Session 20
Session 20.0 Grogar-the-oneser
"Let us out of here!" Adagio snapped. They were back in the human world as Twilight had sent Sunset back after promising both her and Trixie they would discuss the apprentice thing later in a hopefully more peaceful matter without any straightjackets or lightsabers involved. "It's been two hours already!!"
"Yeah, open up! I can't stand her whining anymore!" Aria added annoyed.
"Sorry but Twilight said to keep you in there for two and a half hour till you learn your lesson about causing international incidents, apprentice battles and lover quarrels," Pinkie (The human one) said. "Don't worry though you've already reached two hours, you only have thirty minutes to go."
"Thirty minutes! What are we suppose to do until then!" Aria snapped.
"Wanna played hangman?"
"OH! me, me! I wanna play hangman!" Sonata's voice said excitedly.
"Great, let me get a min- chalkboard and a chalk and we'll get started." Pinkie said as she left to find said items.
"I hate my life right now. No wait scratch that, I hate everyone else's life at this moment due to being continuously roadblock to what should have been a good feast." Adagio muttered.
Session 20.1 Alex Warlorn
"Nothing will stop me from covering all of Equestria in Trees! BWAHAHAHAHH!' Cackles the deer king!"
"Not if I can help it! Smite Evil!" Declared Shining Armor.
"'AAAAAAAGH!' I have the right of nature on my side! How could you oppose me!?!'" Said Gaffer.
"Ya know, if the REAL King Aspen finds out about this, we're likely in for another incident." Gizmo said.
"Don't worry about it." Said Eight-Bit. "This game is just for us. It's not going to be distributed."
"And believe it or not, Chrysalis provided security so deer DON'T find out about this game." Shining Armor said.
"WHAT?!" Gizmo exclaimed. "SHE, helped YOU?"
Shining Armor shrugged. "I barely believe it myself. She said something about hating the deer almost as much as she hates Celsetia."
"I wonder what happened." Gaffer wondered.
The world got wavy and harp music played.
-Several Thousand Years Ago, Maybe-
"Lala-lalala-lala-la-la!" Sang Princess Chrysalis, happily skipping along in the grassy field licking her love flavored ice-cream.
Then she ran straight into the rather scowling face of some creature else.
"You hurt flower!" Prince Aspen snorted pointing behind her.
Princess Chryssy looked to see she'd stepped on a daisy, in a field full of them.
Without another word, the Prince slapped the love flavored ice-cream out of her cone, where it splattered on the ground. Then he trotted away smiling heroically.
Princess Chryssy fell on her hocks and broke down crying. "WHAAAAAAAAAH!"
Session 20.2 MtangaLion
Princess Twilight settled comfortably on a couch. A magically preserved Neighgyptian tome rested on a book stand nearby. The cover had a triangle with an red eye, above the title inscription 'Games to Play with Ponies.' She levitated a blank book and a fresh quill, ready to begin writing down her translation.
Twilight took a deep, cleansing breath. "Finally, some peace and quiet." She hesitated, then looked left and right. "I've got to stop saying things like that." She chuckled. "Maybe I should start taking sips of tea instead, like Celestia." She pressed the quill to the paper and began to write...
"Really!?" bellowed Starlight Glimmer from somewhere in the castle, loud enough to startle Twilight into snapping the quill. "Really? I can't believe that even you would do something like this!"
"Exactly what are you implying by 'even me,' darling?" shouted Rarity's voice back at her. "Care to explain?"
Twilight counted to five, fuming, then judged that the voices were coming from the study and teleported herself straight there. "Okay, what's this all... about?"
If somepony had told Twilight to expect a Diamond Dog wearing a dress, Twilight might have laughed despite herself. Alisa in a Prench maid's uniform was something else altogether... she looked elegant, fur groomed to perfection, wearing a neatly tied black ribbon on her tail and carrying a silver tray balanced on a forepaw. "Your highness!" she spoke, sounding like Octavia of all ponies. "Would you care for a cup?"
Starlight groaned. "Tell her, Twilight! Tell Rarity that Alisa isn't her pet or her servant!"
Alisa turned her nose up at Starlight. "I beg your pardon, Miss Glimmer, but you are mistaken. Lady Rarity is indeed my alpha, and I take great pleasure in serving her. Are you certain you won't try the chamomile? It's freshly brewed."
Rarity winced slightly. "Is it the outfit that's upsetting you, darling? I must confess, that was rather a surprise to me as well. Alisa pleaded with me to allow her to dress up and play some role, if I wouldn't permit her to use those full-body costumes again. If you'd seen that face, with the drooping ears and the puppy-dog eyes..."
"You know it's not that," grumbled Starlight. "She's a talented and intelligent person, considering all those impersonations she pulled off... and that dragon transformation spell definitely wasn't amateur stuff either, but for some reason..." She gritted her teeth. "She won't even stand up for herself and demand to be treated equally! She insists on being subservient!"
Twilight silently counted to ten this time. "Rarity, I assume you've talked about this with Alisa?"
"I have tried," said Rarity. "Perhaps it's best if she tells you herself. Please answer their questions, Alisa, and speak in your normal voice too, if you would."
The wolf frowned, and set the tea tray on one of the study tables. "I will speak like Diamond Wolves speak, then. Alisa... is not talking so much. I don't know how she should speak."
Twilight jumped a bit, the tone of voice was so completely different. "So... If Rarity told you to go back to the Diamond Wolf clans... what would you do?"
Alisa grinned toothily. "I would be happy that Lady Rarity is sending me to begin a new Wolf Game. I am knowing many naughty tricks we could play on former master Prince Erik, many secrets we could be exposing to embarrass him. I promise, I'll be much more careful and not get unmasked again."
"But what if, hypothetically speaking, you did get caught?" asked Twilight.
Alisa shrugged. "I would be serving new alpha, probably playing many tricks on ponies to get even for ponies getting even with wolves. That's the Wolf Game."
"Wait, wait," said Starlight crossly. "Who said anything about starting a new Wolf Game? What if Rarity told you to go home and do whatever *you* want to do?"
Alisa tilted her head, fluffy tail flicking. "Home is here, where Lady Rarity is, where my pack is." She grinned toothily again. "And Lady Rarity is wise, much smarter than Erik! If she is saying 'You decide yourself how best to serve the pack,' then I will be happy that Lady Rarity is trusting my judgment!"
Starlight magically yanked on her own hair. "How does she do that? How does she keep twisting everything I say?"
"Gee, I can't imagine," deadpanned Twilight.
"Wait, wait... aha!" Starlight pointed a hoof. "You said you'd be happy to play the Wolf Game again. Does that mean you'd be *unhappy* if Rarity kept you here in Ponyville and *didn't* start any new games like that?"
Alisa scratched at her chin with a paw. "No Wolf Games?" Her face lit up. "Why... then I would be greatly flattered, knowing that Lady Rarity values my service so much that she is not wishing to risk me in another game!"
Starlight facehoofed. "If Alisa had a cutie mark, I swear, I'd steal it right now!" She trotted over, magically grabbed a teacup, and swallowed the contents in one gulp. "I give up. If everyone's fine with it... then I guess I am too, just so long as you're paying her for the work."
Princess Twilight seized on that. "Alisa, would getting paid like a live-in pony maid would offend you?"
"Oh, and a tutor as well," said Rarity brightly. "She could teach Sweetie Belle a bit of magic when Twilight's occupied."
Alisa pondered that. "I like this idea. I will be having spending money for new costumes and tasty meats at the griffon restaurant." Rarity gave her a look. "As wolf, not pony. Mistress Rarity should get over it. It was a good joke."
"That's another hour with Sweetie Belle, darling."
Alisa growled briefly. "Can I be putting on Pinkie Pie costume and teaching pack alpha to have a sense of humor?"
"Two hours!"
