Session 48
Session 48.0 Kendell2
"I can't believe you talked me into this..." said the human Rainbow Dash with a sigh as the group sat down to start up the Crystals and Rainbows Beta at Pinkie's house. "I'm getting diabetes just looking at this thing!"
It was technically an MMO (though a social one), it also had the option to create private servers like with Manecraft for just your friends was available. While playing with everyone was encouraged, the idea of just a quiet personal world was also possible. Sci Twi admittedly found that interesting.
"Come on, Rainbow, just cause there's nothin' tah beat up doesn't mean it ain't gonna be fun," Applejack replied with a chuckle. "There's still athletic stuff. Ah can even kinda be a farmer."
"This will be so fun!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, looking excited by PINKIE PIE standards. Which was saying something.
"So you girls are going to be yourself?" Rarity replied. "I thought part of the fun of this was being somepony you can't be in real life, darling."
"Eh, if you want to be that's fine," Rainbow muttered. She looked through the classes. She admitted the thing didn't seem as girly as she'd first believed...so far.
Twilight looked to Sci Twi. "If you want to be Twilight Sparkle, that's fine. I kind of already have a character from a similar game back home."
"Oh! Okay..." her human counterpart replied.
Sunset chuckled and rotated through the races. "Let's see...Unicorns starting location is Unicornia. Huh, that's the old unicorn kingdom back in the three tribes era back home..." she muttered. She also found it amusing unicorns made the Rainbows in this game.
Rainbow Dash selected a pegasus. "Pegasi start on Butterfly Island..." she said, finding the class functionally similar to the WoH version.
"And Earth Ponies start in Ponyville," Applejack replied, looking it over. Earth Ponies were pretty much the same as well, though strength wasn't as big of a deal.
"Huh, another race called Breezies starts in Breezie Blossom," Sunset replied while checking them out. "Good with flowers, small and can reach places the others can't. That's interesting."
"...I kind of want to be one..." said Fluttershy.
"Wow, we get to make entire bios for our characters and there's a lot of personality traits to pick from..." Twilight said as she finished making Minty's appearance. She naturally picked clumsy as one.
"...Why do tiny horses need socks?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We get cold like anyone else."
"What?!"
The group blinked, looking to Sunset.
"What darling?" Rarity asked.
"They put Cutie Marks in!" Sunset said, reading over it again. "'Upon leveling up enough in one particular area, you can choose to earn your Cutie Mark in it, a symbol that marks your character finding their purpose in life. This symbol will be procedurally generated based on your character, the event it was earned doing, and the area you specialized in...if you don't like the one you got, you can pay a small fee to get a do over or submit a custom one for review'...So why here and not WoH?!"
"Now hear me out, Sombra," Discord explained. "These games THRIVE on uniqueness, so they'l LOVE having a unique symbol, and without needing to make a combat engine or big dungeons, I've got a good program to do it."
"I don't know, Discord. It could be a bit strange..." Sombra said, still looking a bit uncertain.
"...And we can charge them a small fee to get a do over or submit custom ones for review, for a price if accepted..."
"...I'm listening."
"...You made your character a filly?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at Rarity's.
"I'm always so busy in real life, darling, what with my work. If I'm going to have another life to relax in, why not be care free?" Rarity asked with a smile.
"My Rarity did something similar in a game like this once," Twilight replied, finishing Minty.
"Mine's a colt," puppy Spike replied, showing his purple unicorn colt with a green mane and tail using the Purple Pup name he did before. Though admittedly, he WAS annoyed to find that Crystal Wolves had been added as a playable race to WoH and hoped this one wouldn't do it too..
Soon enough everything was in place and they began.
Each one got a long scroll through their area. While it was still a beta, they did admit each place was pretty beautiful and well designed. Butterfly Island was a beautiful tropical paradise with all sorts of beautiful butterflies, Unicornia was a beautiful kingdom, Breezie Blossom was a fertile meadow filled with flowers, and Ponyville was a varied and wonderful village with a castle of its own.
"Okay, someone had a good sense of design..."
First mission was to meet with their adviser character. Pegasi met with a mare named Star Catcher, Earth Ponies with one named Kimono, Breezies with one named Zipzee, and Unicorns met with...
"CHEERILEE?!" they collectively asked.
"Like our school's Cheerilee?" Rainbow asked.
Sunset looked at the game run down. "...Donor inclusion...Hehe. Not surprised. She does really want her students to get along more..."
OOC: Basically, this is a life sim with a lot of options. They can do a lot of different things and I imagine there's tons of mini games as well. Basically meant to be a polished version of G3's world. By polished I mean don't change the innocent, happy tone but iron out the kinks.
And also, there's a reason Rainbow Dash is a pegasus in game rather than an Earth Pony...do remember they got a local designer to do design work.
Session 48.1 Alex Warlorn and Ardashir
And Later... Rainbow Dash had shown the girls "Crazy Teacher Simulation" beta. They girls were all very reluctant to even touch it, but they had promised Rainbow Dash to try a open beta of their pick later on the weekend...
"Dangit, Principle Celestia caught me!" Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin in thought. "Maybe if I hot wire the electric light in the band room, it'll look like an accident... Marble Pie-chan will be no more, and Big Mac-sempai shall love me!"
Fluttershy typed away at the keyboard. "You don't want to do your homework? Some time in the dunking stool should fix that!"
Sunset looked up from her monitor. "Hey, I just wiped out the whole class with poison brownies!... Wait, am I supposed to feel proud of this?"
Pinkie shrugged as her teacher ran through the school in their underwear (who for some reason had three happy flowers on both sides of her rear as a tattoo). "Don't get bothered over it, it's only a game! -- Wait, did I just convince one of the students to blow up the school?"
Applejack cringed. "What kind o' twisted monster even came up with this?"
Fluttershy shouted at her monitor. "EAT YOUR VEGETABLES! USE PROPER GRAMMAR! Or you shall 'disappear!'" She laughed with lightning crackling behind her outside the window.
+
Ira leaned back in her chair, fine tuning the snooping and black mail options. "Big brother Sombra never did understand what mom did, people LIKE exploring their dark sides."
She looked at the user playing recording. She frowned. "Dang, I though I'd get better feed back from CP students, but they're all perfectly behaved, it's like they know what it's like to be abused by their teachers to be the absolute best and can't bring themselves to do the same to virtual students."
Session 48.2 Alex Warlorn and Ardashir
Ira narrowed her eyes at another player activity file. "Geez, what's up with this one? She just goes on a rampage every time, until she's killed every student in the school. Over and over. How does she not get bored out of her mind? And how can I exploit that for other players?"
-
"Big sis', you comin' to bed?"
"Later Sonata!" Adagio grinned at the screen. "Die, die, die! HEHEH! This way I don't have to hide the corpses or get into legal trouble!" Not that was ever a problem when they had their music, but now, ugh! She snarled at a virtual bacon hair student. "DIE!DIE!DIE!"
Session 48.3 Ardashir
Rainbow Dash and her friends weren't the only ones playing the 'Crazy Teacher Simulation' game. Though others were enjoying it far more.
"YES! YES! YES!" Adagio cackled with glee as she dropped some rather familiar-looking Canterlot High students, or at least in-game versions of them, into a vat of acid to watch them dissolve as they screamed. "That's what you get for ruining my voice!"
"Hey, what about us?" Aria called from the next room. They'd moved out of their old rat-trap apartment, though their new place wasn't quite as good as the normal luxury digs they'd gotten used to over centuries of piling up wealth. Aria shut the law book on wills and inheritances. "They ruined our voices too."
"When I am done," Adagio loftily said, "then you and Sonata can murder some of those human jerks. Just let me watch the ones I really hate die a few more times." She re-watched an earlier scene of that guitar-playing boy at Canterlot being swept off his feet by her, after she'd stuffed Miss Perfect Pony Princess through a meat grinder. Adagio sighed. "Such golden moments. Say, speaking of gold, Aria!" The frowning Aria came to the door, hands on hips. "Any chance of us getting the, ah, 'inheritance' from our former lives?"
"Not unless we hire a lawyer." Aria jerked her thumb back into the room behind her. "Maybe another year or so at Crystalsoft and we'll have enough money."
Adagio didn't respond. She'd been too busy watching a certain blonde-and-red haired Canterlot High student be mauled by feral chimps after she let them out of their cage.
