"So," began Rainbow Dash, looking at her competitors. "Are you all ready to watch us get first place?"
"Don't count yer chickens before they hatch," warned Applejack. "Me an' Apple Bloom intend to give you two a run for yer money."
"Speaking of money," said Silver Spoon, "I have just finished distributing bits between all three of your groups."
Rainbow Dash looked behind her and smiled at the small mound of money bags in the wagon that was hitched to Scootaloo and herself.
"Frankly Rainbow," said Rarity, who was also hitched to a wagon of bits alongside her sister, "I wouldn't expect you to win first place at this particular game. You don't have the same, shall we say, business sense that I do."
"There is no game that I can't win," countered Rainbow.
"Hey, Silver Spoon," said Apple Bloom. "Where did all of these bits come from anyway?"
"You mean this?" asked Silver Spoon, indicating a giant pile of coins next to her. "Apparently, when Discord created this world, all of the things that ponies were carrying were also brought into this world, even though their owners were not. You know how we keep finding pony's money pouches all over the place? And on top of that, there is also all the money that we found at all the businesses across the town. All of that money put together creates quite a respectable sum. And now, I'm in charge of it all!"
"Just we've made you banker doesn't mean you get to keep it all for yourself," said Sweetie Belle. "Just make sure that we get our two hundred bits when we finish a lap and you won't hear any objections from me."
"Now then," continued Silver Spoon. "If you are all done antagonizing one another. Featherweight? Rumble? Could you two please inform the judges that we are ready?"
"Sure thing," answered Rumble. He turned to Featherweight, who had a bag slung over his shoulders, just like he did.
"Let's go."
He and Featherweight took off flying toward the hot air balloon currently parked over the town in the sky.
"Everypony is ready!" Rumble informed Twilight.
"Thank you. I guess it's time to start then. Ready Spike?"
"I'm ready!" Spike answered confidently.
"Attention everypony!" boomed Spike's voice across Ponyville. "The game will begin momentarily. However, before we get started, allow us to thank you for agreeing to take part! This wouldn't have been possible without everypony's cooperation!"
"Well said, Spike," said Twilight, keeping her voice from broadcasting through Spike's megaphone.
"Now for the moment we've been waiting for!" continued Spike. "Here goes the first move of the life-sized game of maneopoly!"
Twilight threw a couple of square dice, which wobbled around on the floor of the hot air balloon's basket before coming to rest.
"Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo move to the market stalls!"
Rainbow and Scootaloo stopped in front of the market stalls and saw that Snips was sitting behind one of them.
"Wow, Scoot. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. You really did a number on this place."
"Is that a complement?" asked Scootaloo uncertainly.
"I'm not sure," said Rainbow. "I mean, look around. This place is kind of a dump now."
"So," asked Rainbow Dash of Snips. "How much?"
"Sixty bits!" answered Snips.
"You see what your tree sap machine has done to this place?" said Rainbow to Scootaloo jokingly. "All of the property values have plummeted."
"Which means we can afford it easily," pointed out Scootaloo.
"Cool. So, we're buying this, right?"
"Of course we are," answered Scootaloo.
A few moments later, the transaction was complete. Rumble and Featherweight flew down to Snips and collected the bits, then flew away again to return them to the 'bank'.
"Wave the flag, Scoot," instructed Rainbow.
"Twilight," said Fluttershy while looking over the edge of the balloon's basket. "I think Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo are done with their turn."
"Alright, now its Applejack and Apple Bloom's turn."
Twilight tossed the dice.
"Applejack and Apple Bloom move to Quills and Sofas!" announced Spike. "Or, as it has come to be known ever since the incident with Thesaurus, Feathers along with Loungers."
"This is the most unusual board game I have ever been a part of," declared Twilight. "And I use the term 'board game' very loosely."
"It's exciting though, isn't it?" asked Spike. "I wonder where Rarity will go?"
"Well, it is her turn next, so we will find out in a moment."
"I hope she wins!"
"Why?"
"Uh, no particular reason!"
"I'm cheering for Rainbow Dash," said Fluttershy.
"Hmm. I guess I should be rooting for Applejack and Apple Bloom then," said Twilight.
"They just waved their flag, Twilight," said Fluttershy.
"That means it's Rarity and Sweetie Belle's turn," said Twilight, tossing the dice once again.
"Rarity and Sweetie Belle move to the Railroad Station!"
Several turns later:
"Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo move to Carousel Boutique!"
"Yes!" cried Rainbow Dash as she pumped a hoof into the air. "Did you hear that Scoot? I told you we're going to win this!"
"We are?" asked Scootlaloo.
