Jumanji: Game of the Jungle

by CrackedInkWell

Chapter 10: Jumanji

What to do with the game indeed?

Even though things had gone back to normal, and no one except for Smolder, Gallus, Ocellus, and Silverstream remembered what had happened, that question still needed to be answered. The more they reflected on the intense adventure they had, they all realized that they all got very lucky in getting out alive. All throughout that nightmare, there were plenty of opportunities where any of them, or their teachers could have been killed by this wicked board game. So that only left with the thought of what would happen to anyone who might not be so lucky.

So, what to do with the game itself?

At first, they tried burning it. Sneaking into the pottery class one night, Smolder placed the game into the furnace and, using her breath, sparked it to get it as hot as possible so that the only thing left would be ashes. It seemed to have done the trick when the game had turned to charcoal, so the game was swept up in the garbage.

However, the next morning Smolder woke up to the sound of war drums which she followed into the pottery room. There in the trash can, she found the board game, back in one piece.

Next, they tried to get it smashed into pieces. Taking the game over to Sweet Apple Acres, Gallus, Smolder, Ocellus, and Silverstream used whatever farming tool they could find the smash the game into splinters. Yet, the game would reassemble itself as soon as they were tired out turning it into splinters and shards of scrap metal and ivory.

It didn’t take them long to realize that this game cannot be destroyed.

“But we’ve gotta do something.” By the time Silverstream had said this, the four of them were gathered inside the clubhouse – thankfully still in one piece and clear of Spiders, Panthers, and one psychopathic hunter. “We can’t let anyone play this ever again.”

“Then what should we do then?” Gallus questioned, “We can’t destroy this thing, and I don’t think we should just toss it out somewhere either.”

“Wait, why not?” Ocellus asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Think about it. Even if we tried burying it, or tossing it out to sea or whatever, somecreature is still going to find it. Only we know how dangerous this game is, and we can’t just let anyone come across it. For all we know, someone could die playing this game, or release something far worse than what we’ve seen.”

“Okay, so we can’t destroy it, we can’t hide it away,” Smolder pointed out, “then what can we do? Hand it over to Twilight and Zecora? No one outside of us knew what happened when time got restarted.”

Thinking over this problem, Ocellus rubbed the side of her head in thought, eyeing the cursed game they’ve set down on a table. “You know… I hate to say this…”

“What?” Her friends asked at once.

“…. But with what all of you said, I agree – this game is too dangerous for anyone to play. We can’t destroy it, and we can’t hide it away for the risk of someone coming across it… But what if we can still get rid of it, out from our reality entirely?”

Smolder raised an eyebrow, “Where are you going with this?”

“You know how in Twilight’s library in her castle there’s a portal machine? The one that’s said to teleport ponies and objects to another dimension?”

“Woah, hang on there,” Gallus objected, “You’re not saying we should toss it away in there to let somecreature find it, do you?”

Ocellus shook her head, “Not exactly. And I don’t think I want to use that portal thing either for that very reason either. If anything, I don’t have a clue how it works, and I bet our professors would get suspicious if we tried to operate it. No, it’s got me thinking about other ways to send it to another dimension without letting anyone be any the wiser.”

“Sorry Ocellus, but you’ve lost me.” Silverstream asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Suppose… we go ask someone to send this game in the most random place possible. So random, that there would be little to no chance of this ever returning to Equestria ever again.”

Everyone went silent as they realized what Ocellus was talking about.

“Uh-uh! No way!” Smolder got up, crossing her arms. “I’m not asking that colossal jerk for help!”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to side with Smolder,” Gallus pointed out, “I know what you’re thinking, Ocellus, but there’s no way I’m trusting that guy with something like this?”

“But what choice do we have?” Silverstream inquired. “We can’t give it to Twilight and Zecora since they’ve forgotten what happened all day yesterday. What if they accidently started playing the game?”

“All the more reason to have him send it off somewhere else.” Ocellus said. “I don’t like the idea either, but he might be the only creature that has that kind of magic to send this where no one will find it.”

---

“Well, I can summon Discord,” Fluttershy said, tilting her head, “But why? Did he do something he wasn’t supposed to again?”

