She Kills Monsters

by chiko

Ogres & Oubliettes

"Ogres and Oubliettes?” Rarity turned her nose up. “Absolutely not. I appreciate your visit, girls, but I’m much too busy. I will not allow you waste my time with these childish games.”

The two looked at each other, silently arguing through their stares. It seemed their journey would end before it even started. Rarity returned to her work, delicately handling a package on her work desk.

Deciding to try again, Apple Bloom took the lead.

“You just looked like you needed to let loose.” Apple Bloom smiled, but it had no effect.

Rarity let out a haughty laugh. “I assure you, Apple Bloom, that I do not need to ‘let loose.’ And if I did, it would come in a form of a nice bath and some music, not horrifying monsters and grimy dungeons. That was always more of…”

She looked over at the silver dress on display. The girls followed her eyes then looked away. Rarity returned to work, removing a set of expensive fabric rolls from the parcel.

Scootaloo wasn’t all too sure how to approach this interaction herself. She thumbed through the book in her hands, feeling the heavy weight it carried. It wasn’t like she could rely on a dice roll to decide this encounter.

“Just try it one time.” Scootaloo held the book out. “Trust us. We think it’s something that would help.”

“Help with what exactly?” Rarity glanced down at the book. Her eyes widened in recognition. Her breath halted, and she instinctively swiped for it. Scootaloo managed to keep it just out of reach. “I’ve been looking for this! Where ever did you find my sister’s diary?”

Apple Bloom chuckled. “Uh, it’s not her diary.”

“It’s an O&O module.” Scootaloo flipped the book open, showing off the pages filled with charts, numbers, sloppy sketches, and even messier handwriting. “Sweetie Belle wrote it herself.”

“From what we’ve seen, it looks pretty personal.” Apple Bloom ran her hand through her red hair then tugged at her bow. “I don’t think she meant for anyone to even play it.”

Rarity held out her hand. “Scootaloo, may I see it? Please.” Her voice was grainy. It didn’t take long for the two to notice that she was shaking.

“It won’t do any good,” she said, handing over the book. “Unless you know how to play O&O, you’re out of luck.”

They were right. Rarity looked through the book herself and failed to decipher anything meaningful. The only things she could figure out were a few sketches of monsters and the large map taped to the inside of the front cover. Even her sister’s handwriting was difficult to parse.

“Besides, these things are better experienced than read.” Scootaloo took the book and laid it out on the table. “Though, I think we all might learn a bit about her.”

“At least she made some use of her gift. Why couldn’t she leave behind a diary like a normal person?” Rarity sighed. “Alright, girls. Teach me how to play.”

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

There's a new concept in last wills and testaments, I wonder if anyone else has ever done something like that?