be like him! It’s not fair… Always living on his shadow, always criticized on why I didn’t inherit his genius and sense of labor. I looked at other children that had fathers buy ice creams for them or taking them to the movies… I just received complains… And a stupid name. The only one who understood me was my paternal Grandfather and he is currently… unavailable.”
"Why?"
"Well... shit happens! Besides, they must learn to allow me to show my true self to the world!"
"And what is that?"
"That I am still a whiny teenager!" Reem chuckled innocently.
“Inside a dream, many moons ago, I saw the world I had walked since my birth and I understood how fragile it was.” The trio looked back and saw Sugarcoat looking at the roof; her visage was filled with grey. “It’s so easy to wish upon the candles of delusions for something to happen, and when you finally realize you must give everything you have to make everyone happy around you; you realize that… you end up without anything for yourself. The many dreams that a cake hold are precious… and you never taste any of it with the people that should share it with you!”
“Miss Sugarcoat…”
“I don’t approve of your recent, silly joke… But I understand what you feel. My Mother is a psychotherapist. My Father is a traumatologist. They barely are at home and when there is time to be together, they decide to sleep. I don’t blame them… they even buy me expensive things to compensate my lack of entertainment since I wasn’t… I’m not a people-person… but… it is lonely. I always received a cake, milkshakes, some presents, and a cookie. A little cookie with the shape of Ginger-man that could appease my mind and give me a reason to fight for my dream was all I had on those days.”
“Are we really having this conversation?” Blueblood woke up, rubbed his arms for a moment and looked at everyone with heavy eyes. “But I know what you all mean… It feels like an empty experience, never having someone to share a slice of cake, that is. And I’m sorry, Reem. I didn’t know you were this alone all these years… Father said that you were fine and I didn’t bother in looking for you. I only thought on myself, my amusement and… Ah… if I was only there to be at your side…”
“Arbelth…”
“Yeah… not having someone to share with you the moment where you blow away the candles is somewhat gloomy. I had friends during middle school… but I never had a proper celebration. I came to a point that I ended up secretly hating birthdays.” Nitpick sighed with a sense of regret. Then he laughed softly. “This is silly.”
“I never had a birthday celebration before… at least, not where I had a slice of cake on the table. Not even with Rainbow…” Gilda played with her fingers with a sense of longing. “To be honest, I hoped to have a nice time today.”
“We can still have one incredible day!” Reem exclaimed with unexpected happiness. “We can still make this day the best yet!”
“How?” The quartet asked.
“ROSALINE STAR!” From the shadows, Rosaline and several maidens and butlers appeared like the wind. “It is party time!”
“As you wish, My Lady!” They vanished like the smoke, leaving speechless to guests of the Noble.
“Ninjas?” Gilda asked amazed. “They exist?”
“Tee hee hee! Not like in the movies or fiction but yes, they are something like that! They were the ones who made all the paranormal activities possible in the first place! Oh! Also they were the ones that knocked you out instead of the guns!”
“So… no devilish powers were at hand, huh?” Sugarcoat looked at the Prince with a cocky smile. Her soon-to-be friend looked away in shame.
Pizza, lemonade, coke, hundreds of fried potatoes and other delicacies soon rained on the table. Slowly, they started to open up, filling the halls with laughter and leaving behind any bad blood they had. It wasn’t the Prince’s favorite foods… but he let it go this time. Secretly, he started to like the junk food. Reem opened her present: A little pendant resembling a blue rose bud.
“It is beautiful!” She shed several tears filled with light. “Thank you… I’ll treasure this forever!” She quickly wore it, becoming part of her usual outfit for the rest of her life. “Forgive me… for giving you many troubles.”
“Bah! Forget it!” Nitpick said.
“I believe we have the solution on how you could repay us!” Sugarcoat added.
“Which is?”
“YOUR SUFFERING!” The guest yelled in unison.
“Oh… Oh!”
The storm was long gone.
….
“HURRY YOUR ASS, OAKWOOD! Those documents won’t fill themselves with your sweat and blood alone!”
“Yes, Miss – Ah! Yes, Sugarcoat! I’m working as fast as I can!”
“BITTERSWEET! HEAVENSBANE! Go with Moondancer and help her with one of her stupid investigations! It seems that there was a commotion on the gym hall and Champion supervision is required!”
“Fucking bitch and her perfectionism! I hate her!”
“We should have never removed that idiot of Dust from power!”
“That’s my cousin you are talking about, Gilda!”
“Wanna fight with me, bitch?”
“Less complaining and more work! Move it, you two! Zap, go to the main hall and help Blueblood with the student interviews for the next Science Season! I’ll go with Principal Cinch to renew the permits for the golf team to use the fields on the city!”
“But I hate that guy! And Sparkle will be put in charge of that silly proposition!”
“FUCKING SPARKLY AND HER STUPID PROJECTS!”
“GO WITH MOONDANCER ALREADY, YOU STUPID APES! And it’s your duty to join them, Zap! Now go! OAKWOOD!”
“Someone save from this evil sovereign…”
“DO YOU WANT IT TAKE IT OUTSIDE?”
“BRING IT ON, FOUR EYES!”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY, BITCH!?”
“Nothing.”
Two weeks after that fateful birthday, many things happened on Crystal Prep Academy. The Twin-like Duo helped Sugarcoat on making Lighting Dust quit her position. They challenged her to a test of intellect and she lost spectacularly. Nitpick ascended to Champion Leader status, and since his reputation on being good natured with the lower class was cheered among the normal students, he soon gained some followers to aid him during public activities. Gilda decided to stick in and become his Second in Command.
Sugarcoat defeated Dusty Silverwind in an honorable competition and became the new Champion. Rumors say that Silverwind wept a single tear of pride to her new successor behind the scenes. She also fulfilled her promise with Gilda and subscribed her to the cooking classes. Not only that, she helped the Twin-like Duo in catching on with their scores. In less than two months, they met the minimum requirements to keep their scholarships afloat. Gilda even won a cooking tournament; her steak and fried potatoes were a favorite on the crowd. With time, she also learned to not shout at every turn. She still does it from time to time, much to Zap's dismay.
Reem was slaved to death because of her Champion status. That and Sugarcoat being a workaholic bitch... for some months, at least. Blueblood aided her in her struggles, but still, it was too much in the beginning. She wondered how Sugarcoat did her responsibilities all this time with the former Champion Silverwind. But it didn’t matter… she decided to stop bickering and accept life as it comes. The world is for the people who struggle for their happiness. You can’t buy it, or cheat it with magic. One thing was for certain… she enjoyed the tea that Rosaline made for her after a long day of school. Perhaps… she never needed her parents’ attention at all.
Blueblood was the hardest to open to the gang. Not for shame, but stubbornness and luxury. The Royal tastes were so stupid and infuriating for his new friends that sometimes minor violence was the only answer to solve arguments. Even so, he strangely fitted in with them. It was challenging, and at same time, new for him. It was real. The bonds he was forming, that is.
….
….
Our friendship isn’t perfect!
It is far from it.
We struggle!
We bitch!
We challenge!
And we slowly accept our differences.
It is not easy, and even in the present, we are still learning from one another.
But the truth is, that the most awesome things are the hardest to get.
And we wouldn’t like it another way!
The struggles of today… will become a reward in the future!