“Not exactly…” Gallus told her. At this point, Fluttershy had dismissed her class for lunch when he, Smolder, Ocellus, and Silverstream came into her classroom. “But we uh… we wanna… talk to him about something.” He nearly vomited when he uttered that. As disgusting as it was to say that, the game that he held under his arm reminded him of what needed to be done.

Spotting the game, Fluttershy pointed out, “Does it have something to do with that? If it’s about Spike and Big Mac’s secret guys night then-”

“We’re not here for that,” Ocellus interrupted. “We just need to talk to him for a minute. Preferably just between him and us.”

“It’s important that we get ahold of him as soon as possible,” Silverstream added.

“Oh, okay. I’ll get him.” Clearing her throat, Fluttershy put a hoof over her heart and said aloud, “Discord, would you come here please?”

Over their heads, a saw blade cut through the air diagonally, tracing out a trapezoid before it was pushed open for Discord to slip in. He was in a yellow, full-body beekeeper’s suit where bees buzzed inside. “You called? I was in the middle of reversing extracting honey.”

“I’m sorry if I was irrupting.” Fluttershy apologized, “But my students wanted to have a word with you.”

“Why? I wasn’t planning on turning the school into lasagna until next week.”

“What? No, they want to talk to you about something important. So do you have a minute?”

Rolling his eyes, Discord snapped his tail, and the beekeeping suit went away. “I suppose I can put my chipotle candles on hold for now.”

“Thank you, Discord.” Fluttershy was about to exit her classroom but stopped for a moment to ask him, “Oh, and do you remember that I’ve moved our tea party to Thursday this week?”

“I know, and I’ve got a new set of tea I’m brewing up.”

After bidding Discord farewell, Fluttershy exited the classroom, leaving Discord and her students alone.

“So, what do you want me for?” Discord questioned, “Last time I checked, I’m not exactly popular around these parts.”

“You’re not.” Gallus went up to him and held up the game, “Let’s get straight to the point – we want you to get rid of this.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. So, taking the game in his paw/claw, he took a whiff at the wood and backed away. “WOO! That is some strong magic there! Where did you find that?”

“You don’t wanna know,” Smolder said. “Can you open up to other dimensions?”

“I can but-”

“So can you toss this somewhere into another universe?” Ocellus asked.

Discord stared at them for a good, long moment. “Since when did you four turn into Starswirl?”

“Listen to us,” Silverstream flew up to him. “We made the mistake of playing that game and it has caused nothing but chaos – and not the fun kind either. More like the if you make the wrong move, you’ll seriously get hurt kind. We can’t destroy it. We can’t hide it unless someone might come across it. That thing is far too dangerous for anyone to play with. So can you please, please, please put it somewhere that thing won’t ever come back. Even if you send it to a world that has nothing but mushrooms, just as long no one would play it.”

Scratching his chin, Discord levitated the game in thought. “I could, but the problem is that even if I send it someplace where it won’t come back, there’s still always a chance someone, somewhere might come across it. I can pick out a universe at random and toss it there, but I can’t promise you that world will be uninhabitable.”

“Why not?” Smolder asked.

“My magic is chaos, and chaos means that I can’t entirely control where it’ll end up.”

The four students looked at one another. It was a risk. But they knew that can’t let that game exist in this world any longer.

Ocellus went over to Fluttershy’s desk, and got out a piece of paper and a pen to write out a note. Then after slipping it in through the folds of the game, she told him to go on ahead and toss it out anyway.

“Alrighty,” Discord used his claw to scratch out a portal. The students saw on the other side a forest that looked… off. It looked like something they would see in the Everfree but there was something about its colors and such that seemed so alien to them. Discord floated the game through the portal and dump it among the leaves before sealing it up. “All done.”

“Wait,” Smolder raised a talon. “Where did you send that thing?”

“Someplace random,” Discord shrugged, “and where it won’t ever find its way back again.”

---

New Hampshire, 1869.

What a miserable day.

Benjamin couldn’t stop crying since he got out of school. First, he was late this morning, then he embarrassed himself when he had to spell a word, he never heard of, then his lunch got stolen, then he hit a classmate during class when he wouldn’t stop pestering him, and to top it all off, the teacher caned him for it. All the while, Kaleb, his older brother, didn’t help him in the slightest. Never once did he stand up to help him, and he went home without him when he had to stay in the corner for half an hour after school.