"Good, good! Mistress is learning humor already!"
Session 20.3 Grogar-the-oneser
Mina's grandfather, Master Babylon and Former Dragon Lord of Equestria Torch were staring face to face. Both were seen by their respective faction as the bitterest of enemies ready to slit the other one's throat. Right now both were fighting in a fierce battle.... of Go.
"So you're saying you had no idea that young Spike was a member of pony society?"
"No, the call was supposed to just summon dragons in Equestria that aren't residents of Dragon Town. Nothing more, nothing less. Didn't expect there was a dragon living in Ponyville," Torch rumbled a he move a piece carefully.
"If it makes you feel better he didn't know Dragon Town existed till a fire-slug incident," Master Babylon stated.
"What, did somedragon lose their lunch and let the things overpopulate?" Torch said.
"Possibly, I didn't get all the details myself," Master Babylon calmly said. "Though I heard Celestia herself say she tried to tell the boy earlier about Dragon Town as an alternative to the Migration during last Great Dragon Migration but her letter was burnt to a cinder apparently."
"Hmm, well don't bother asking me who did it, I wasn't their for the last Migration. What I do know is, he had guts for sticking with the trial for the Scepter, despite getting my pardon," Ex-Dragon Lord Torch said. "He's got guts, I'll give him that."
"On that, I can completely agree with you," Master Babylon nodded. "By the way, it's nice that we old timers have a chance to play this game."
"I guess," Ex-Dragon Lord Torch said. "I prefer a nice game of rugby myself."
Session 20.4 Zaku789
"What the heck is Pinkie doing?" Sunset asked as it looked like Pinkie was doing her laundry, while on a live-wire.
"Extreme ironing," a voice said.
Both girls blinked. "What?"
"Extreme ironing," Maud repeated as she and Limestone walked into view. "Its a sport that double as a performance art."
"...By ironing?" Sunset asked slightly incredulous.
"If you hadn't notice people who do this sport apparently do so in weird locations. In Pinkie's case, she doing so on a live-wire," Limestone said annoyed.
"Okay, that can't be a real thing," Rainbow said. "It's obviously something you Pie sisters made up just to mess with us."
"It's a real thing, look it up," Limestone said annoyed.
"We will and it will show us that it's not a-"
-30 minutes later-
"REAL THING?!" Dash said shocked as she watched the video showing extreme ironing.
"Hmm.... you know, I'm now kinda curious as what kind of cutie mark one would get if their life talent was that sport," Sunset mused.
Session 20.5 Mooncalf99
"Okay, so you approach a large, wheel-shaped space station spinning slowly in deep space," Spike said. "What do you do?"
"What's the sitch on the juice in our cruise?" Rarity asked.
"Well, you're not dry yet…" Spike said.
"We should probably tank up anyway," Applejack said. "No need ta take risks."
Tonight's game was held in Rarity's boutique, to help maintain the party split until Twilight decided to reunite the groups. Sunburst had been offered an opportunity to sit in there as well, but he said that having one character was enough for him (although he thought that Starlight's split-character concept was quite ingenious and novel, a statement that had made the mare curiously red in the face for some reason) and was instead taking the opportunity to sample the castle library. Rarity had taken the opportunity to play the gracious host with tea and cake, and a terrible disaster had narrowly been averted just earlier when Sweetie Belle had tried to help out.
"Do we have any idea they came this way, though?" Discord asked. "We should ask around for any signs. Fortunately, I'm sufficiently secure in my masculinity that I am able to stop and ask for directions." He looked at Starlight. "I don't suppose you happen to have an ability to track your less uptight half?"
"Not unless the game master says I do," Starlight said, trying to ignore that 'playful' remark. "Anyway, I'm guessing that Spike has put some effort into this place, so if we move on we'll just drift around for a while until we come across a nearly identical place."
"No metagaming," Spike warned. "But yeah, I suppose."
"I think we should stop," Fluttershy said. "My character is probably getting a little antsy from being cooped up all the time."
"Yeah, you don't want to meet the little antsies from her homeworld," Discord said.
"Oh, you," she giggled. "So what does this station look like, besides a wheel? Have we heard about it? Does it have a history?"
"Yes, actually!" Spike declared proudly. "It's actually an old decommissioned military station from The Great Pointless War, which ravaged this sector centuries ago until all sides were so worn out and broke from the fighting that a few formerly neutral parties were able to step in and put a final end to the fighting. The war had a different name at first, but you know what they say, the winners write the history books."
"War, huh," Rarity muttered. "What is it good for? Absolutely nothing."
"No objection there," Starlight said. "Twilight told me about the Equestrias she'd seen at war… it wasn't pretty. Have I mentioned how glad I am, in retrospect, that you girls put a stop to all that?"
"Shucks, ain't nothin' to it," Applejack chuckled modestly. "Ah'm honestly surprised nopony else took up the task when we didn't."
"Well, somepony must have tried, since Nightmare Moon wasn't around when King Sombra waged war…" Starlight mused. She had actually thought a great deal about this. "Or when Queen Chrysalis was the antagonist. Or… well, perhaps I was subconsciously affecting the spell to show timelines where Twilight failed as much as possible, to punish her…" She suddenly felt a hoof around her shoulders, and looked up into the kindly smiling face of Fluttershy. "Sorry. I shouldn't be so gloomy. Please, go on, Spike."
He nodded. "Right, as I was saying, the original builders could no longer afford to run the places," Spike continued. "So they were stripped of everything except the basic superstructure. Later, some clever business aliens moved in, restored the life support, and set up shop as a kind of rest stop, trading stop, tourist trap, kind of thing. The topmost floor is actually one big park area, with plants and ponds and everything."
"Aww, that sounds so nice," Fluttershy cooed. "So much less sterile and bleak than I thought. Do they have animals too?"
"Do alien visitors count?" Discord said with a wink. "Okay, it's decided. Number One, make it so."
"Come again?" Applejack asked, confused.
"Sorry, always wanted to say that," Discord said. "Just bring us in, Crimson Tape."
"The docking procedures finish properly, despite your pilot's spirited attempt to botch," Spike said, grinning at a fuming Applejack. Her dice had rolled ones until Bucks McGillicutty sent the blasted things out the window. She went through a lot of dice that way. "After a quick decontamination, you are released onto the middle deck: the recreational area with shops, restaurants and other amenities. The signs indicate that the lower deck is dedicated to the station's industrial facilities and support, while the upper is, as I said, the park. So what do you want to do?"
"Ooh, shopping!" Rarity squealed. "I've got cash to burn! It's not Equestrian stuff, but they might have something groovy. I mean, yeah, dudettes."
"Might be a good idea ta stock up," Applejack agreed. "Besides, ah can always use more weird alien doohickeys an' stuff fer mah science."
"Much as I would never object to running around willy-nilly and get into trouble, let's take care of the main task first, okay?" Discord said. "I look around for somepony… eh, somealien who might have seen the nut squad. Do I see anyone?"
"Most of the aliens here are busy, but you see an old fellow by the bay windows, looking at the stars like he's got time to spare," Spike said.
"Ah, perfect!" Discord said. "An old guy, you said? The kindly grandfather-y type? I can work with that. I walk up to him." He brushed his mane back smoothly. "Sir? May I please have a moment of your time? I am looking for some of my friends, and I'm wondering if you've seen them…"
"The giant disembodied floating head turns around and looks at you," Spike said.
"…Fair's fair, I did not see that coming," Discord admitted. "No matter, I've seen stranger things. He's not shooting lightning at me from his eyes or anything, is he?"
"Not at the moment," Spike said. "He's smiling at you in, yes, a very kindly grandfather way. He's got long silvery hair and facial wrinkles deep enough to hide a sandwich, and you can't tell how he's floating like that. His eyes are closed."