Aria laughed. "Okay, that was funny. But yeesh, does every quest in that thing end with you getting that blue-haired kid with the guitar?"
Session 48.4 Alex Warlorn and Ardashir
"I think you're just playing off of Adagio's save files." Sonata said. "I think you're supposed to go for the big red one."
Adagio snorted. "It's not like I like him or anything! It's just that school doesn't have what you'd call a lot of handsome guys. I mean, I'm probably a thousand years older then he is."
"You look it, too." Aria ducked just in time to avoid the lamp flung at her head. "Hey, just saying. Maybe he's into much older women."
+++
Rarity suggested politely, "Fluttershy dear, maybe you're getting a little too into this game?"
"NEVER!" Fluttershy almost roared. Rarity forced herself not to run in terror as her normally-gentle friend glared savagely at her, almost as badly as that time with the assertiveness training course. Fluttershy returned her attention to the screen. "Now is the time for ALL the big meanies to SUFFER!"
In-game, she flung another girl into a cage filled with rabid hamsters.
"That's what you get for not being nicer to Mister Fuzzy Cheeks!"
A chill went along Rarity's spine as she began to wonder if Fluttershy needed an intervention.
Session 48.5 Alex Warlorn
Ira smiled. "And now for the latest update."
+
AJ balked. "They added a MAGICAL GIRL WAND that you can beat up students with!?"
Rarity said, "That's nothing compared to how many costumes they have darling... that's a lot of pop culture icons." A bald superhero in a yellow suit, a little skeleton boy, a man with glowing golden hair, and a faceless person in a tuxedo.
"Looks like there's another updated too..." Rainbow Dash noted. "Who's Miss Nemesis?"
"AAAH!" Fluttershy shouted in alarm. "That student attacked ME! And I hadn't done anything yet! Let me reload the game and-! She's following me! Put down the knife! Ah! Leave me alone!"
"Not so much on the receiving end is it?" AJ said.
"I'll come up at her from behind! AH! She disguised herself as one of the other students! Maybe if I wear a mask-! How can she tell who I am underneath the mask?!"
Sunset narrowed her eyes at the update. "It says here that Miss Nemesis is only supposed to appear in 'Mission Mode'. Not in normal play. Is it a bug?"
-
Programmer Discord sniggered, his hacks were of course, untraceable. It wouldn't take long for Ira to correct the "bug" but maybe it would get some laughs out of him.
-
"I think I've danced on the dark side enough, we can go back to the sprinkles and frosting game now." RD said looking a little green from Miss Nemesis' ruthless hunting of her... Not many would know, but Miss Nemesis resembled Rabia in her youth.
Session 48.6 QuartzScale
Days before Wrath of the Crystal King came out.
"Ugh... We need to get the next expansion ready and already we have two concepts. Truthfully I really don't want to agree to this...Radiant is this the best we got?" Sombra looked over his notes and the concept designs that came from his people.
"Yeah... Its the only one that we still have the best control over and only the opening concept plus a promise is a promise. He's here..." Radiant opened the door revealing a very tall man standng right outside the door.
The man seemed ordinary yet the crisp black suit he wore and professional demeanor hid something much worse. His eyes were very focused and his briefcase seemed to hold the weight of Crystalsoft's past. This was the man who had tried Rabia on request by Sombra. He was also one of the few who had been fond of Rabia and her dire sense of humor. Then the idea of usurping power seemed to give the man one of the widest grins he had ever seen only outdone by a young girl who was shouting something about parties.
"Welcome... Tirek."
"Pleasure to be here in my esteemed colleagues presence. I hope you like the new digs you got out of this. So to what pleasure do I get to waste your time so early in the morning." The tone wasn't smug... it was knowing. He knew why he was here but his silver tongue was in full swing.
"First things first. As our well advised legal representatives we are glad to have had your support on our restructuring. Tartarus & Co has served us well and you especially should be commended for your work. As for why you are here we are greenlighting your particular idea and character design. There are some stipulations behind this and we are calling you in for the formalities of signing the concepts and allowing our designing team to work through and make something that fits the tone of the entire game. Here are the terms." Sombra handed over the contract. A single stack of paper that would sign over the idea
Tirek looked over the contracts. Non Disclosure agreements and signing over the rights for the character concepts and ideas. It was a formality at this point and they both knew it. Tirek had earned that in the agreement for helping put Rabia away. It was something both Sombra and Hope were reluctant to do but Rabia was well liked by almost all law firms for being willing to hire them to handle the multiple lawsuits they were under. She had kept them well paid.
"Everything looks to be in order. Here you go." Tirek signed the contract and stood back up.
"Thanks for coming in." Sombra stood up shaking his hand while Radiant just nodded politely. He walked out of the room and the door closed. Both of the occupants physically reacted with sighing in relief. Tirek was one of the most intimidating people to meet with. Not only was he the favorite of Rabia but he willingly betrayed her when the talk came to power. It unnerved Sombra a lot for reasons he couldn't explain.
The two remained silent as they looked over the contracts and filing them away. While Hope didn't officially work as one of the designers she was one of the important cornerstones of the company and made sure that everything was set up just right.
"So the next expansion should be named. We have two titles prepared. Tartarus Unleashed or Ascension. Right now we put on a private poll through Discord who says people think Tartarus Unleashed as the cooler of the two. Though I'm not sure if they are right minded for this." Sombra sniffed derisively while Hope looked over the titles. She quietly circled Ascension which made him smile.
"Of course. No contest besides we already have at least that planned. Now we need to find two people we can get to play the new roles. Luckily Wrath of the Crystal King is still coming out. We already have much of this planned at least." Sombra leaned back in his chair trying to think.
"I'll look for them later dear. We can at least get everything else ready right after this expansion comes out. Though in a few months my idea will also come out. I hope Crystals and Rainbows will be well liked." Hope's smile eclipsed everything making Sombra elated at the turn of events.
"I'm looking forward to that as well. I think we'll be meeting with Rosedust in a few months. She wants to look over our progress on that. At least we're getting better at this still Discord is having trouble curbing his chaotic tendencies. Shouldn't have given him carte blanche on his designs." Sombra chuckled mirthlessly but the tired smile was still one of happiness.
"I know but it has given us one of the best releases with his particular module. Reins of Chaos put us on the map as being the most immersive gaming experience that's ever been seen around the world. We are at least minimizing the problems that Ira has been creating for us. Let's just table this for now and get ready for the staff meeting. We still need to get some of the staff to work on Crystals and Rainbows right?"
"Yes." Hope jumped up and filed away the contract. They headed for the meeting with Discord and his staff and Chrysalis and hers.
During the Beta testing of Crystals and Rainbows...
Radiant was watching over the second round of testing for Crystals and Rainbows. The rainbow haired girl was kind of bored looking throughout the testing but played along regardless of the cutesy nature. It was during the testing that two particular girls caught her attention. The voices were quiet but the built in microphones within the computer caught it and her attention.
"If you want to be Twilight Sparkle, that's fine. I kind of already have a character from a similar game back home." The girl with the purple hair and pink strand in it said.
"Let's see...Unicorns starting location is Unicornia. Huh, that's the old unicorn kingdom back in the three tribes era back home..." The red and yellow haired girl muttered quietly.
A little stunned that someone talked about her own ideas was shocking to say the least but to hear them like they were fact was much more unsettling. After the testing ended she tried to distract herself with mindless filing until Sombra entered the office.
"Looks like Ascension will be smooth sailing for now. While not part of the main build at all so we don't have any leaks we are making a lot of progress. I even had to code some parts of it just because of how tedious it was... Hope you ok? You look a bit distracted." Sombra walked over to her only to be hugged tightly out of nowhere. He hugged her back utterly confused but not displeased by the affection.
"Its nothing. I just think I finally found two people who would be perfect for the leads of this expansion. Maybe after Crystals and Rainbows we can get these two people in our offices to talk about the ideas we have. Until then it's gonna be great." Hope smiled. While she didn't have Chrysalis's poker face she was well versed in keeping Sombra from seeing her worry much albeit only to a certain degree.
"Ok dear. Well at least tell me their names." Sombra sat down at the desk with Hope right next to him. It was a little quirk they had whenever Hope decided to help out around the office.
"Of course. They were part of the beta testers for our game. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer."