"This is the last property before we pass Silver Spoon again," explained Rainbow. "That makes it the biggest money maker. I know it doesn't make much sense. It's a cloths shop, it's really not that great. But the rules say that this is the best place on the board."
"And the most expensive," declared Diamond Tiara.
"Diamond?" said Scootaloo in surprise. "You're in charge of Carousel Boutique?"
"Well, Rarity can hardly do it when she's a competitor," pointed out Diamond Tiara.
"So, how much?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Four hundred bits."
"Oooh," said Scootaloo with a wince. "That is a lot of money. Should we do it?"
"Aw yeah."
"Fork over some bits," said Diamond.
"Couldn't we just pay two hundred instead and not collect when we pass Silver Spoon?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"No. Featherweight and Rumble are waiting and I'm going to give them four hundred."
"Alright, I was just asking," said Rainbow.
Diamond reached into their wagon and pulled out four large bags marked as one hundred bits.
Featherweight looked at the bags and then turned to Rumble.
"You'll carry two of these, won't you?"
"Sure."
Once Featherweight and Rumble had crammed the bits into their shoulder bags, they took off and landed again next to Silver Spoon who was only a block away.
"So Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo bought the Boutique?" asked Silver Spoon. "They had better hope that the others start landing on their spots soon. By my count, they must be running low on bits after this."
"You mean they shouldn't have done it?" asked Rumble.
"It's a risk," said Silver Spoon. "It might pay off. Then again, it might not."
"Rumble, we should hurry to Applejack and Apple Bloom," reminded Featherweight. "They're all the way at the flower shop. The Blossom Emporium, I mean."
"Right," said Rumble. "I'm ready."
The pair took off flying once again.
"Isn't this fun?" asked Featherweight.
"It's a little fun," admitted Rumble. "I am pretty curious about who is going to win. You and I are getting quite a workout too."
"It's a lot easier when you don't fly alone," said Featherweight. "This would have been a drag if I had to do it all by myself."
When it was time for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to move again, they had a nasty surprise in store.
"Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo move to Town Hall," boomed Spike's voice.
"Uh oh," said Scootaloo. "That's not good."
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Well, let's get this over with."
As they passed Silver Spoon, she gave them a mischievous grin.
"Here's some bits," she said as she tossed a bag into their cart. "You'll need them."
"Yeah yeah," said Rainbow Dash in annoyance.
Rainbow and Scootaloo kept walking until they finally reached town hall. They stopped in front of it and waited.
The front door burst open and Discord emerged, carrying an oversized horseshoe magnet over his head.
"Do you know what time it is?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "It's incooooome tax tiiiiime!"
"We know, Discord," muttered Rainbow Dash.
"So, what will it be?" asked Discord. "Two hundred, or ten percent?"
"Um... The ten percent would be cheaper, right?" Rainbow asked Scootaloo.
"Yeah, I think you're right. The ten percent is cheaper this time."
"Alright, we'll do the ten percent thing," said Rainbow Dash.
"Are you sure?" asked Discord.
"Yes, we're sure," said Scootaloo.
Discord stuck the magnet over their cart and three bags of bits shot out and attached themselves to it.
"Be a couple of dears and deliver this to the bank?" Discord said to Featheweight and Rumble, prying the bags away from the magnet with ease.
"Scoot," said Rainbow Dash.
"What?"
"Wave the flag."
"Oh yeah."
A moment later, Spike began announcing the Apples' next move.
"It appears that we get to hang out for a while, does it not?" asked Discord.
"Yeah, it does," said Rainbow. "Let's talk about Fluttershy, shall we?"
"One of my favorite subjects!" declared Discord, intrigued.
"Diamond Tiara!" cried Rarity.
"Yes? Do you need something?" asked Diamond. "This isn't your stop, you know."
"Did Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo buy the Boutique?"
"Yes, they did."
"Oh, I knew it! Come on, Sweetie!"
Rarity and Sweetie Belle continued on, barely stopping to say hello to Silver Spoon before accepting two hundred more bits from her and pressing onward. Finally, she spotted Rainbow and Scootaloo, talking with Discord in front of town hall.
"Rainbow Dash!"
"Hmm?" asked Rainbow, turning to Rarity.
"You..." Rarity cried as she approached. She walked beside Rainbow Dash and stopped.
"You do realize that you purchased my house?"
"Um, yeah. It's part of the game. You agreed to it."
"But I was supposed to be the one to buy the Boutique!"
"Well, you can't have it now!" declared Rainbow Dash snidely.
"I can too! Prepare to be run out of business, Rainbow Dash!"
Without another word, Rarity and Sweetie Belle continued onward.