"Okay," Discord said. He collected himself. "You see, Sir, we were separated earlier and I really need to bring them home. Their mothers are so worried. Or whatever they have instead of mothers."
Spike cleared his throat and altered his voice a bit. "'The dove is on the steeple, facing the rain without regrets.'"
Discord blinked. "Okay? Uh, one of them's this snake guy with six wings and six eyes, and one looks like a pony made of incandescent plasma. She's a real… uh, she's very noticeable in her behavior too, so you must have noticed her if she passed by. Not very easy to ignore, that girl. And there's a few others, too."
"'Three will stand, four will return; the long, the suffering, the breath of your lungs,'" Spike declared.
Discord stared at him. "I… don't know what that's supposed to mean."
"'The headpiece of Frinn only rarely adhere to skin,'" Spike declared. "'No sprog with right mouse button.'"
Discord threw up his claw and paw in defeat. "I don't get it. Anypony else have a clue?"
"Make a smarts roll if you think your character should know anything about extraterrestrial culture," Spike said.
"Oh, that would probably be my thing, since I want to know how other societies work as compared to my own," Starlight said enthusiastically. "Nine! Do I figure anything out?"
"You suspect that you're dealing with a Confusian Monk," Spike said. "They're a mystical order that allegedly seek inwards enlightenment through outwards confusion. They travel all over the universe and don't generally make much sense."
"Hmm." Discord stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Okay, that's a neat concept, but my character is far too straight-laced to indulge in this. I very much doubt I can get through to this guy. Can I find someone else?"
"You should try harder," Starlight said. "It's our friends we're talking about, after all."
"Are they really our friends, though?" Discord asked. "Seems like they're doing everything they can to get away from us."
"Of course they are our friends," Starlight insisted. "They may be strange and odd and different, but they consider us friends just like we consider them the same. You could say that we're all the same, in that we are different from each other…"
Spike blinked, then got a clever look. "The monk suddenly takes notice of you, and zooms over. 'Differences show commonality? Unity through individuality? Your words, they intrigue. Please, tell more.'"
"Uh… okay?" Starlight was a surprised by this, but she wasn't going to back away from a challenge. "Well… in Equestria, everypony gets a cutie mark, but the mark represents who you are and is unique…" She hesitated. She didn't like to admit the flaws of her old philosophy, but she had to admit that Twilight and her friends had a point, that differences could still support harmonious coexistence as long as you let them. The fact that she could get along with them, with Sunburst, even with Trixie, Gilda and Discord… "Everypony has a destiny that sets them aside. But everypony share in the commonality of harmony and are equal in their hearts. Even non-pony races are as different as they are the same."
"'That… makes no sense,'" Spike said. "He looks very happy when he say that, however. He then begins a lengthy lecture that somehow compels you to listen, even though it sounds like gibberish." He pointed at the others. "To the rest of you, it actually is gibberish." He turned back. "This is going to take a while. Is Lib going to listen?"
"Absolutely," Starlight said. "I'm always interested in finding out about other cultures, and he seems so passionate about it. So what's he saying?"
"Actually, I don't really know," Spike admitted. "There's only so much nonsense I can come up with without referencing Sdrawkcab's Book Of Nonsensical Statements, and that's back in the castle. Let's just off-screen it."
"Okay, while they're yammering, The Diva's hitting the shops," Rarity said. "Mama needs new threads."
"Ah go with her," Applejack said.
"I'd like to see the park area, if it's okay," Fluttershy said. "Random, are you coming?"
"Yeah, I need a breather," Discord said. "Give a holler if the GM takes advantage of the split-up to ambush you."
"Wait and see," Spike said in what he thought was a sinister voice. "Okay, Starlight, I mean Lib. After a lengthy debate that makes less sense than Quesadilla's One Less Week retcon… seriously, what the hay…" He caught himself. "Uh, right. You're now a rank zero Confusian Initiate."
"Did I just get indoctrinated?" Starlight said with a raised eyebrow.
"It's more like enlightened…" His eyes widened as he realized what he was implying… and who he was implying it to. "No, no, it's not - I mean, I'm not trying to--"
"Just tell me honestly. Is he on the up and up?" Starlight said.
"Yes," Spike said empathetically. "He's weird but good, trust me."
"Thank you," she replied. "So what does it mean to be an Initiate?" She started taking notes on the back of her character sheet. Free stuff was free stuff, after all.
"You can communicate properly with him, as well as any other Confusian Monks you encounter, without any unenlightened understanding you," Spike explained. "Also, you may attempt to locate Monks and get help from them, since they're allegedly hiding all over the galaxy. And you get a plus one knack in something related to being confusing. Make something up."
"I'll think of something. But first I ask the Head Monk if he knows where our friends are," she said.
"He actually hasn't seen them," Spike said. "And like Random said, he would have if they had been here at all. He points out that the spinward region is pirate territory, though, and that they might have been caught up in their business."
"That would make sense for that bunch. After all, Ra is always a victim to her reckless impulses," she said with a smirk.
"Did you just badmouth yourself?" Discord asked, curious.
"No, but Ra is technically everything Lib isn't, so she would disapprove." She frowned. "Am I doing this roleplaying right?"
"Yer doin' fine," Applejack said reassuringly.
"Oh, good," Starlight said. "Okay, I don't have anything else to ask him. I'll wander a bit before regrouping."
Spike turned to Rarity and Applejack. "Okay, Diva and Crimson. You've found the shopping district, more or less. Lots of… uh, well, shops. Some big, some small. One alien that looks kind of like a spined seapony with fangs doesn't even have a building to work out of, and has just thrown a blanket on the ground. At least you think it's a blanket, because it's kind of twitching and pulsating."
"Dare I even ask what he… she… it… is selling?" Rarity asked.
"Equestrian memorabilia," Spike said. "Fine Equestrian decorations and everyday goods, as well as prized historical artifacts that are a must-have for the discerning collector."
"Ah take a closer look at th' wares," Applejack said. "An' the guy. Have ah seen anyalien like him around back home? Ah make a Smarts roll." She rolled a four. "Right, don't got no alien-knowing knacks, so that's a ten."
"It bares its fangs at you in what you hope is meant to be a smile," Spike said. "And no, you've never seen anything like this visit Equestria. Of course, that doesn't say much since a lot of aliens show up. Among the goods, you find - according to the label - a genuine beeting screw from Sweet Beets Acres, autographed by Beetjack herself."
"Oh, really?" Applejack said.
"As well as Princess Plutonium's ichor mace, and the Element of Harmony," Spike continued.
"Ah getcha," Applejack said. "Ah raise my voice and shout: Hey, everyalien! This guy's a lyin' shyster! This stuff's worthless junk an' not from Equestria at all!"
"The alien hisses angrily, and rips his 'blanket' from the floor with a wet sound, before jumping into an air duct and escaping," Spike said.
"Nice work, straight-lace," Rarity said with appreciation.
"Well, pretty obvious, really," Applejack said modestly.
"To an Equestrian, yes, but to the aliens here?" Discord pointed out. "I'll wager that guy made a pretty bit off the rubes until you showed up." He stroked his chin. "Now, how do we get in on that action…"
"Hey now! Ah won't let ya pull any scams on mah watch!" Applejack protested.
"Oh, but I'm not planning on scamming, mon pisteur," Discord said with a smug grin. "After all, Random Act is a genuine Equestrian pony, so anything he produces would, quite reasonably, be genuine Equestrian craftsponyship. Also, this is out of character talk, so you don't actually know what I'm up to. Besides, I need to find a way to make money somehow, since I'm still in debt to Libra."
"I might consider calling off that debt…" Starlight suggested.
"Oh, really," Discord said warily. "And what, pray tell, would that cost me?"
"Well, I'd have to reunite with Ra before making that kind of decision," she continued with a grin.