None of this was fair. He knew that his mother would scold him as soon as he gets back to the farm. Yet, it will be a while as it’s still a five-mile walk from the schoolhouse to his home. All the while going through the forest where something unpleasant could be behind a tree.

He wished that he could run away from this horrible place forever and never come back. Maybe in the night he could gather up his things and head somewhere on foot. Perhaps go south to Concord or Manchester where he can get as far away from…

That was when he heard it. Nearly quiet at first, he almost didn’t hear it above the rustling leaves above. A low, very deep beating like a distant drum. What was it?

Curious, he went off the train and into the forest where the drumming was getting louder. In his imagination, he thought it might be a forgotten Indian tribe out in the woods, or perhaps a coven of witches. Yet, he saw no one as he got closer to the sound. With every step, it got louder and louder. And the beating got faster and more intense to where he could swear the ground was shaking.

And then… it stopped. Benjamin was confused, why did it stop? And where did it come from? He turned around and around to see nothing about him but trees, leaves, and bushes. He probably would have simply gone right home after that and spun a tall tale of hearing an invisible drum.

However, turning around, he took a few steps forward when he suddenly tripped on something. Tumbling to the ground with a yell, he felt hurt enough to start crying again. He was ready to kick at whatever had made him fall, but he paused to see something underneath the leaves. Something rectangular and hard that he became curious to uncover.

What he found was a box that he had never seen before. On the top was an elaborate carving that had smoking volcanos, strange trees he had never seen before, and palm leaves. At each corner were other carvings of a monkey, an elephant, a rhinoceros, and a hunter in a pelt hat. And in the center where the folds was divided by a spear was a word Benjamin had never seen before.

Jumanji.

Curious, he opened the folds of the box and realized what this thing was – a board game. One that had four winding paths and a green gem in the center. He also found a note within the game. So unfolding it, it read:

To whoever finds this,

If you ever come across this game, please put it back where you found it and walk away. This game is not the kind you want to play with. This is not a game you should play. It is dangerous, and it might hurt you. I beg of you to put this game down. Do not take out the tokens. Do not roll the dice. Whatever you do, do not play this game.

Signed,
- A friend.

That was all it said. Benjamin had played board games before and he couldn’t see why this game was any different. A game is just that, a game. But then… why this strange warning?

Setting the note down, he saw something else written inside one of the panels, so flipping it around, he read aloud what it said.

“Jumanji. A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token. Doubles gets another turn. The first player to reach the end wins.”

For the young boy, he had never heard of this game before. What was Jumanji? Where did it come from? And why the odd warning? His mind was piling up with questions, and yet… perhaps this might make up for the terrible day he was having. If he was lucky, he can show this game to Kaleb, and they could play with it.

Folding up the folds of the game and tucking it underneath his arm, Benjamin returned to the path, heading home with a spring in his step. Yes, today was bad, but maybe finding this game might do the trick of making things better for a while. Who knows? Maybe this will be fun.

After all, it’s just a game.

Author's Note:

The End.

I have to say, this was a fun story to write as well as unique the events in this story were literally a roll of the dice. Ever since I got the game as a white elephant gift back in December, I have wanted to write up a story where it incorporates the game. And I can safely say that I think this was successful.

Now that this is done, I also wanted to share how I made this story. I did some research about the rhymes that were made for the board games in the past while inventing a few here and there that I thought I could use in the story. Next, I played a game of Jumanji and photographed the progression of each turn. And finally, using a random number generator, I had it pick out what from all the possible events come to life. Below is that complete list of rhymes, all of which could have made this story completely different but I thought you the reader would like to see that list.