Session 48.7 Kendell2
"Why can't I get those wings?" Rainbow Dash asked as she met with Star Catcher for her tutorial.
"Maybe they're an unlockable?" Princess Twilight asked, smiling as she, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all met with Kimono.
Pinkie Pie made her in game self (who managed to be even MORE pink than she was somehow) do a friendly wave to 'Minty.' Twilight smiled and waved back.
"Okay, flying tutorial..." Rainbow Dash muttered...then blinked as the tutorial consisted of following Star Catcher in a flight over Butterfly Island. The controls were actually really pretty good and fluid, but what impressed her was how open things where. They flew up HIGH over Butterfly Island and could see all the way to Ponyville and Unicornia. World of Horsecraft had a flight ceiling MUCH lower than this. "Okay...I'll give them credit, this is pretty sweet."
"Well it is an open world game," Sunset replied, looking at the guide book as Cheerilee went through unicorn scanning spells and riding rainbows. "Looks like Breezies can fly too, but not as well and can explore smaller areas. Unicorns need to ride rainbows or use air balloons to fly...or ride butterflies (which is apparently the big one), but Earth Ponies can navigate the ground and caves better and Unicorns have special scanning spells to find secret paths. The idea is you need a party with one of each if you REALLY want to explore everything there is in Ponyland."
Applejack nodded. "Makes sense...hehe, race already?" she asked, as Kimono brough in some more ponies to show how Earth Pony's special skills worked.
After finishing the tutorial, they were each given enough friendship points to get a plot of land to build on, and had pretty free reign about spots other than prebuilt structures and certain forested areas. Rainbow Dash chose a mountain top for hers.
"Wow, lots of options, huh?" Rainbow asked. Even the default options gave quite a bit to do, and they had a lot of variety in HOW they could build. Not to mention the very long list of unlockable ones. *
"Well customization and doing what you want IS the point of the game," Sunset replied, building one so that at sunset she could see the sun set right outside her house. She thought it was a nice touch.
"Hmm...what about the outfits though?" Rarity asked, checking it. The Unicornia shop mainly had jewelry, but plenty of options. The Butterfly Island shop was where most of the other accessories could be bought, many having a Hawaiian theme and using shells. Ponyville's was where clothing was mainly bought...however.
"What the buck..." Applejack asked, eyes going wide.
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Rainbow, did yah know YOU'RE in this game already?"
Rainbow blinked, looking over at her computer and her eyes went wide at the sight of a blue Earth Pony with a rainbow mane and tail, named Rainbow Dash as well. "Uh...I...don't know...never seen that design before..." she said, her tone making it somewhat hard to believe.
Rarity looked at it. "Applejack, can you play her dialog?"
Applejack nodded and clicked for the next bit of dialog.
"If you need something fashionable, darling, just come take a look," said a voice that made Rainbow Dash blush.
"Rainbow, I do believe that's your mother's voice, isn't it?" Rarity asked, giving a giggle. Rainbow Dash Sr. was a local designer, so naturally they'd met a few times in the past and got a long.
"N-No! Why would my mom be in this game?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
Sunset looked over the credits information. "...Because she was one of the designers?"
Everypony stared at the box and found out that was indeed the case: Rainbow Dash - Art Design.
"How did you NOT know your mother was working on a video game?" pony Twilight asked.
"She just said she was working on a new project! I ignored what it was like I always did!"
*Inspired by how varied some of the G3 houses could be. I mean just look at Story Belle's.
Session 48.8 Alex Warlorn
"Join us. Join accord." Said Vinyl Scratch, her facing being momentarily replaced with Accord's.
"WHY CAN YOU ONLY SPEAK WHEN UNDER EVIL MAGICAL MIND CONTROL!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Wow. What a rush!" Indigo Zap gasped out.
"SHUT IT LIGHTNING DUST!"
"W... what, who did you say?" Indigo Zap's eyes widened in shock.
"You know, you look a LOT like a pegasus I know. You could be sisters. And I don't mean in the 'reality clone' sort of way... I don't THINK! Maybe.... this makes my head hurt. But let me give you some advice. If all you try to be is number one? All you care about? You're going to find yourself alone."
"And it's selfish, nearsighted, self-centered, self-serving, self-important, self-promotion ponies like her that is the reason why all must join Accord!" The insanely grinning Princess Twilight Sparkle said.
"Run!" Rainbow shouted as Accord's magic barrier spread.
"Come on Indigo Zap, it's like the best of both worlds of CHS and CP, everything the best, everything working together, no distractions." Lemon Zest grinned.
"Not interesting in joining a new group of losers!"
"LOSERS?! Why do you keep calling them that?! IS SHE YOUR FRIEND OR ISN'T SHE?! Or did you cross realities for somepony you don't even like?" Rainbow Snorted even as they dodged zaps from the princesses AND Lemon Zest!
". . . . " Indigo Zap had no response. She thought of all the MMOs and table top games she'd played with her fellow Shadowbolts, heck, even the paintball game against the Wondercolts. Those times were a lot more fun she'd had than always looking over her shoulder in gym class and the various sports teams where the one who set the bar was the one with the biggest target on her back.
-
"Huh? A letter from the guard guys? Cool!" Shining said opening it up.
It read, 'Join us. Join Accord.'
"And it's one of those days," Shining sighed. "And a letter from Twiliey, she'll have this fixed up in no time."
'Dear BBBFF,
Join us, join Accord.'
"And now I'm scared." Shining Armor said with a smile on his face not from brainwashing or joy, but his facial muscles being currently on strike.
Session 48.9 Mtangalion
Rarity the unicorn filly and Purple Pup the unicorn colt giggled and shouted "Hello!" at the archway together. The hallways echoed "Hello!" right back at them.
"This is way more fun than I thought it would be!" said Purple Pup. "Come on, let's go outside and see if they added any more minigames this patch."
Rarity smiled. "Alright, darling, but only for a half hour or so. I need to finish my homework before Sweetie and the others get here for their sleepover."
"Sometimes I wish I could go to school," mused Purple Pup, as they guided their Crystals and Rainbows beta characters past the bouncy ball room and out of the Crystal Rainbow Castle.
He stopped in his tracks, and Rarity bumped into him before she saw it too. "My word..." Someone had built a new whole palace in Unicornia, even bigger than castle they'd just emerged from. It had a half-dozen airships hovering over it, too. "Darlings, are any of you seeing that? It's not just a glitch in my game client?"
Shining Armor's unicorn stallion character appeared next to them in a slow glittery teleport flash. "I see it, alright." The others could hear Flurry Heart babbling happily in the background when he spoke on the voice chat. Shining stared at the new castle, furrowing his brow. "The Inspect command says... tier five Grand Castle, owned by... Princess Mega Awesome?"
"How tasteless," mused Rarity. More structures were appearing as they watched... gem vaults, cloud stadiums, the works. "They really ought to screen the character names."
"Well, it is a beta!" said Purple Pup. He blinked. "Huh, I received a gift?"
"I got one too, Spike," said Rarity. There was a flash of glitter around her, and her character title changed. "By royal decree of Princess Mega Awesome... every pony in Unicornia is now a princess!?"
"Oh, come on!" shouted ‘Princess' Shining Armor.
Princess Twilight groaned, massaging her forehead with a hoof. Her enchanted book had been buzzing all day. "All right, Gilda, what did you do this time? This prank has your name written all over it."
Gilda waved her talons defensively. "You've got the wrong griffon, princess. I've never even played that game!" She smirked at the view on Twilight's computer monitor. "I like her style, though."
In her cubicle at the offices of CrystalSoft, Gilda was deeply startled to feel her boss's hand suddenly resting on her shoulder.
Senior Designer Discord tisked at her. "You do know, my dear, when you find a gem mining bug that can potentially give players unlimited wealth, you're supposed to submit a bug report and move on, not... do all of this."
Gilda looked at the three hundred foot statue of Alicorn Princess Mega Awesome that she'd just purchased, gulping. "I can explain!"
"Oh, no doubt. You're making a lot of extra work for me." Discord grinned maniacally, patting her shoulder again. "On the other hand, this is absolutely hilarious. Get some good screenshots before I wipe it."
Gilda raised a hand timidly. "Say, boss? Do you think we could maybe, you know, get griffons in this game too? Pretty please?"
Discord scratched his goatee, then walked away without answering her. Back in his private office, he pulled up some of the original design documents. "Griffons are fierce wild beasts in happy rainbow horse land? That's not like Radiant at all."