"Forcing Rainbow to sell us the Boutique might be easier said than done," said Sweetie Belle. "We aren't exactly rolling in bits ourselves."
"I am prepared to do whatever it takes," said Rarity. "I'm sure that Applejack will assist us."
"I doubt it. They don't want us to win any more than they want Rainbow to win. Annnnnd, here we are at the train station again. At least we won't lose anything."
"I don't think Discord listened to me at all," muttered Rainbow Dash as she and Scootaloo moved on to their next destination. "He might think this is all a game, but it's not funny. He can't just laugh off what he did at the bowling alley."
"He may have laughed you off, Rainbow, but I promise that he remembered everything you said, even if he didn't appear to take you seriously at the time," said Scootaloo. "He might not admit it, even to himself, but he values the opinions of other ponies. Especially when it comes to Fluttershy."
"Yeah?" asked Rainbow doubtfully. "Why would he listen to me?"
"I'll give you two good reasons. One: because you are Fluttershy's friend. He knows that you want what's best for her. And two: He thinks of you as a friend too. I know that you think he's a nut, but you do have all kinds of fun together, as an adult. Mostly by pulling pranks together."
"Hmm," said Rainbow, considering. "He would be a pretty great pranking partner, wouldn't he? Look, I don't have a problem with Discord. We'll be cool as soon as he apologizes to Fluttershy."
They stopped as they finally reached their destination.
"Oh," continued Rainbow, "and I don't think we can afford to buy the water tower either. We'll have to let it go for now."
"Are we going to buy it or not, Applejack?"
"Ah dunno Apple Bloom," said Applejack. "We aint got an endless supply of bits. Ah was thinkin' we might oughta play it safe and keep a good supply."
"But if we don't buy up as much property as we can, we might fall behind!" Apple Bloom protested. "We can't play it safe. If we try, the others will just run us out of business!"
"Alright, ah see yer point. We'll buy the spa."
"Sanatorium," corrected Pipsqueak. "That's what it says on the sign now. That will be two hundred and forty bits."
"You're kidding me!" cried Rainbow Dash. "Now we have to pay luxury tax?"
"That's right," said Discord. "Seventy five bits."
"What luxury are we paying for exactly?"
"I have no idea!" answered Discord happily. "I'm just doing what I'm asked. I must admit, this little game of yours is fun."
"Rainbow, umm... We can't pay." muttered Scootaloo.
"I know."
"We'll have to mortgage something."
"Can we mortgage the market stalls?"
"No. That would only get us thirty bits. We'll have to mortgage either the bowling alley, the joke shop, the pizza place, or Rarity's Boutique."
"Alright, we'll do the bowling alley then."
"Alright then," said Rumble, who was watching from above. "I'll go to the bowling alley and tell Dinky to take a break, and Featherweight will go get your bits."
Many more turns later:
"This, this is why I prefer athletic competition to board games," cried Rainbow Dash in annoyance as she hovered near the hot air balloon. "Skill doesn't help you to win at all. The only thing that matters is how lucky you get."
"That was quite a run of bad luck," admitted Twilight. "I'm sorry that the dice seem to be so against you."
"You know what? I don't care. I really don't. This whole game is really just not my thing."
"Rainbow, I'm sorry that you didn't win."
Rainbow Dash sighed. "No, Fluttershy, it's fine, really. Besides, if I won at everything, nopony else would ever get to have any fun, right? And besides that, it did keep me from getting bored for the whole morning."
"Speaking of which, this game is probably going to last until at least the afternoon," said Twilight. "Why don't you go to sugar cube corner and see about bringing everypony lunch? That will give you something to do for a bit."
"Didn't Applejack and Apple Bloom buy Sugar Cube Corner? Doesn't that mean that I would be working for them?"
"Do you have a problem with their team?" asked Twilight.
"Well, no, but Applejack pressured me into selling her Carousel Boutique when Scoot and I ran out of money again. I hope that Rarity takes it from her."
"Well, I'm getting hungry, and I think a bunch of the others probably are too. It doesn't matter who owns Sugar Cube Corner in this silly little game."
"Alright, I was just messing around. I'm going."
Later that afternoon:
"Apple Bloom?"
"Yep?"
"Ah figure it's time we face reality and declare bankruptcy before this here game drags on fer too much longer."
Apple Bloom sighed.
"I really think that if we just keep going we could make a comeback, but... You're right. This has gone on long enough."
"You're just saying that because Twilight rolled doubles three times and you know you will go to jail if you don't," complained Discord, clad in a police officer's outfit.
"Congratulations, Rarity and Sweetie Belle!" said Twilight, now on the ground, as she approached her two friends. "Through aggressively choking out the competition, you now have an exclusive monopoly of most of the businesses in central Ponyville!"