---

1. They are strong creatures, for their small size. When they are many, they’ll cause your demise. (Ants)
2. At night they fly; you better run. These winged things are not much fun. (Bats)
3. Splintered rafters all around; duck them or they’ll pin you down. (Collapsing building)
4. A giant reptile, scaly and green. It moves undetected, and he’s quite mean. (Crocodile)
5. Jungle plague germs are far from friendly. You can’t see them, but they are deadly. (Disease)
6. You’re almost there, with much at stake; but now the ground begins to shake. (Earthquake)
7. Huge beasts on the move, you must confess; a freight train’s damage would be far less. (Elephant)
8. Big as fists these balls of ice; through umbrellas they will slice. (Hailstorm)
9. The water is scary, because of this beast. His teeth are massive, don’t intrude on his feast. (Hippopotamus)
10. They like to laugh, but they’re not your friends, if you take them lightly, it will be your end. (Hyenas)
11. Feline spots in the jungle blend; be cautious of her, she’s not your friend. (Jaguar)
12. Thirsty bloodsuckers, black as the night. They’ll cover your body and give you a fright. (Leeches)
13. His fangs are sharp he likes your taste; your party better move posthaste. (Lion)
14. This will not be an easy mission; monkeys slow the expedition. (Mokneys)
15. A tiny bite can make you itch, make you sneeze, make you twitch. (Mosquitos)
16. Every month at the quarter moon, there’s a monsoon in your lagoon. (Monsoon)
17. Flying in from the sky, he’s in a bad mood. Oh no! He’s hungry! The game is not food! (Pelican)
18. Thousands of teeth, swimming around you. It’s a fish feeding frenzy, and they just found you. (Piranhas)
19. Enormous and yellow these flowers grew; their flesh-eating blossoms are hungry for you! (Pod)
20. Pretty flowers, but don’t take a smell. Their petals are poison, that will make you swell. (Purple Flowers)
21. A slithering serpent, disguised on the ground. It will wrap you up and drag you down. (Python)
22. Beware the ground for which you stand. The floor is quicker than the sand. (Quicksand)
23. Don’t be fooled, that isn’t thunder; staying put would be a blunder. (Stampede)
24. Need a hand? Why just you wait; we’ll help you out. We each have eight. (Spiders)
25. An angry sky hurls bolts of light; if you can’t take cover, you’d better take flight. (Thunderstorm)
26. Raging and howling a gale throws its might; hold on for dear life or be blown out of sight. (Tornado)
27. A hunger from the darkest wild; makes you feel just like a child. (Van Pelt)
28. They grow much faster than bamboo; take care or they’ll come after you. (Plants)
29. It larks within the mist; if it catches you, you no longer exist. (Tokoloshe?)
30. Nature’s beauty can be trouble. Do not touch, less your skin boil and bubble. (Poisonous plants)
31. Smoke gathers in your mind. Sanity gone, naught to find. (Dreams)
32. Lights out, sky pitch black. Be correct, can’t take it back. (Darkness)
33. In the deepest, darkest cave, escape or it becomes your grave. (Boobytrap)
34. Master tracker follows your trail, it seems that he is on your tail. (Ven Pelt)
35. Gather all your things. Something sinister this way brings. (Grootslang?)
36. From the sky comes a flood. Don’t get swallowed by the mud. (Monsoon)
37. Nothing there is what it seems, just make believe and scary dreams. (Dreams)
38. Your wits might not be much use. There’s a zoo on the loose. (Stampede)
39. Shutters close, lights go out. Surely now, you’ll scream and shout. (Darkness)
40. Creepy crawlies on the sneak, the slightest peck will make you shriek! (Bugs)
41. In the treetops they appear, hanging, swinging, far and near. (Monkeys)
42. Water rushes, gushes, falls. Hold on tight, nature calls. (River rapids)
43. Whisper softly or they will know, where you’re hiding and where you go. (Marauders)
44. Reality fades, all is eerie. Seeing things, your mind grows weary. (Dreams)
45. In your ear there is a buzz. Soon you’ll wish there never was. (Bugs)
46. Will you go and take the bait? Your choice decides your fate. (Trap)
47. Seeing what isn’t there, phantoms walking through thin air. (Dream)
48. Vines of the jungle stop your fun, tangles your legs, you can’t run. (Plants)
49. A squall like this leaves you wet. What comes next makes you sweat. (Monsoon)
50. Once blind you’ll never see what it is that’s chasing thee. (Darkness)
51. The crevasse needs leaping. Fall down now and you’ll be weeping. (The Chasm)
52. Puddles form on the floor. Get out now! Or there will be more. (Monsoon)
53. Walk with care within these walls, beware the danger filled pitfalls. (Trap)
54. The water moves in a hurry. Stay afloat or be piranha curry. (Piranhas)
55. Crawling critters on the floor. Are you worried? Here come more. (Bugs)
56. In the shadows they dart; don’t separate or be split apart. (Natives)
57. The tribe is on the war path. Get out now! Or suffer their wrath. (Natives)
58. Those masks in the bushes don’t look friendly. If I were you, I’d get out quickly. (Natives)
59. There is a lesson you must learn; sometimes you must go back a turn. (Previous turn negated)
60. At times when you want something won; a spell would have to be undone. (Previous turn negated)
61. In Jumanji, it’s dangerous to stay put. Especially when the most dangerous game is afoot. (Ven Pelt)
62. With spots, cough, and a seizure; shows signs you have jungle fever. (Disease)
63. Dark as night, eyes like moons. Don’t stick around, or you won’t be around soon. (Jaguar)
64. Seeing smoke in the air is a nasty turn – your party better move, lest you burn. (Forest Fire)
65. Disaster begins with a tiny spark. It will eat leaves, trees, and bark. (Forest Fire)
66. When your party is endangered, such is the case; it is appropriate to go back a space. (Previous turn negated)
67. Behind bushes and trees, they are always there; giving your party reason to despair. (Natives)
68. Outsiders have attempted to destroy Jumanji, punishment alone will make ‘em call their mommy.
69. To break Jumanji is a foolish dare, what comes next is quite the scare.
70. In the jungle you must wait, until the dice reads five or eight.