He snatched up a pencil and doodled a happy fluffy friendly smiling griffon. "Much more appropriate! And we don't even have to use this. I'll just mock up a design spec and leave it where Gilda will see it. Oh yes, this will be priceless!"
Session 48.10 Mooncalf99
Sunburst laughed to himself as he went over his notes a third time. "Yes! Yeees... yes, it all checks out! Under basic conditions, the outcome of the third iteration can be guaranteed to--"
A knock on the door interrupted his revelry. This was a bit surprising, because he wasn't expecting any visitors. Bemused, he put down the piece of chalk with which he had been trying to unravel the mysteries of the universe, and went to answer the door. "Yes?"
Something snatched away his glasses and plunged the world into a blurry swirl of colors. Then something blue hit him right in the muzzle. "Ow!" he cried out. It hit him again. "Owie!" And again. "Oww! Stop!" He stumbled backwards from the blue smudge that was his unidentifiable assailant, and fell on his rump. It wasn't that the attacks were particularly vicious, but spending most of his youth at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns - where the bullies tended to be even nerdier than him - hadn't really prepared him for violent confrontations.
"Stupid, stupid colt!" An angry and somehow familiar-sounding voice rebuked him, before something hard hit across the top of his skull - judging from the force and the hardness, it was his third-edition copy of Thornleaf's Boring Plant Facts, all 860 pages of it plus wooden hardcovers. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Another hit followed the first one, and another came to assist that one.
"Agh! Stop, please!" He tried to catch the blunt (if educational) instrument with his magic, but it was hard to see properly, and the repeated cranial percussions were distracting. "Trixie!"
"Bah!" the blue blur snorted in an unquestionably haughty stage magician-like manner. His glasses dropped down on his muzzle, bringing the world back into focus. Given that most of it was taken up by an apparently enraged Trixie glaring at him, he wasn't sure it was an improvement. "Tell Trixie, Sunburst. Why are you such a foal?"
He blinked. "What? Ow!" the book whacked him again over the head.
"I said, why are you such a foalishly foalish foal, you foalish foal who is foalish?" Trixie ranted.
"What? OW!" Sunburst managed to get out.
"Say what again and Trixie will defenestrate you," Trixie threatened. "Painfully. With both hooves."
"Wha--" He managed to catch himself. "I-I-I don't know! I don't know what's going on! Why are you... I don't... can't... brain thinky bads..."
"Bah, Trixie didn't hit you that hard! Probably!" she amended. "Maybe. Doesn't matter! But you..." She suddenly snagged him by his collar and yanked him close, glaring at him with even greater intensity. "You. You decided to become Starlight's coltfriend, correct?"
"What?" he stammered out, surprised by this sudden topic change. Then the book hit him again. "Ow!"
"S-T-A-R-L-I-G-H-T," Trixie elaborated angrily. "Glimmer. About this tall, smart, beautiful, brave, heroic. Trixie's best friend. You ruined her life once. That Starlight. Ring a bell?"
"Uh, yeah," he stammered out. "Starlight, yeah. I said I was sorry, if that's what this is about..."
"Yes, you're a very sorry excuse for a pony," Trixie replied. "But for whatever reason, she decided to take you on as a coltfriend. I mean, you're not just out of her league, you'd have to use binoculars to see the ponies who are out of her league - but for whatever reason, she likes you. And what do you do in return?"
"I... don't know?" He ventured. "I haven't done anything..."
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" Trixie bellowed. "You certainly haven't done anything! First chance you get, you putz back home and leave her in the dust - again! No flowers, no gifts, no sweet words and letters and poems, and no dates whatsoever!"
"D-dates?" he asked.
"Do not try to convince Trixie that you don't know what a date is," Trixie spat. "Even Twilight Sparkle knows what dates are. Or do you still believe that foals come from magic mirrors?"
"No, I--" Sunburst tried to pull himself back into something at least resembling dignity, despite the situation. "Of course I know what a date is," he said. He didn't bother elaborating on the fact that his knowledge was largely theoretical. Being a shut-in at CSGU tended not to encourage adventurousness. "Okay, I understand what you're getting at. You think I should take Starligth on a date, right? Fine, I'll think of something-- OUCH!"
This time, she had hit him with what appeared to be an envelope, though it still hurt. He was beginning to realize that the stories he'd heard of Trixie's escapades in villainy weren't as exaggerated as he'd thought - she could be awfully mean if she wanted to. "You'll do no such thing, mister. From what Trixie understands, you are very much thinking and very little doing. And that's not good enough!" She took a deep breath to collect herself. "We can both agree that Starlight deserves the very best. Unfortunately she got you instead, but we'll work with that. Now, take this." She held up the envelope in front of him.
Sunburst flinched involuntarily, before he realized she wasn't actually hitting him this time. Instead, he gingerly took the envelope and examined the inside. "Tickets?"
"This weekend, the Canterlot Museum of Supernatural Science is having a presentation of pre-Equestrian magic discoveries," Trixie explained. "Starswirl, Clover, Meadowbrook, the wonders of Dream Valley, et cetera, et cetera." She rolled her eyes. "It's all very kitschy and trite if it's anything like their usual presentations, but..."
"Sounds like fun!" Sunburst said enthusiastically. "Oh, while we're there, I'd love to see the--"
"It's not for you!" Trixie barked, sending him cowering again. "This is for Starlight's enjoyment, and you are taking Starlight there so she can have a good time. Get it? That means no wandering off to do your own thing, no trying to hog the fun, no thinking about yourself. Also, for the whole date, you are not to talk about yourself unless prompted, or about your studies or whatever it is you do with all these books, or about that abomination that you're failing miserably to teach socially acceptable behavior. If you need to say anything, keep it restricted to 'Yes, Starlight', 'Are you having a good time, Starlight?' or 'I love what you've done with your mane, Starlight'. In fact, compliments and attention is the way to go. She doesn't get nearly enough of that."
"Uh, okay..." Sunburst said. "And what's the rest?"
"Once you're done at the museum, you'll have dinner at the Tasty Treat, where Trixie has made reservations," Trixie continued. "It's a very nice place, Saddle Arabian theme, family run. Both Rarity and Pinkie Pie recommend it, as well."
Sunburst raised an eyebrow in interest. He'd come to understand that those two mares had very... different tastes and opinions, so one place getting their joint approval must be special indeed. "Saddle Arabian, huh? I used to eat a lot of takeout back in school."
Trixie chuckled. "Who didn't? Just don't order anything with a lot of garlic."
"Why not?" Sunburst asked.
Trixie just gave him a deadpan stare. "After that, you have tickets to Carneighie Hall, where the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing with special guest Octavia Melody. Classical music. Do not fall asleep, or else."
"And after that?" he asked.
"After that... I suppose you're free to improvise, as long as you don't mess up too badly," Trixie said, waving a hoof dismissively. "Hopefully, at some point Starlight will take enough pity on you to give you a kiss, so try not to slobber too much." She grinned. "And then I suppose you're clear to go home and ignore her for another few months as usual."
"Uh, yeah..." he mumbled, shamefaced. "Hey, uh... you really care about her, don't you, Trixie?"
Trixie tilted her head quizzically. "...She's my best friend," she said simply. Then she donned her hat and headed for the door. "Well, Trixie must be leaving. She has important work to do elsewhere." She stopped and turned her head, a sinister glint in her eye. "Oh, and another thing, Sunny? If you break her heart again? There are some very deep chasms to the north of here. They won't find you for years."
Session 48.11 Kendell2
The humane seven continued playing Crystals and Rainbows, this time at Rainbow Dash's house. Mainly because they had to help her study a bit before hand.
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash asked, talking to her mother's in game incarnation...mainly to get a specific piece of clothing.
"What?" Applejack asked, looking up from planting some more trees around her ingame house. Which looked quite similar to her real one, except with apple trees actually growing out of it.
"My mom's video game self just challenged me to a sled race!" Rainbow Dash replied, blinking. If she won, she'd get a special piece of clothing, if she lost she'd 'have to help around the shop' (which was another mini game you could do of your own free will if you wanted to). "Since when does mom does mom do that?!"
"Maybe ask her?" Applejack asked.