"Tease," Discord muttered. "Just build up my hopes before crushing them, why don't you?"
"Not so fun when the horseshoe's on tha other hoof, is it?" Applejack remarked.
"Hmpf," Discord huffed. "Karma's a b--"
"Ahem."
"--Bothersome individual," he finished. He glanced at Fluttershy, who was looking at him with an eyebrow raised. "What?"
"Okay, let's try to stay in character for a while longer, can we?" Spike said.
Session 20.6 Mooncalf99
"'Rugby', huh," Master Babylon scoffed. "Huh, a brutish game of charging headfirst into your opponent with reckless abandon and little wit." The Honah Lee Serpent considered while he grabbed a massive white boulder with his tail and dropped it to the ground between them. "Hm, yes. That would be your forte, indeed."
"Watch it, old snake," Ex-Lord Torch rumbled menacingly. "I can still take you. Enough brute force can cover for a lot." He snapped his claws, and four young dragons struggled to roll over an equally large black boulder to within his reach. He snatched it up, and then victoriously threw it to the ground. The very bedrock cracked and shook under the assault, knocking several smaller dragons into the air, while their larger kin struggled to remain standing. Nonetheless, the audience would not dream of fleeing.
After all, it was rare to see a real, proper game of Dragon Go. With proper pieces, even.
"Hmm, so you say, but I don't see it," Babylon muttered. "Then again, with the way my eyesight's been going the last few decades, I don't see much at all. I bumped into a few mountains on the way here... I, uh, assume they were destroyed. I must apologize." He effortlessly flung another white boulder into place, cutting off Torch's planned strategy.
"Not my mountains anymore," Torch muttered. He was not nearly so stupid as to believe that claim. Chineighse dragons were sneaky, dupliticious and tricky, and used lies and subterfuge like other dragons used flame and claws. Little surprise that members of Babylon's brood had been the ones to set up that little anarch town right within pony borders, slithering out of his own grasp in the process. No, the snake was planning something, as usual. And Torch was many things - big, strong, completely accustomed to getting his way absolutely every time - but he was not dumb. At least, not as dumb as many of his former subjects thought he was.
After careful consideration, he had another stone brought to him and put it in place in another part of the board. Let's see what happens now...
"Ah, yes, hmm. You have a successor now," Babylon said in a deliberately surprised tone, as though to establish how little the succession of the Dragon Lord meant to him and his renegade ilk. Infuriating. He flung another stone onto the board with casual abandon. "Well, well. I look forward to seeing how she'll turn out. Quite small, yes? Takes after her mother, I wager? Hmm, not the kind of Dragon Lord I would have expected you to pick..."
"You know flaming well that I did not pick her," Torch growled. "That's what the Gauntlet of Fire is for. She passed, so she must have some good talents in that tiny body of hers, so she gets to be Dragon Lord. End of story. I decided not to question it, even if it was... unusual."
"Will wonders ever cease," Babylon guffawed, his shaking belly causing another quake that sent a group of dragons careening off a cliff. "Hmm, hatchlings today are interesting. How is her skill as a player?"
"Player? You mean, the games?" Torch paused with a stone between his claws, pretending that he was distracted from the game by the conversation topic. He needed a few moments to consider and plan his next strategy. Babylon was doing that insufferable thing where he pretended to be so good that he didn't need to think about his moves, and Torch would not, not let that get to him. "Hmph. I never bothered to teach her. I don't know, she might have picked it up from somedragon else." He placed his next stone, again testing his opponent's reactions.
"Disgraceful," Babylon rumbled disapprovingly. "Hah, still, she's young, barely out of her first half-century, yes? Hatchlings learn quickly. Young Spike has a flawless understanding of the basics. Should be coming along well, as long as he listens to what Kokushi Musou teaches him..."
"You have a dragon tutoring him personally?" Torch said with more surprise than he'd hoped to let on. Obviously, he himself had never had much thought for the little ponies - they were squeaky and annoying and thankfully easy to disregard - and he'd considered it largely unimportant that the whelp intentionally lived among them. After all, eccentric behavior was par for the course when you were a dragon. Like that red weirdo who kept hugging other dragons.
On the other claw... if the Honah Lee Serpent had his own dragon in place at Spike's side, they would have a perfect opportunity to teach him dangerous and revolutionary ideas. And since Ember listened to Spike... she'd be in danger as well.
Torch stared mutely as Babylon... completely disregarded his test and put down his stone elsewhere, claiming some more ground. "Quite dedicated, is little Kokushi Musou, yes... very unconventional and unpredictable. Still needs much practice, of course, but in some ways a master in her own right. Perhaps your little Ember could learn from her as well? I'm sure she'd be happy to teach the Dragon Lord herself."
You would like that, wouldn't you, old snake? Torch thought, too distracted to notice that he placed his next stone in the wrong spot. He barely paid attention as Babylon immediately reached for his own, either. Well, I might not be the Dragon Lord anymore, but Ember is my daughter, and she listens to me. She won't go to... wait. What if she were to turn the tables on them instead? Yes, I can see that now. She'll continue her 'befriending' with the hatchling, and get this other dragon to teach her, but instead of buying into their lies, she'll use her 'befriending' to seize control of Babylon's puppet... gain influence in Dragontown... and before long, they will all bow to the Dragon Lord, and old Babylon will be out of his cushy retired life and back trawling the rivers for pearls. Hah! I win!
Babylon narrowed his eyes. "Hmm, your smile... it's unsettling. Stop it."
"Just thought of something interesting," Torch replied, forcing his wide, toothy grin into something more understated. Already, seven dragons had fainted in abject fear of it.
"Don't let it hold up the game," Babylon admonished. "We're not getting any younger, after all."
"Hah, true." Torch quickly scanned the playing field and spotted an opening that his opponent had overlooked. It would put him at a massive advantage. So much for calling me a lackwit, you old bag of scales. He grabbed one of his spare stones - reaching for it instead of bothering to let his underlings bring it closer - and slammed it down, half burying it in the bedrock. "Now what do you call that?"
Babylon just raised an eyebrow in reaction. "An illegal move, what else?"
"...What?" Torch asked in surprise, and anger. "What do you mean, illegal?!"
"It was my move, but you acted out of turn. Cheating, hmm? You forfeit the game." Babylon grinned predatorily, and five more dragons fainted. "I win."
"But you were holding..." He never actually put it down, did he? I was distracted, and he took advantage of it. Sneaky, cheating snake. "Fine. Another game, and this time I'll win!"
Session 20.7 Zaku789
"..... Ah should be more surprise that you playin' a board game somehow destroy the barn, but considerin' our luck with both the barn and board games, Ah'm not so much surprise as Ah'm annoyed," Applejack said.
"Were sorry Applejack," Apple Bloom said.
"Ah ain't mad sugarcube," Applejack said. "Frankly Ah'm kinda impress how ya managed to get all the supplies into the barn before it broke apart."
"I told you playing a game called 'Fill The Barn' At a barn was a bad idea," Scootaloo said.
"Well I thought with Snips and Snail being the ones who trigger the Jumanji thing, it be safe to play board games again without worry," Sweetie Belle said.
"Well weirder things have happen so Ah can't argue with yer logic," Applejack said.
Session 20.8 MtangaLion
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, lazily rising up to the single cloud in Ponyville's morning sky, high over Twilight's crystal castle. "So what's going on up here? Playing some *high* stakes poker?" She snickered, then blinked. "Whoa..."
Starlight Glimmer smiled tiredly, floating in her turquoise magic aura. "That joke's been made. Pinkie Pie here has a crazy theory that my magic has gotten weaker."
"Hi, Dash!" said Pinkie cheerfully, pedaling her improbable candy cane balloon copter flying machine. "Yeah, she's definitely gotten weaker, cause that's what happens when evil villains get defeated and join the party."