"Yes, we do," answered Rarity, sensing Twilight's sarcasm. "And then we generously donated all of it back to the township of Ponyville. Except for the Boutique, of course. That's mine."
I have no idea where this came from. I haven't played Monopoly in years.
Monopoly the fastest way to ruin friendships and family gatherings. I would have bet Applejack would have won but I can see how Rarity did.
7145314 To be fair, I didn't specify how badly Applejack and Apple Bloom were losing when they surrendered. They might have been doing pretty well and just wanted the game over quickly. If you like you can even pretend that they were actually winning.
Great Idea I have ruined most of my childhood by only playing Monopoly because the game would never end and everyone would leave. But I like the way you made life size monopoly.
7145406 And they're using massive amounts of real money for entertainment no less. What else are they going to use it for?
I knew there was a reason I hated playing Monopoly. There's usually no ponies involved! So kudos Ironskull for actually making a way for it to be FUN! Although... There is the variant where you mix it up with D&D rules and before you can buy the property you have to draw a random encounter card then potentially fight a monster or deal with some other trouble...
Be right back, I need some notepaper and some caffeine.
7145427 True if that was me I would do a Scrooge McDuck style thing with the money after I won. especially since the bits are actual golden coins.
7145616 That's the second time someone has said that. I never read lord of the flies though... That's one of the books that everyone has read, right? Should I be embarrassed that I've never read it? Why does this fic remind you of lord of the flies?
Edit: Sorry, I really need to avoid replying from the story overview page and reply on the same chapter that the comment was made instead.
I was hoping to see a filly Sunset Shimmer.
I like this story here.^_^
You have done a good job now.
7145637
Lord of the Flies can be briefly summarized as "a bunch of kids live on an otherwise deserted island," with all the problems and issues that implies.
And most schools in the US have it as assigned reading at some point.
7145685 Ah. I can see why both times people have seen similarities to it have been in the first chapter. It sounds a lot more serious and less frivolous and fun than what this fic turns out to be after the first chapter. I guess I just managed to avoid having that book assigned while I was still in school.
7145677 I didn't want to demean the importance of the real colts and fillies by having too many adults turned into kids. I'm glad that you like it even though Sunset isn't here though.
"this pleases me"
Monopoly? That's actually extremely clever. Though I imagine it would get boring for the store owners.
7145995 It's kind of funny. People kind of dislike Monopoly because of how long it takes to play, but it was actually the only board game I could think of where they could use the town itself as a playing field.
Also, the colts and fillies watching the stores are free to do whatever they want while they wait. They don't even have to stay on site at all times, they just have to be there when they hear that one of the groups is coming their way.
What a great game of Monopony.
Yeah, I'm going down hard for that joke...
Well they could have played chess but with Discord about it might have ended like Mel Brooks film...
7148636 I tried writing the next day and it just didn't turn out satisfactory. It's a kind of important chapter, so I must ensure that I do it right. If I have to break the daily uploads in order to make sure that the story is the best that it can be, I will do it. I will hopefully get it right tomorrow.
7149197 Apple Bloom's accent is gone for that one line, and it sounds more like something Sweetie Belle or Rarity would say.
Sorry, I'm confused by something: When did Dinky become a Pegasus?
7158506 Oh crud, I have got to freakin stop confusing her with Derpy! I'll fix it in a sec, I'm busy right now.
Edit: Well, that was by far the most embarrassing error I've made in this story... I'm beating my head against the wall here. I'm going to feel like an idiot all day. It was almost bad enough that I would have to make a major rewrite to the story, but I wound up just switching Dinky's and Featherweight's positions. I know that Dinky is a unicorn, she is on the cover after all, but I subconsciously keep getting her confused with Derpy!
Thank you for bringing it to my attention though. It would have been more embarrassing if it had just stayed there like that for weeks.
There's a my little pony monopoly game four of them for g123 and the not suckish generation (not surprising sense they are both owned by hasbro and the monopoly game for xbox one you can make the board mlp for 0.99$ +tax and the everthing looks like the show if you they were literal cardboard cutouts
This also available for transformers sponge bob,nba,and Halo(you really can't but that would be awesome)
Now here's slits of monopoly boards that did not make the cut (all are actual boards)
California monopoly
Fruitopoly
Sea worldopoly (there sold at sea worlds gift shop and won an award for creative naming)
Germanopoly (that was made by the nazis the Parker bros sued them and lost)
Fallout monopoly ( I used to own that and it was awsome
Stupidopoly
And gay monopoly
Well, they survived Monopoly without killing each other. If that couldn't break them up, then what could? I think Discord is boned.