She shrugged and started the race. Races in this game worked counter to a lot of other games: being aggressive or meanspirited would result in a heavy loss in Friendship Points while good sportsmanship and fair play was rewarded. This meant it was entirely possible to WIN the race by playing dirty, but get LESS friendship points than you would've if you'd lost fair and square. It was unique and she honestly found it a bit of a good challenge. In this case, the ingame Rainbow Dash Sr. was a pretty good challenge to the point Rainbow just won by a hair.
"Good job, darling. I'll go get you that outfit I promised you," the ingame Rainbow Dash Sr. said with a friendly look...right before the snow on a tree next to them fell on them both. "...And maybe some hot coco too, darling?"
"Geeze..." Rainbow Dash muttered. "Since when is mom so good at sled racing?!"
"And why wouldn't I be good at sled racing, darling?"
Rainbow Dash jumped, the group turning to see her mother standing in the doorway. She was colored as one would expect, looking like an older slightly darker skinned version of her daughter...except for her hair style and clothing being closer to what Rarity would wear, except with plenty of rainbows.
"Oh! Hi mom!...Was just playing a game..." Rainbow Dash replied. "And you're...you. You're kinda girly, sled racing just doesn't seem to be your thing..." she admitted.
Rainbow Dash Sr. chuckled. "I know the one, glad you all are enjoying it...well, Rainbow darling, there's enough snow on the ground for it. Let's go have a sled race and see how well I do, shall we?" she asked, getting a surprisingly intense look.
Rainbow Dash looked to Applejack. "Why does she have that intense look in her eye?! That's the intense look in MY eye!" she whispered back.
"Had tah get it from somewhere, sugarcube," Applejack whispered back with a chuckle.
"And how about we make it a little more interesting darling," Rainbow Dash Sr. proposed. "If you win, I'll get you that game console you've been wanting."
Rainbow Dash smirked. "No way! You're on!"
"You didn't hear what happens if I win," Rainbow Dash Sr. said with a smirk. "If I win, I get to finally show your friends those baby pictures I've been wanting to."
Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide and she blushed a little as the others chuckled and look expectantly. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, backing down from a challenge wasn't something she was good at doing.
Rainbow Dash Sr. had traded out her dress for a snow suit...that was still rainbow hued and fancy. Both were on wooden sleds on a hill nearby their house.
Rainbow Dash Jr. felt a little nervous. Her mother was unusually intense, like she knew something she didn't...
"Ready, set, go!" the human Twilight yelled, waving a flag RD Sr. had provided.
The two Rainbow Dashs took off down the hill.
At first Rainbow Dash Jr. took the lead, but her mother soon caught up and looked at her with a smirk.
Rainbow blinked, then tried to overtake her, but the two both keeping neck and neck. Rainbow even started smirking, enjoying the challenge...when her mother finally pulled completely ahead and crossed the finish line...then in her celebration, wiped out and crashed into the house.
"Mom!" yelled Rainbow, running over. "Are you okay?!"
Rainbow Dash Sr...started laughing. "Yes, darling! Just glad to finally have some fun with my daughter again. It's been so long."
Rainbow Dash Jr. blinked. "...I...I guess it has been...Just...you're...you and I'm...me...I didn't know that you were into that kind of stuff."
Rainbow Dash Sr. chuckled and got back to her feet. "Where do you think you got it from? Certainly not your father."
The two laughed a little as the others ran up.
"You okay, Mr. Dash?" asked Applejack.
"Yes, darling..." she said, then noticed snow falling from above. "...Oh dear..."
The group was promptly buried by snow falling from the roof the older woman had knocked down with her impact.
"...Let's go get some hot coco darlings..." Rainbow Dash Sr. replied, covered in snow and looking almost like a snowman.
"That sounds great...We're looking at my baby pictures, aren't we?" Rainbow Dash asked flatly in realization.
"Yes. You DID make a deal, darling."
OOC: Based off this G3 comic http://heckyeahponyscans.tumblr.com/post/39779335918 . Ironically the G3 comics gave them a bit more personality and depth, like G3 Rainbow being a bit more active and competitive.
Session 48.12 QuartzScale
Once again a quiet night between friends though for reasons beyond their control Lyra was lost doing her own thing. Derpy was once again entertaining with a plate of muffins. She made plenty this time for her two other friends. Bon Bon had once again joined her but tonight was her other friend. The cellist Octavia had made a point to hang out with her friends more often and she wouldn't deny that she needed to make more time. Vinyl had crashed on their couch and wouldn't even raise her head and Doctor Whooves was still out of town. Still they wouldn't let the lack of all her friends ruin the nice time the three were having.
The dilemma soon came up of the last muffin. Derpy would have been fine taking it but she was a good host. Muffiny goodness could be enjoyed at any time and she would not deny her friends the chance to enjoy the baked goods of the gods. Still without Discord around it wouldn't be as entertaining. Though she did get that weird present from him during Hearth's Warming. When she had looked at it there was a strange gray button in the shape of a muffin and a small sheet of written instructions.
‘Use me when there is only one muffin. When you have finished press the button again and everything will be fine. Enjoy.'
"Who would like the last muffin?" Derpy chirped up as both mares eyed the last one.
"ME!" Screamed out the two mares.
As quietly as possible Derpy pressed the muffin button and her kitchen slowly became the same courtroom it had been the last time. Bon Bon was still dressed in her blue suit and red tie combo and looked determined as always. She probably didn't want the bran muffin again.
Octavia on the other hand was dressed in a strange black vest with a fancy dress shirt. The sleeves were puffy and for some reason she had socks on her hooves that looked black. Doctor had once said that certain socks on forehooves meant they were considered gloves though that was a silly name for socks on ponies. The thing that caught her eye though was the small whip Octavia was holding. With a sharp crack she whipped the table in a show of dominance but Bon Bon held her footing.
"Please open with why you need the muffin." Derpy casually stated unknowingly taking pieces of the muffin and chewing on them absent mindedly.
"Of course. Unlike last time a bran muffin is not satisfactory for consumption unlike last time. We require sustenance that provides a sugar rush and a massive explosion of confectionary flavor. My colleague here can't understand that that muffin belongs with me." Bon Bon slammed her hooves against the table she was at.
OBJECTION!
"This foolish mare who so foolishly thinks that she was foolish enough to require a muffin has provided no concrete reason for her need of a muffin. As the fool has stated so foolishly and foolhardy enough to the rest of us she can't even come up with a good reason for her need of the muffin." Octavia pronounced while taking a dainty bow before tightening her whip.
OBJECTION!
"I think it goes without saying that my colleague has also not given a good reason for her to have the muffin only finding a way to besmirch my good name for the sake of the muffin in question. That bran muffin changed my life and not for the better. I deserve the special muffin that Derpy makes only once in a fortnight. One I have never tasted before." Bon Bon shouted while Octavia pounded the table in fury.
TAKE THAT!
Instead of a rebuttal the whip cracked on the side of Bon Bon's table frightening the mare into ducking below the table while three more strikes left splinters and cracks on the table.
"My opponent is ranting about things she doesn't know about and merely meandering about entitlement and such inopportune things that mean nothing in this courtroom. Judge the decision is clear you must - WHAT ARE YOU DOING DERPY!"
Derpy had finished the muffin while she watched the fireworks. At the same time she pressed the muffin button returning the kitchen back to normal and depriving Octavia of her whip. Derpy just smiled at the two mares whose mouths were now agape in shock.
"I just don't know what went wrong."
She later pulled out two muffins she saved in the oven for the two returning them to their senses and letting them realize Derpy played them like Octavia plays her cello.
Session 48.13 Alex Warlorn
"Yes Info-Chan, tell me next who I must 'get rid of' to win Sempai's heart! Just avoid Nemesis-Chan! Hmm? A new post on the beta tester's forum? ... 'Edit this value in the game files for a fun surprise.' Okay. Let's see... change this character value and--"
A ghostly white faded green face with faded pink pigtails appeared on the computer screen, with leaking black eyes.