Dash pointed a hoof. "Starlight, you're really flying! With just your magic!"
"Um..." Starlight blinked. "Yes, I can do that. You know I can. Twilight told the story to everypony."
Pinkie grinned. "So, Starlight's been in Ponyville for months, and you're only just now seeing her fly, even though that's a super neat and useful thing that you'd think she'd do all the time? Almost as if... she forgot about her powers! Yep! It's classic Villain Decay!"
Starlight groaned. "First of all, some of us don't need to fly *all the time* just to show off, like the floor's not good enough for us to walk on."
"Hey, that's part of my training!" objected Rainbow. "I have to keep my wings in top condition!"
"Also, I object to being characterized as an evil villain. I was more of a well-intentioned extremist."
"I don't know," mused Rainbow. "Maybe Pinkie sort of has a point. How come you never flew while we were saving the Crystal Empire... again?"
Starlight glared at her. "It just so happens that I didn't need to. I can gallop about as fast as I can float."
"And you haven't opened any more time portals..."
"Twilight won't let me! Even for science!"
"Or fought any more badflank magic duels...."
"There was that one with Sunset and Trixie... Twilight's just afraid she'd lose again."
"Or stolen any cutie marks..."
Starlight facehoofed. "Um... of course I haven't. Er, because stealing cutie marks is bad, and wrong. Plus, I had this dream where I stole the cutie marks from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and..." Pinkie and Rainbow both stared at her in horror. "Yeah, you don't want to know... but seriously, my magic is *not* weaker." She did the backstroke in midair, gliding in circles around them. "Just look at how I've been hovering here this whole time, not a care in the world."
Unexpectedly, Trixie joined them, floating in her own pink aura. "Behold!"
Starlight gave her an exasperated look. "Speaking of Villain Decay..."
Trixie turned her nose up at Starlight. "Jealous quips cannot bring down the spirits of the Great and Powerful Trixie, for now she too has mastered the dream of self-powered unicorn flight!" She struck a pose and conjured her signature fireworks... which caused her flight aura to flicker. Trixie grasped at thin air and shrieked, plummeting.
Rainbow Dash dove after Trixie and lifted her back up to the cloud, and Starlight surrounded Trixie in a second turquoise glow. "You might want to practice closer to the ground."
The showmare gulped. "Trixie thinks that's good advice!"
Session 20.9 Kendell2
"Can't believe that actually worked," said Bon Bon, sitting at the (until they'd turned on the lights again a few days ago with Celestia's permission) long abandoned employee lounge at the secret agent lair (also long abandoned).
Furlong nodded, seeming much less uptight now. "Yeah, we did take a lot of liberties with that little roleplay..."
"At least Lyra will finally stop digging into things she shouldn't, I mean the Gates of Tartarus' location is kept secret from most for a reason," Bon Bon replied. "I don't like the rouse, but I couldn't very well tell her EVERYTHING she wanted to know without getting her danger from some of the monsters we had to deal with."
Furlong nodded. "Yeah, but you have to admit, the whole memory wiping spell was pretty stupid. I mean even when we were actually running, we knew keeping ponies in the dark about monsters existing was a stupid ideas. It just endangers people. Our goal was quick containment with agent's remaining unknown is a keep them and their loved one's safe. But sad as it is, that's what people EXPECT Ponies in Black to be like, so that's what we showed her. Was kind of fun to play act."
'Delilah' (actually Kevin's sister and Apple Crispy's genuine wife) nodded. "Especially Chrysalis' brutes, keeping them hidden would be a terrible idea...but why DID we go with that idea again?"
"Changelings are the only creatures we actually would've dealt with that have good members we can talk to. Some where certainly SAPIENT, but not GOOD, which is the entire reason for all the secrecy," Bon Bon replied. "That and you're married to an ex-agent who knows a lot of ponies they could get to think it's just a big prank...which I guess it is."
"True. But you'd think she would've realized my eyes glow blue, not green," Delilah replied.
"Not many ponies know there's more than one queen," Furlong replied. "Except Neighpon..."
"True, but how many ponies know that Queen Supia is a changeling and not a mutated wasp?" Bon Bon asked. "Anyway, thanks for helping."
Furlong nodded, giving a smile. "No problem, I've been bored stiff since the agency shut down and we retired."
Session 20.10 Alex Warlorn
The CMC sat around the Cutie Mark Map... along with Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Button Mash. Pipsqueak meanwhile was hosting a pirate LARP in his backyard.
Truth be told... while the CMC had run afoul of enchanted alien board games, Discord hadn't of late 'enhanced' their other games. He hadn't once turned them into giant monsters during any of their giant monster games. It was like Discord had Pinkie Promised somepony not to 'enhance' any of their games. Too bad, the CMC+3 all agreed that being turned into giant monsters (in small doses) would have been cool. At least they had fun that one time with the toon RPG.
Right now, the map was covered in hexagon tiles, featuring everypony's favorite flower... DAISY The Happy Flower! There wasn't a foal there who hadn't grown up watching Daisy's adventures on the big screen, listening to her songs, and owning at least some of her toys and that of her ever expanding collection of friends.
Of course, all were reaching that age were Daisy was becoming 'uncool', and for 'babies.' But since their primary teaser was now their friend, this put them in a bit of a social limbo in that regard. Scootaloo wondered about those records she found in Rainbow Dash's closet while Dash was napping.
+
With her hair tied up in a bun, and wearing red glasses, Princess Luna sat on a psychologist's chair, while Rainbow Dash laid down on the patient's couch. At least she wasn't being forced by Twilight to make up imaginary issues about Applejack this time. The Tantabus floated next to Luna, taking the form of a filly version of Nightmare Moon wearing glasses and a sweater.
"So..." Princess Luna began. "As long as you're taking long naps in the middle of the day, please tell me again Rainbow Dash how you were teased for liking Daisy The Happy Flower..."
"I... I was the cool kid ya know... but Daisy was supposed to be for babies... and I had all her stuff and records of all her music... "
"And you were ashamed for liking her?"
"Yes..."
"And when Fluttershy did not lose her love of it, and was tormented for it?"
"I stood up for her, like always..."
"And if Fluttershy stood up for herself?"
"I'd... I'd be proud of her..."
"So you wouldn't feel like you'd lost your purpose?"
"No! There's more to our friendship than just that!"
"As long as YOU realize that Rainbow Dash... so about Happy Flower."
"I... I imagine a bunch of super warrior robots burning down happy fields... figuring it would make them go away in my head.. for a while it worked... then I heard they were doing a revival of Happy Flower... WITHOUT HAPPY MINT BELL! Didn't they know they were best friends before? How could they just dump her like that?!"
"... So you were still emotionally invested in her in spite of yourself."
"Can I wake up now?"
"Don't blame me for you being such a deep sleeper you can chainsaw logs in your sleep."
+
"So... does anypony else wonder if it was actually a good idea to introduces zombies as antagonists to Happy Flower?" Sweetie asked. Apple Bloom for her part, seemed to take, TOO MUCH pleasure in blowing up the zombie with her plant army.
"Not all of them are evil, that zombie filly who lives in a caravan and loves to race is nice," Button Mask said. If Mina was there, she'd make a remark of 'token good member' but she wasn't, and she didn't know the CMC anyway.
"Added some good action if you ask me!" Scootaloo said.
Diamond Tiara had taken up the role of commanding the zombie army... she wasn't teasing them anymore or being her mother's verbal punching bag, but she was still competitive and a half and still loved a good battle with Apple Bloom.
"But... " Sweetie said. "What make Happy Flower FUN, well for me, was that it was a slice of life story! Introducing zombie bad guys, a shadow organization of flower agents... it feels... not like Happy Flower anymore."
"Stuff changes all the time." Silver Spoon said, having been given command of their corn on the cob fire support division.
"Maybe... After all, we all had to change. but is it still Happy Flower if they take away what made happy flowers happy?"
Session 20.11 Kendell2
"So, what game is this exactly?" Applejack asked, looking at the box, which had lots of red and silver and a foreign language. "Ah don't speak...this."
"Neighponese," Twilight corrected. "And it's a game the Neighponese ambassador asked my brother and his group to adapt like they did the pirate one. Particularly since the character is a major part of Neighponese culture. This is the original game with the new modifications used in some of the other games. It's called Ultrastallion."
Rainbow Dash blinked. "You mean like the evil mirror version of Superstallion?"
"No, Ultrastallion, in this case is...actually the Neighponese cultural equal, or one of them at least," explained Twilight. "It's one of the longest running series in the entire country."
"Okay..." Rainbow Dash said, looking at the character, who was a giant red and silver stallion with a glowing blue light on his chest and a metalic, alien-like head with glowing white eyes. "I thought you hated Masked Bug Rider." Rainbow had liked what she'd seen, but Twilight hadn't.
"It's not my thing," Twilight admitted. "But this seemed closer to the mecha RPG we did, and I'm fascinated by the cultural significance given how big of a thing it is over there. It's also innovative, and the original series was the brainchild of one of neighpon's greatest special effects innovators who's techniques are still in use today."
Rarity cleared her throat. "That is fascinating, darling, but what exactly is this game about? We can't read Neighponese."
"Oh! Right!" said Twilight, shaking herself out of it. "It's based off the original series, since that's the most simple. Basically, kind of like the mecha RPG, monsters, and hostile aliens, are attack the planet, and most of us are in a defense with special weapons that fight them off. However, a benevolent alien known as an Ultra from the M78 Nebula arrives and bonds with one of us. Oh! And that nebula actually exists! It's in Orion's belt!"
"Really? Are there giant alien superheroes there?!" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Uh...no one knows. It's 1,600 lightyears away."
"Oh..."
"So wait, only ONE of us gets tah be the giant superhero?" Applejack asks. "How's that fair?"
"It's fairer than you'd think it would be..." Twilight said. "And we might get a second one later. For now let's roll the dice and see who gets to be them."
They rolled the dice and Rainbow Dash got it.
"Oh yeah! This will be awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed, giving a smirk. The others groan a bit, anticipating her ego.
"What do you bet she names it Ultrastallion Dash?" Applejack asked.
After designing her character, surprisingly she named the character Bolt instead, and the design resembled the Wonderbolts's outfits.
The group chose various classes, Rarity choosing the scientist because it'd let her make armor and outfits on top of weapons. Twilight said it was probably the single most important class.
Soon enough they began (and it used a projection system like the Mecha RPG), and a monster emerged from a volcano.
"This'll be easy. I'll just transform and-" Rainbow Dash said.
"You can't," Twilight replied.
"Huh? Why?" the pegasus asked in return.
"You haven't even tried to fight it without his power yet, Bolt won't LET you transform," Twilight explained. "Did you even read the rules I gave you? I translated them myself!"
"I...flipped through it..."
"Ultras don't want the races they help to DEPEND on them, only have back up when things are beyond their ability to handle. You have to make an EFFORT first."
Rainbow Dash grumbled (especially since she hadn't given much thought to her PONY character), but went along with it.
The group wore the monster down a bit, but ultimately were being overwelmed a bit.
"Now?" Rainbow Dash asked in annoyance as her fighter got shot down in the projection.
"Yes, now," Twilight replied.
"Finally!"
On the projection, Rainbow's character held up a badge of some sort and transformed, the image of Ultrastallion Bolt growing to giant size from above being projected.
"Step back girls! The big guns are here!" she exclaimed.
The group grumbled and decided to fall back to regroup while she did it.
While Rainbow started out strong, getting her attack rolls...she began to be overpowered and her character blasted back.
Then a light (both on screen and in physical next to her) began blinking red. "What's that?" Rainbow asked, frustrated by how poorly this was going.
Twilight sighed. "You'd know if you read the manual! Ultras can only stay active on Equus for three minutes due to the atmosphere. That's the warning you're almost out of time."
Rainbow Dash asked, "Uh, how long do they take to recharge?"
"Without someone's help? You have to return to your pony host who will be worn out for awhile and can't transform for ten turns, during which the monster will probably have destroyed a few city blocks."
"Oh come on!"
"Be glad they changed it for balance, in the show it generally takes a few hours."
"Uh oh..." Rainbow said as she began to be pummeled, the light blinking faster. "Uh...girls!"
"I thought you said to 'step back', darling," Rarity said with a smile.
"I was wrong!"
"Good thing I've had my scientist working on some repairs while you were holding it off."
The rest joined in, distracting and injuring the monster by aiming for weakpoints Rarity's character pinpointed. Finally, the monster was weak enough and Bolt's projection gathered lightning into his front hooves, crossing them in a plus shape and blasting the monster to bits with a beam of lightning from his upright hoof.
"...Okay...I guess team work is more important than I thought in this game..." Rainbow admitted. "Sorry."
Twilight nodded. "That's part of the charm of this series: the Ultra and it's support team support and help each other as a team. He'd normally not last very long without them."
Session 20.12 SomeRandomMinon
"Well, Ah reckon that's that. We got a lead on tha Crown, let's get goin'!" Applejack said with a smirk. "No point stickin' around when we've already won."
Rainbow tilted her head. "Ya sure we can't stick around and see Mr. Big Bad Baron get what's coming to him?" She asked in-character. "There might be some stragglers from the fight who'll go after the peasants in revenge or something."
"There are some survivors from the Baron's militia," Spike pondered, glancing over his stat sheets as he and most of the ponies nodded. "And it looks like there's a side-quest to hunt them down..."
"That sounds a bit mean, but....they could still reorganize," Fluttershy put in.
"An' would they risk angerin' the giants who smashed their castle and squished all their friends, after THEY barely got away?" Applejack couldn't help but smirk. "Ah doubt it. Assumin' they haven't already ran out of town, Ah think those boys will be layin' low fer quite a while."
Her reasoning quickly turned the party around, and the six giants were on their way, the first leg of their journey over. However...
Spike suddenly blinked, realization striking. "Wait a minute...Rarity's Mass Freeze! Looks like it spreads farther on the ground with a critical hit than I thought...AJ; your Battlerager steps on a stray patch of ice and slips!"
"Seriously? After all this...ah, whatever. Roll fer Sure Footing!"
Dice clattered....and the girls' lucky streak that night ended.
Spike almost cringed at the results. "Ouch, only a six. Okay, minus four for the hazardous patch NOT being farmland....but no other penalties...roll failed. You lose your balance and stumble back on the ice, then--" he broke off, seeming to realize something. Then he started giggling, almost uncontrollably.
"What's so dang funny?" AJ asked, a bit huffy at failing such a basic roll after so much success.
"Sorry for the ice, Applejack...but yes, Spike; what's so hilarious?" Rarity put in.
Spike fought down his chuckles enough to speak. "Ahem...AJ, you stumble back and fall, but manage to land sitting down....right on top of the Baron and some of his knights, still trapped in the vines. They're all flattened instantly."
Silence fell and everypony went wide eyed....then burst out laughing.
Rarity fell off of her cushion and chortled on the floor. "So much for leaving him for the peasants! What a way for the brute to go! Oh dear me, my sides!!"
"Talk about putting the guy under pressure, right?" Rainbow snerked, elbowing Applejack.
Applejack tried to glare angrily at her friends, but couldn't. "Shoot, didn't see THAT comin'. Mah poor Battlerager, she's NEVER gonna live this down back with her clan. Well, at least that's one bad guy who'll never be a pain in the rear again!"
Everypony laughed even harder.