"HELLO. DO YOU REMEMBER ME? NO YOU DON'T. BECAUSE MY EXIST WAS SHATTERED ACROSS TIME AND SPACE. WERE YOUR MEMORIES ERASED? OR WAS IT ANOTHER TIMELINE? THE DEVICE WAS SAFE WITH ANIMALS. BUT FATHER HADN'T USED IT ON HUMAN BEFORE. FATHER WAS SO CONFIDENT IN HIS MACHINE, THAT I WOULD PROVE TO THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS THAT IT WAS SAFE FOR HUMANS.... MY SISTER ONLY REMEMBERS BEING AN ONLY CHILD. EVEN THE MACHINE NO LONGER EXISTS...OR RATHER NEVER EXISTED... SO COLD... SO EMPTY... SO DARK... THE DEVELOPER SAID YOU SHOULDN'T TRY TO ACCESS CHARACTERS WHO AREN'T REALLY FOR THE GAME YET. COME TO ME..."
".... Mommy.... Okay... just... go to school... why is everything so faded and dark? I've never seen the value this low, I didn't think it was possible and... AH!"
= Megalovania - Undertale =
The 'Fun Girl' floated towards the player, wearing a normal school uniform, frozen still, with a open smile on her face showing only darkness, bits of her glitchy, hammering scary music began to play.
"AAAHHH! LEAVE ME ALONE!"
'Fun Girl' never said anything, she simply floated after the player, her speed constant and not inhibited by obstacles... She touched the player and... darkness, nothing.
*A Wee bit later*
"... AGH! HEY! What are you- stop hugging so tight!"
"... In a minute."
Session 48.14 Kendell2
This is inspired by this video: youtu.be/ssbRzCt0n6M
Twilight teleported the door of Carousel Boutique and threw the door open, panting. "I got your message, what's going...on..."
The lavender Alicorn blinked in confusion as instead of a filly looking up to her after another 'magical incident' as she'd expected, she was looking at a full grown adult Sweetie Belle, sitting at the table with a similarly grown up Applebloom and Scootaloo.
"...I made a big mistake..." Sweetie Belle muttered, pinning her ears.
Twilight merely stared with a dropped jaw. "But...age magic is only for high level unicorns! How did you..."
"I don't know! I was trying to cast a spell to help one of Applebloom's plants grow and THIS happened..." Sweetie Belle cried, giving a whimper.
"Okay...considering I accidentally turned my parents into plants and aged Spike up to an adult briefly during a magic surge, I think I can understand how this happened...kind of..." Twilight admitted, taking a deep breath. "Where's Rarity?"
The CMC looked sheepish. "Yeah...about that..." Scootaloo admitted...
Twilight jumped as she heard a crash and then saw three small forms running by, using fabric to apparently dress up as Mistress Marevelous, Radiance, and Zap, fighting a pretend Maneiac.
It then occurred to her that those three fillies were Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.
"...Yeah...they kinda got caught in the spell too..." Sweetie Belle admitted, giving a sheepish smile.
OOC: Basic idea is the fillified trio just being fillies playing games until Twilight figures out how to turn them back.
Session 48.15 Ardashir
Stunned, Twilight could only stare as her three filli-fied friends pretended to be fighting every villain their adult selves had faced, all at once.
"POW!" Applejack-Marevelous said as she socked a plush Sombra so hard he bounced off the wall. "That'll teach ya ta make ponies unhappy!"
"Gotcha, you jerk!" Rainbow Dash-Zap yelled as she flew -- well, hovered and jumped -- onto a plush Tirek.
"Take that, you meanie!" Rarity-Radiance as she shot harmless sparks from her horn at a plush and snaggle-toothed Chrysalis. The fillies then tossed all three villains into a pile, at which point Rarity crossed her forelegs. "There! And after Radiance x's and un-ex's her forelegs, she causes a wave of magic flame that burns the badness out of bad guys* to cover all Equestria, and turns them good, and gets rid of all the meanies forever!"
"Yay!" The three fillies cheered, loudly. Twilight winced and saw Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo all cringe as well. "We just beat all the bad guys!"
The trio paused and blinked at each other.
"Okay," Dash scratched her head. "But since we're super heroes, what do we do now?"
Twilight wondered what trouble three energetic and imaginative fillies could get into for one second before she snatched up the plush villains in her magic and hovered them above her friends' heads.
"Look! New bad guys from, ah," she thought fast, "from outer space!"
Looks of utter delight crossed the three fillies' faces.
"Yay!"
They dove on the plushies and mock fought them again.
Twilight stepped back by Sweetie. "Uh, where did you find plushes of those three?"
"Sis was making them before this happened," Sweetie gave a shrug. "She said it was a special order via a post office box. But who would want toys of the bad guys?"
(* -- Shamelessly ripped off from/inspired by Axe Cop, a real webcomic inspiRed by a little kid.)
Session 48.16 Kendell2
"Discord..." said Radiant Hope, walking into Discord's office.
"Yes, Mrs. Hope?" Discord asked, typing away as he worked on coding the griffon class prototype for Crystals and Rainbows. Adding a new race to this universe was a good bit more difficult than it was in Horsecraft. It wasn't simply stats and abilities that didn't make them and Pegasi interchangable, it was including areas that ONLY that race could actually find to encourage interaction and playing together, and a new starting area with a new mentor. They'd ultimately decided Griffons would be able to track scents, which could lead them to new paths the other races couldn't find while Pegasi were more precision flyers and thus could still exclusively open THEIR paths. But that included actually incorporate them into the game.
Radiant showed her laptop, which depicted Pinkie Pie's in game house...which doubled as a fully functioning Ferris Wheel. Pinkie Pie was currently riding it and typing 'WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' into the chat over and over again. "Did you make the Ferris Wheel an obtainable house building item? I thought that was just for the town amusement park."
Discord paused his coding and gave a small chuckle. "Well, it WAS Beta Testing, so I included it for an extremely high amount of Friendship Points...I honestly am surprised that girl actually managed to GET that amount so quickly..."
"I am too...It's almost scary how well she gets this world..." Radiant muttered.
"So, I guess you want me to remove it?" asked Discord, looking disappointed.
"Oh, no! It love it!" Radiant said, giving a smile. "Add more stuff like that! The more options the better! I just didn't think anyone would be creative enough to use it!"
Discord smirked. "Glad to hear it!...Does this mean I can add the rollercoaster parts?"
"...Only if you make it impossible for them to ride if it's incomplete."
"Fine by me. But I AM making it so they can go upside down and underwater."
Session 48.17 Mtangalion
Gilda flopped into her office chair, letting it spin around once before coming to rest facing her computer. "Alright! Got my caffeine..." She popped a soda can open and took a sip. "Got my tunes..." She plugged earbuds into her phone and scrolled to an industrial rock playlist. "Now I just have to put my nose to the grindstone and..." She made a sour face. "...work."
"Well, well..."
Crap! That was Discord's voice, drifting over the tops of the cubicles... never a good thing this early in the morning. Gilda sat up straighter, listening in.
"And how's my new favorite intern this morning?"
"It's such a thrill working for your company, Mr. Discord! I'm so excited to be here, I could just explode!"
Gilda twitched. That voice! No, no no...
"Well, Gabriella, it's not my company per se, unfortunately..."
"Please, call me Gabby! Oh, there's just so many new people to meet, so much to learn!"
Gilda seriously considered hiding under her desk. Or jumping out a window. That wasn't as bad as it sounded in her head... she could griffon up, after all.
Discord laughed. "If only more of our employees could be so enthusiastic! Speaking of grumpy employees... You did such fine work in tech support last week, I think we ought to try you out in quality assurance next. I believe there's an empty cubicle next to *Gilda* here. Yesss..."
And Gilda could only force a smile and swivel her chair to face her oncoming doom, as her boss stepped into view, escorting... yep, it was her all right.
Gabby was the same gray-skinned girl that Gilda remembered from high school, with soft blue eyes and short fluffy gray hair, tied in back. The badge pinned to her sweater was new... some kind of red and pink shield with a purple trophy cup. Most Griffonstone folks didn't wear cutesy things like that. Maybe Gabby was a pony on the other side?
Gilda braced herself as Gabby spotted her, eyes growing wide. Three, two, one...
Gabby GASPED, probably loud enough for Dash's weird friend Pinkie to hear it all the way in Canterlot. "Gilda!? Is that really, really you? You work at CrystalSoft! This is amazing!!" She clenched her fists under her chin and squee'd, wiggling back and forth, and jumped in the air too before glomping Gilda tight. "I was already having so much fun trying all these different jobs to see what I'm best at, and now I have an old friend here too!"