Session 20.13 Alex Warlorn
Twilight and Spike were going over their notes for their next O&O game (after trying out so many different versions, it wouldn't hurt to go back to the classics), when there was a knock on the door.
Twilight could only gasped in horror when she opened her door to find Buttons leading Lily, Daisy, and Rose, all sporting the same mane cut with huge grins on their faces and with the equal sign on their flanks.
"Hello! Have you heard the good news of Equality?" The echoed.
Princess Twilight Sparkle thought of how going on the defensive never lasted for long in zombie movies, instead, she went on the offensive and pulled them inside violent with her telekenesis, and using the trick she picked up from Rarity and used a curtain to tie up all four... but one of the tassels smudged against Lily's flanks... and...
"HEY! This is just, you used MAKE UP to cover your cutie marks?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Well... " Daisy said, "We couldn't remove our cutie marks for real since the Great Equalizer refused to help... so we made do."
Lily shouted, not her normal cowardly self. "THIS IS OPPRESSION! You can't imprison us for our beliefs! Princess Twilight Sparkle is intolerant! Princess Twilight Sparkle is intolerant!"
"Uh..." Twilight Sparkle suddenly felt very awkward.
"Uh... should I put the message to Princess Celestia that the equalizes are multiplying on stand by?" Spike asked.
"'Multiply'?! We're not insects!" Rose protested harder.
"Okay! Okay!" Twilight said feeling even MORE awkward. "No need to make this an incident! I just thought you were... well... " Twilight did a quick magic scan. "Okay, you're not under magical mind control, but you came here to steal my cutie mark!"
"OBJECTION! -Always wanted to say that-," Rose said. "We just came here to spread the good news! We weren't going to steal anything!"
"Fine fine, but no funny business." Twilight untied them.
"Geeze, do you treat Luna's Witnesses this way?" Lily snapped.
"Pipsqueak and his family understand that I'm for Princess Celestia... and that isn't the point! Suri!"
"Buttons."
"WHATEVER! How could you still be doing this!? Didn't Starlight explain what she taught was wrong?"
"Actually, no, she didn't. She just said I couldn't FORCE our beliefs on others, and we shouldn't punish others for contributing all they could to the community... Plus I needed their help to remove Tom from the hole covering the Mirror Pond." Buttons said.
"Wait wait wait, how did you find out about the mirror pond AND the chant to use it that was only known by ... PINKIE!"
"What?... It's an interesting story, and she wanted to hear all the details." The Pink Party Pony defended, of course she popped out of nowhere.
"UGH!" Twilight looked out the window, but much to her relief failed to see an army of Buttons reeking havoc. "So... where is... the other you?"
"The last I saw other me she was saying, 'I'm FREE! I'M FREE! See you never in Manehatten suckers! Mmm'k?' as she left. OW! Sorry, other me must have sat on a thistle somewhere." Buttons said rubbing her rear.
"Wait wait wait, you used the mirror pond to separate your two personalities into two bodies, and you're STILL CONNECTED?! This is, this is unprecedented, what else can you feel from each other, is there a time delay or, No no no!" Twilight shook her head against the OVERWHELMING temptation to study this rather unique phenomena that just SCREAMED and BEGS TO HER to be researched, it would be so lonely if she didn't research it, was there something wrong with it if she didn't research it? Ugh! 'Resist Twilight, resist, you can do it... maybe....'
"Pinkie Pie! Get Maud Pie! Have her use her Maud Sense to locate Suri, I refuse to believe having two sides of the same personality in two bodies for a prolonged period of time is healthy."
"Does that mean you're going to start giving penalities to Starlight's characters in our alien teenager game?"
"NOW!"
Session 20.14 Jarkes
"PUTTY PONIES, ATTACK!" yelled the golden griffon Gildar (actually Gilda in the role of the character), sending a squad of gray ponies made out of clay after Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Starlight, who were going through an enchanted comic based off of Pony Rangers.
"Gilda's having a lot of fun with this..." Applejack muttered to Rainbow Dash as she kicked a Putty Pony.
"She actually auditioned for the role back when this show first began, but she didn't get the part. I guess she's making up for it now," Rainbow Dash replied as she punched another.
"Um... why am I the Pink Ranger and Pinkie's the Yellow Ranger?" Fluttershy asked, cowering from the Putties. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"No, silly! If it was the other way around, that would totally be racist! ...Wait, that's not the right word. Color-ist? No, that doesn't sound right either," Pinkie Pie said.
"Doesn't matter," Rainbow Dash said, pulling out her morpher. "IT'S MORPHING TIME!"
"IT'S MORPHING TIME!" they all shouted, pulling out their morphers with their Power Coins.
"DRAGONZORD!" Starlight shouted.
"MASTODON!" - Applejack.
"PTERODACTYL!" - Fluttershy.
"TRICERATOPS!" - Rarity.
"SABER-TOOTHED TIGER!" - Pinkie Pie.
"TYRANNOSAURUS!" - Rainbow Dash. Before long, they were all in the classic spandex and helmets of the Pony Rangers.
Meanwhile, Spike... was in the role of Delta 4, the dragon assistant to the Pony Rangers. "Oh, come on! Why didn't I get to be one of the Rangers this time?"
"At least you get to move," Twilight said, who was in the role of Zoltar, the Pony Rangers' wise mentor. "I'm a giant floating blue head in a tube!"
"But that's because you're a smart, wise leader who guides them," Spike said. "I'm beginning to wonder if I ticked off the guy who makes these things years ago and he's been getting his revenge on me ever since by subtly altering the spells on these comics so that whenever I'm doing one, I always get stuck in the least heroic role."
---------------
At the Enchanted Comics Shop, the owner of the shop, Linked Aura, was viewing their progress on his TV that can view anypony's progress through one of the comics by switching "channels" at any point. He frowned, adjusting his trademark trilby (NOT a fedora, as he repeatedly had to explain to customers).
"Aw, crud, he's on to me," he muttered, deciding to change the channel to somepony else's comic.
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Hey Alex, could you please find a way to add my ocs?
That paragraph got cut off there in the story. The start of that sentence doesn't exist.
7159365
Edited. Thank you. What did you think of the part?
7159368 Because I suck at making details. Hey, do you think you could make the scene with my ocs? If so, look for the fic 'The Circus of Fall' on the site Fanfiction . net. The bios for them are in the second chapter.
7159415 You don't have to then. 'Sigh' Do you think you could find someone who could though?
7159422
I'm allergic to OCs. I HATED how I ended up quantifying Celestia's and Discord's relatives in Pony POV Series due to peer pressure.
Just want to say it makes me smile that this is STILL going strong.
7159422
I have a habit of subverting and deconstructing things or just plain turning them on their heads, so what I'd end up writing likely wouldn't be very flattering. :-(
TROPE PAGE LINK:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/PoniesAndDragons
7159448 I am good at poetry, I am good at making ocs, I am good at thinking up stories, but I am NOT good at actually making stories. That last fact crushed my dream of being a writer.
7159432 What's that have to do with ocs?
7159484
I had to fill my pantheon with OCs. Which I really don't care for in fanfics. :-(
7159490 What's a pantheon?
7159501
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon_(religion)
7159515 That does not tell me what it is in literature you know.
okay kendall is just ridiculous, what did he go with the people know about monster and changeling so we don't have to cover up mentality. no offense, but people in real know about terrorist existng, that doesn't mean it suddenly a great idea for secret agents to reveal every fact about them right down to where they live and not expect them to sent people to kill your love one and make your life hell before killing you. not to mention the fact that mindwiping prevent enemy combatant from recognizing agents and trying to find them again if they ever break out.
also i remember book of mormon with the last chap. good story.
7159389
I liked it pretty well. Fairly funny to see the 'Equality' spreading and their reactions.
7159520
Pantheon: the two groups of gods that Celestia and Discord belong to.
7159628 Oh.
7159550 Uh, at what point did I say they told EVERYTHING about them period?
Just that covering up monster and Changeling ATTACKS is idiotic to me.
I don't care what anyone says, to ME, hiding monsters and changeling's EXISTENCE and attacks by them in EQUESTRIA is equal to hiding the existence of bears or criminals (note, not EVERYTHING about them, just their attacks and appearances so people can actually CALL IN if they see them and can be on guard when a threat is happening). And to me mind wiping is horrid. How would YOU react to finding out the government was mind wiping you to hide a VERY REAL danger from public knowledge? I'd be horrified.
7159675 (rolls eyes). next you be saying that tbc writers had the right idea in making celestia a tyrant 24/7 instead of doing reconstructering to make the potion less brainwash like in nature and showing proper grey on grey on both sides.
7159840
Let's not go there please. And personally? I HATED 'Agents of SMILE'.
7159432 What's wrong with OCs? I thought that the expanded pantheon was one of the coolest parts of the Pony POV series. Anyway, this was another fun chapter, and the flashback where King Aspen bullied little Chrysalis actually managed to tug at my heartstrings.
7159907
Thanks~
7159887 Fine i won't go there cause i admit that was a low blow and i apologize.
7159920 You're welcome, but you still didn't answer my question about why you dislike OCs?
7159432 Well, Kurt Cobain hated Smells Like Teen Spirit, and it seems like the same principle applies to you. Your OC's are AWESOME, and learning about the pantheon(and seeing them interact with the worlds) is one of my favorite parts of the entire series
7159675 I apologize for my earlier rude remark, that was wrong of me and i apologize. but you gotta admit humans are different then ponies, we are far more volatile species.
7160153 Apology accepted.
And yes, humans aren't as nice and accepting of ponies in general.
Another fun chappie.
Friggin Ass-pen. Hey, this got me thinking: Aspen is an ultra-environmentalist, right? To bad old-school Chrysalis hadn't invade the Deer Kingdom. I mean, they're just predators hunting prey right? I feel like the deer would be misguided enough to actually buy that nonsense!
There's another reason Alisa could be so eager: she's a spy for the Crystal Wolves. She certainly has the skillset, and now she's in an ideal position.
The alien game is my favorite now, due in part to scenes like this. Discord better watch himself on
DS9the space station, the captain is probably going to punch him in the face!Intriguing, and I hope we see more of this down the line.
This entire sequence is so much fun. Torch is actually pretty smart, but clearly he's no Babylon. And now Ember shall be joining the Princess of Games! (Thank goodness Trixie wasn't around for the Gauntlet of Fire episode. I suspect she would have tried to become dragonlord herself, and possibly even succeeded!)
It would explain a lot about Princess Luna...
I feel like the logic checks out.
That's not villain decay, that's woobiesm! Trixie is suddenly and mysterously wearing leather pants!
Yup!
Hmmm. On the expanded map of Equestria, there's actually a Bugbear Kingdom. I always figured the Bugbear we saw was like an evil prince who attacked Equestria and was imprisoned, but the whole thing had to be covered up because he had diplomatic immunity or something. That was the only reason I could think of that one bugbear would cause Celestia to shutter the entire agency.
I'm with Dash, #TeamMintBell. It was always supposed to be a Flute Duo. Series creator Laurel Frost always said Happy Flower should sing for minutes at a time, not hours. It's why I left the fandom.
I was missing Buttons! You know what's weird? Part of why I love this creepy little cult is I like how it adds another factor to the mix that is life in Equestria. Ironically, by existing, it adds to the diversity of pony life.
Sweet, Buttons can stick around even if Suri is out there hawking scarves to stallions from Vanhoover.
Awww, you put it in! Thanks! Linkie will get what's coming to him, I'm sure. Princess Twilight will find out and sentence him to hard labor playing as a hireling/commoner in games Spike GMs.
7159675 I agree 150% with everything you've said. It's why it bugs me how Principals Celestia and Luna, and Sunset Shimmer keep the knowledge of world-threatening magical attacks from the public at large and the governments of earth, even as they believe the portal connection is increasing the background magic of earth, and suspect there may be other dangerous monsters out there.
7159482 Hey buddy, have considered hiring some story commissions? I've seen a lot of authors who will write short stories with someone else's OCs, and usually it's only a couple of bucks. I have no real idea how the process works myself, but if you look around you can probably find them.
7160375
I like that idea. Headcanon adopted!
7160375
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE COMMENTARY!
And I'm one of those people who have always sympathized with Trixie. I only hope later media doesn't try it's hardest to "SEE! SEE?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HATE THIS CHARACTER!"
Trixie has a giant ego, so does RD. Trixie is a drama queen, so is Rarity.
The bit about Mint Bell was an allusion to Minty from G3, who was basically Pinkie Pie's best friend and was one of the few G3 ponies to have FLAWS and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!
EXACTLY!!!
7160578 I've always sympathized with Trixie as well, doesn't mean she didn't pluck my heart strings like a great big woobie when I saw those ponies throwing stuff at her (2nd) wagon in the flashback.
Now you've got me thinking about it, I wonder about schisms. Without a single pony controlling the process of cutie mark removal and using it as leverage to enforce her own interpretations of ideology, who's to say the Flower Sisters will continue to agree with Buttons? What if they splinter off even as they find more followers, until there are 50 different "churches of sameness," each not quite the same as the others. But that's ok, each pony has the right to be exactly the same as everyone else, in their own unique way.
7160551 Right after Slice of Life Lethal Weapon 2 was on (the one with the South African druglords hiding behind diplomatic immunity) and that's what gave me the idea.
7160832
Same can be said about Harmony.
7160839 It's kind of the same idea in reverse. With harmony, you're free to be uniquely you, just like everyone else is. I hope Buttons and Co. get some teenage followers who are doing it in part just to piss off their parents. Too bad the CMC got to Diamond Tiara first, or she would have been a good choice.
Really? Why?
Wow, she doesn't care for Aspen, does she?
Wat.
It was her idea, Starlight.
Different species difference mindsets.
The irony is strong in this one.
Oh certainly. Really like Torch, he's a harsh guy, but he's not a BAD guy.
OK then. Question 2. WHY?!
I admit, I'm also morbidly curious. Hang on a sec, *looks it up* It's a real thing. I, wow.
Good move.
I don't see why that would require being secure in your-ah right, never mind. I honestly don't see what's so wrong about asking for directions, if you're lost, you ask, that simple for me.
I see what your did there.
It IS Deep Space Nine.
Discord, you wouldn't happen to know a bald Prench captain whom you often mess with, would you?
I did not see that coming.
Lovely.
Spike, you're gonna dig yourself into a hole.
If it's funny...
Nice word swap.
Torch OP plz nerf.
Not always. Look at Riku.
I dunno.
Whatever.
GOod point.
She's not a villain, she's a jerk at worst.
Agreed.
Wat.
No. Ya don't say? Than you Princess Obvious.
SHOTS FIRED!
What's so funny?
BAHAHAHAAAA!
Two things. One, missing a word, and second, not this shit again!
Agreed.
Who cares? Power Rangers!
Because rock n roll.
Maybe.
Oh my god that's hilarious!
7161322
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE COMMENTARY!
We also now have a trope page believe it or not.
7161719
Really? Link?
7161724
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/PoniesAndDragons
7161322 AJ's character really made the Baron...(sunglasses) the butt of the joke, didn't she?
7161909
7161911 I couldn't resist.
7161983
In all fairness, I'd have probably made the same joke.
7162007 With a set-up like THAT, it's hard NOT to. And hey, it's better than my first idea for AJ's one-liner...
"Well, guess HE won't butt into other ponies' business ever again!"
7162074
7162084 I COULD keep going...but I won't. ;)
7162195
And I thank you for it.