"Yeah," coughed Gilda, trying to get her breath back after being squeezed that hard. "What, is it bring your daughter to work day already? Shouldn't you be in class?" Once, that would have been a bitter, sarcastic jab, but now it came out more like a playful tease. Ugh, Gilda thought. She really was going soft.
Gabby beamed. "Nope! I graduated!"
Gilda blinked. "Wait, what? How many grades did you skip?"
"Just one! I've been so busy, busy!"
Discord grinned darkly. "I'll just let you busy little hens get to work. Gilda can show you how to access the new beta build. I'm certain you're going to love it!"
Gilda did a mild double-take, watching him leave. "Wait, did he say..."
Gabby reached over and clicked Gilda's mouse. "Beta builds... hey, is this it?"
Gilda swatted her hand away. "Claws... I mean, hands off! Use your own machine! Yeah, you just click here to launch the new Crystals and Rainbows client build... huh, what's this?" She clicked on Create Character.
Griffons were on the list now, and next to the word "Griffon" was a picture of... that thing. That adorable abomination that Discord had sworn was a prank. "No... No!"
Hand shaking, she clicked on it.
A full screen view showed fluffy, smiling griffons chasing after butterflies and batting around balls of yarn. And *singing*. ‘Oh, we're the griffons, we love to play! Singing our songbird song all day!'
Gilda rose, shaking her fists at the ceiling. "Discord, you maniac! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! Damn you to..." She snarled and stalked away from a very confused Gabby. "Excuse me, one sec..."
Gilda stomped into a supply closet and slammed it shut. A moment later, there was a muffled roaring screech, and golden rainbow light shone brilliantly from under the closet door. Gilda stumbled back out again, wobbling her way back to her desk. "Okay... I feel better now." She brushed a few phantom feathers from her shoulder.
One of loose ‘feathers' happened to tap Gabby on the nose, making the girl sneeze and giggle. "Gilda? Do you really... not like them that much?"
Gilda took a long gulp from her soda. "Those aren't real griffons. More like chocobos with extra legs!"
A text chat message from Discord popped up on her screen. "But you're still going to play one, aren't you?"
"Yes," groused Gilda, typing it too. "Yes, I am."
Gabby smirked. "I dunno. I think griffons are... kinda awesome."
Gilda blinked. "Huh." She smirked and elbowed Gabby. "You're alright, kid. Pull up a chair, I'll show you how this is done..."
Session 48.18 Alex Warlorn
"Sir, I have a great idea for an expansion for the World of Horsecraft game Mr. Sombra!"
"Well, I'm willing to listen to ideas, Miss-?"
"Little Pip Sir. I worked in Crystalsoft's freemium mobile gaming department... before your wife shut it down."
'I recall that was because Hope found out because of an old woman who had to take a job to support herself after spending her life's savings on one of the apps.'
"Well, what is this idea of yours Little Pip?"
"I call it 'Nukeout Equestria!'"
"Hm?" Sombra leaned in closer.
"Basically, ponies and the rest having to survive in an Equestria completely trashed by a mega-spell war, and those who survived in underground bunkers emerging to a blasted landscape centuries later, with the majority of the bunkers having been secretly sabotaged as part of an experiment by those thinking the war would never happen."
"I'm liking this so far. People LOVE conspiracy theories and post-apocalyptic junk. It'll sell no problem. Having all that friendship stuff tested against a cruel and unfeeling world."
"Er, yes. And! The best part is! As they uncover the lore, they find out how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna completely bungled up everything in their conflict with the zebras that started the war in the first place!"
"... Couldn't that create some 'unfortunate implications'?" Sombra said, not wanting to insult certain demographics.
But Little Pip wasn't listening. "And! Those who defeated Nightmare Moon and brought back Princess Luna? The Elements of Harmony? The lore reveals that Laughter became a drug addict. Generosity worked in a propaganda ministry. Honesty created a secret society with good intentions that's still causing trouble 'today.' Loyalty's actions are the reason for the majority of the dangers the players face in one of the dungeons. Magic tried to create an entire race of Alicorns who are now bent on assimilating everyone into their hive mind, and Kindness gave mega-spell weapons to both sides thinking it would stop the war when it really just destroyed everything! Does it sound awesome?"
"... Now that last part."
"Yes, we can even set it up so the character models of the top clearers of Nightmare Moon's dungeon can have their faces appear as the six who ruined the world. It'll be great."
-
Fifteen seconds later, Little Pip was thrown out of the building with a warning not to come back.
"Welcome to the club." Decepticolt remarked.
+++
The next day, the beta testers for Crystals and Rainbows logged in to find a bizarre surprise, when they found their homes and other in bought property was being systematically replaced by giant bee hives and honey combs.
"Hey! What's going on?" Pinkie Pie said, finding her extremely expensive ferris wheel missing and a giant bee hive in its place.
"We need more honey! So we're gonna turn all of Ponyland into honey farms!" Said a teddy bear, one of several, marching in loose formation with cloth helmets made to look like helmets for knights with the visor up.
"Oh um, please don't do that." Fluttershy typed, wanting her bird house back. "I'm sure we can share."
The teddy bears stuck out their red felt tongues. "Nay! Stay out of way! Or we'll hug you and never let go, and tickle you and not stop even if you ask pretty please!"
Pinkie Pie moved her characters up to the teddy bear occupying what used to be her house. "Now that isn't very nice at all! You should ask permission before taking other ponies', creatures' stuff!"
Pinkie Pie hit the universal interact button.
The terry bear responded by frowning, lowering Pinkie Pie's friendship points!
"Hey! I worked hard for those points!" Pinkie Pie selected the 'special action' option that popped up, which then revealed itself to be 'Push', ie the teddy bear really hard onto the ground.
The invading teddy bear did some over theatrical and overly dramatic death throes before laying on its back and reaching an arm skyward. The navy's funeral song played as background music.
"Tell my wife and cubs I love them!"
Then he exploded in sparkles and confetti. The bee hive turned back into a ferris wheel.
Pinkie Pie's jaw was on the desk, her eyes pin points and expression just frozen in place. Meanwhile, Fluttershy had fainted.
-
Game designer Discord snarled. "Hey! Only I'm allowed to mss with this game!"
-
"Ira!" Sombra shouted.
"Wasn't me! Not enough blood and swearing," Ira defended surprisingly honestly.
-
"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Don't know who did this, but I love this!" Gilda laughed as she made invading teddy bear after invading teddy bear explode, glitter and confetti falling like rain. Gabby cringed.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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I wonder if the normal Discord actually got his magic to work and allow him to
trollmess with the EG Discord.7876901
You're not the first to wonder if it might be him who's the hacker.
As soon as I read the part where Discord cutifies Griffons for Crystals and Rainbows, it made me realize something: Gabby would totally have fit in back in G3. Heck, her episode might even have fit as an episode of G3, and I'm saying that as someone who loved that episode.
I love the idea of Gabby helping Discord build the Griffon section of Crystals and Rainbows, and I can't wait to see Equestrian Gilda and Rainbow Dash's reactions!
I am stumped as to who coded the teddy bear/bee invasion though. I guess we'll see...
Fair point, fair point.
Yandere Simulator parody, right.
Well, if you got your intended target and got away with it, yes, if you didn't, then no.
Ira is the Yandere Dev of this universe, huh. (A minor nitpick with this fic I have is that I find it hard to tell the difference between someone using the characters to take a stab at something, or the characters themselves disliking it. That's a me thing though.)
It's cathartic is my best guess.
It's Yandere Sim alright.
No you don't.
Chill, Franziska.
Ruined her life, she ruined her OWN life. She chose to become an equality obsessed nut. Now granted, I won't discard the idea that she may have some sort of mental condition prior to that which may have made her mind go down that path, and friendship has been shown to be a very powerful force, so the lack of said friendship might also be an important factor, but I digress.
Note to self: Protective Trixie is fucking scary.
Question, who do you imagine voicing her? I can't help but imagine Rarity.
Huh, never thought I'd ever see depth and G3 associated together unironically. But, makes sense, kinda.
Oh boy! Phoenix Bon Bon vs Franziska Von Octavia!
Amazing!
I get the feeling someone has a thing for/against Yandere Simulator.
HEH!
Methinks you don't like Fallout Equestria.
You would.
7876944
Huh, you're right. :) You thought of that before Gabby the intern showed up? I was coming at it from the other direction... what would make Gilda's morning crazier?
7877860
Yeah, I mean as soon as you think "cuddly Griffons" of course Gabby is going to be the first thing you think of. Well, that or baby Gilda.
7877379
I am neither for nor against Yandere simulator, ironically you can non-violently eliminate your rivals by hooking them up with someone else.
And yes, I am against the character derailment of that fic.
7878073
I'm well aware that you can non violently dispose of rivals, yes, I'm subbed to Yandere Dev's channel.
And thus did the human CMC's allowances disappear forever into the void.
Spike had better get a joke referencing the fact that his voice actor voiced G3 Rarity, which is actually kinda weird now that i think about it.
So the alicorn of the sun, the smartest pony in the world(and the one with the best Shut Up Hannibal I've ever seen delivered to pony deities), a real-life insert and.... a breezie who's allergic to flowers. I think I found the race the devs payed the least attention to
Oh. Oh no. You gave them Stardew Valley. ....welp. Guess they're not doing literally anything else for the next forever.
I'm sure she'll dress in style regardless(first!)
This is somehow the cutest, least threatening depiction of Adagio I've seen. Also, why is this the first time I've ever seen someone say the sirens are sisters?!?!?!?!(outside the main-series POVerse)
Because I needed a craving for bacon at twelve thirty am
Well, its not like anyone else wants him
And all it takes is a battle against evil, an epic quest of self-discovery, or a return from the dark side
Positively Pink!
https://youtu.be/RD4r8ufspg0?t=64 Best flying theme ever goes here, fite me irl(I really, really need to stop doing these so late)
Here we go!
Oh heck yeah!
BECAUSE FANON!
Struck a nerve, did we?
I've seen stories(mostly anime) about normal people who randomly wind up dealing with every single evil entity ever. All of them combined have nothing on poor Shiny. And all because his introduction was just a bit too abrupt.
Rainbow, Scootaloo, or human!Makarov, who has surprisingly not shown up yet(side note, this should be the name over the crazy overpower-corn form we saw him in right before Pandora sealed him away)
Actually totally accurate, though from the wrong source. And Rarity was a princess even before that, if I'm not mistaken.
Evil mind control cult? Must be Tuesday. Girly in-game title? Righteous indignation!
Shoulda seen that one coming.
I once more give thanks my roommate sleeps like a rock.
Awww!
D'aaaaw!!!!
D'AAW!!!-I mean, oh no. Trixie how could you ever be so cru-el.
Actually, he was in town-well, not technically, it hadn't been founded yet, but it would be soon if he could just convince the cyber-ponies that zap-apples weren't the best idea for a new fuel source.
Derpy had, in fact, demonstrated more competency than the judge she was impersonating.(seriously, the only way the Phoenix Wright judge had ever been believable was when his relative in SoJ was introduced in a country that despises defense attorneys)
Is this a Pony Island reference? Also, hi
Destruction! Or is this D___tOr its flowey/chara. That works too, but has less pony jokes.
which character is this?
Its almost like she's the last survivor in a Superman-type story(just realized how many similarities those two have, at least with POVerse Pinkie)
And I'm about to explode from all the cuteness combined with lack of sleep. Also, I've been writing this comment for 40 minutes, and I have no idea how its been that long!
Five years and a few million words in, and we have our first shot at Fallout Equestria!
And thus the Classic MLP-Care Bear war began
7879598
I beg you, write a story segment with this joke and submit it to deviantart.
7879598
Remember one of the twists in pony pov?
7879598
Again, please, make a story segment with this joke and submit it.
Don't say that around Princess Twilight.
And ANOTHER ONE would be fun as a narrative bit.
Reference to FUN GIRL from Yardere simulator.
I FRIGGIN' KEPT WAITING FOR THE NEXT PERSON TO DECIDE AS PART OF THE JOKE! But nobody took the bait.
And I don't get the joke with the video at the end. But thanks for the commentary!
one question are ocs allowed
7879598
Well, Zipzee WAS kinda the closest thing the Breezies had to a leader. Hehe
Though if we're using Pony POV Series logic, there's the fact Zipzee managed to break Discord's spell on the Breezies and revert them from parasprites by calling down a literal miracle...
7879643 Very well. Give me a few hours
7879666
Not really a joke, just me using jacksfilms to wonder who did that
7880121
They aren't technically forbidden, but the story already has a very large number of them already.
7880473
I just think you wrote A LOT of very funny ideas here that WOULD WORK as joke segments, and you should write them all out! :-)
7879598
And I never played Stardew, mostly because I don't like the idea of an 'energy meter' that limits your actions per-day.
7879598
I really, REALLY hate the character derailment that story did. It's up there with Background Pony, Harmonized, Numbers Don't Lie, Out.Of.Character, as stories I really really don't like!
Hate to ask but mind using my name here again Alex. Sorry about bothering you about that. I really should just do what General Lemarc did and ask you whenever I post a story section.
I'm glad that Shadow and Lemarc enjoyed the muffin button and Ace Attorney references. I have three more of those in mind but that will come later. At least one each session till I've gotten them all ready.
7881243
Added!
7881404 Thanks
7881054 Why don't you like Background Pony?
7881243 Enjoyed them? I did not ENJOY them. I loved them with every fiber of my being!(I'm currently marathoning the new ace attorney game and am on another rewatch-all-dbza-episodes kick)
7881585
Because to me at least, it feels incredibly nihilistic. That's my opinion.
7881590
Ah I see. I'm glad I could make your day. The Muffin Button will return.
Will everyone get their just desserts? Will ponies manage to defeat the evil Lord Muffin? Will it take more than four episodes to watch them eat one muffin?
Stay tuned to the next My Little Pony!
7880597 Speaking as someone who's played it quite a lot... the energy meter isn't nearly as much of a hindrance as it seems, although it could feel like it early on. It can be replenished with food (thus giving you an actual reason to grow and cook things, instead of just selling everything for cash), and as your skills increase the energy expenditure decreases. A couple seasons in, you pretty much stop caring about energy.
And even if you run out of energy, you can just spend the rest of the day wandering the valley, befriending people and enjoying the ambience. (Or fight monsters in the mine, since sword swings don't cost energy.)
7879606
And I much prefer the ideals exemplified in SimCity than the ideals exemplified in Stardew Vally.
7887825
At least they had the thesis, THEN the deconstruction. DC started out with the deconstruction. (It's supposed to go, thesis, deconstruction, reconstruction. And the reaction to Batman v Superman shows why you shouldn't start out with the deconstruction.)
7880566 awww damn I got a good character that would fit in well if it's ok to have a berserker style character that can manipulate elements and slight shadow manipulation basically he's a tank that takes a beating
7889648
Sounds more like a character RD would make for one of the games.
7889661 well my oc if it's not canon for this is her bro lol so Yer but tbh he's a demon hybrid so except name change if required he's gonna be himself and just saying but sone games have rules of if its yourself have a valid reason why and I just think it be cool to have him questioned and he sets himself on fire in blue flames to prove it
Finally, picked this up last year but decided to gind it for New Years. Tales from the Gamers Table is absoutely hilarious, and all the variations being thrown together, backgrounds, expositions, explanations, really make things work., And if its confusing? Its Discords fault, even when it isnt.
My gaming group is monthly, and Im pretty low on modern games, been over a year snce I played any PS2 or Wii games. Nothing on the PC. Only regular ones I play are teh 3DS things Streetpass, Tomodachi Live, but mainly Pokemon. Essentially turn based.
Strange thing about Pokemon and Dungeons and Dragons. They seem to use identical mathematical functions as their core.
Now if only we could somehow combine the out of sight away from player procedural interactions, social, psychological, charachters of Tomodachi Live, crossed with City, realm, world creation of DnD, where Every element of the game due to procedural generation has stats, abilities and resources no matter how small, and Elite, where the use of mega textures, orchestral score, expensive VAs, video cut scenes etc would definitely have not made the game fit in such a small space and not expanded on the game much either?
Shouldnt properly procedurally generated games also scale automatically to what they are running on? Render what you can, then move on?
Sorry, fuzzy headed.. Ill go back to chewing on my plastic prawn again. Chess confuses me.
7890882
Well, hope you enjoyed the fic.
48.1 to 48.5
Someone's been following the development of Yandere Simulator... myself, I'm interested in the Matchmaking Route...
8289949
Then by all means write one. :-)