Comments

[Joe Toon]

Was not expecting that ending. Well done.

[Forevergent777]

11259229
Greenhorn did from the previous chapter. Sp00ky

[Joe Toon]

11259236
Well I didn't expect the author to actually take that suggestion.

[Scyphi]

"Even if you send it to a world that has nothing but mushrooms"

But then Eggman would find it!

[SpikeSmolder fan]

Damn what a wild ride & I enjoyed every minute of it!

Clever way of getting the game to the ones that found it before Alan, sad that he didn't heed Ocellus warning note though.

Pretty enjoyable story, thanks for sharing!

[Greenhorn]

11259261
Probably this was the author's intention from the beginning and I just got a lucky guess.

[Yoshifan30]

“Think about it. Even if we tried burying it, or tossing it out to sea or whatever, somecreature is still going to find it. Only we know how dangerous this game is, and we can’t just let anyone come across it. For all we know, someone could die playing this game, or release something far worse than what we’ve seen.”

Yeah seriously that game is basically a never-ending nightmare for anybody who plays this game

[Yoshifan30]

“Listen to us,” Silverstream flew up to him. “We made the mistake of playing that game and it has caused nothing but chaos – and not the fun kind either. More like the if you make the wrong move, you’ll seriously get hurt kind. We can’t destroy it. We can’t hide it unless someone might come across it. That thing is far too dangerous for anyone to play with. So can you please, please, please put it somewhere that thing won’t ever come back. Even if you send it to a world that has nothing but mushrooms, just as long no one would play it.”

But once again it's basically a NeverEnding Story because that board game will always finds its way

[Yoshifan30]

After all, it’s just a game.

[Yoshifan30]

Wow so it looks like things are back to normal but unfortunately they need to get rid of this game before somebody gets hurt they tried to burn it they try to break it to little pieces but it just comes back to life and they're running out of ideas and they can't just threw in the ocean that doesn't work even burying it in the sand doesn't work so the only logical for Ocellus send it to another dimension hopefully somebody has the mind not to play the game so they ask Discord to teleported somewhere else so nobody will get hurt and hopefully it was gone for good how unfortunate it the case because that poor soul kid from 1800s found the board game and basically it was just the beginning of the first movie of Jumanji and poor Alan is going to get the receiving and the later years including those kids in the modern years as well as they say Welcome to the Jungle

anyway wow that's us a pretty good story and I really like this movie so much when I was a kid it was scary yes but I still love it and what a way to cross over with My Little Pony friendship is Magic with all the craziness that happening keep up the good work

[CrackedInkWell]

11259468
Yup, those are the same Benjamin and Kaleb in the story.

[Yoshifan30]

11259476
Yep and then somewhere in the 60s Alan and Sara well also get there and and the 90s Judy and Peter will also get into this and once again in the 90s Alex will be the one and then 2016 four kids Spencer, Fridge, Bethany, and Martha so basically once again there's no stopping of Jumanji

[PluckyEquestrian42]

An excellent read if I do say so myself! Hey, you ever thought about doing one with Zathura?

[GundamBrony]

Dang who knew this is like a prequel to the first Junanji movie?! This is amazing!

[WhiteFang007]

Amazing story, for a while i have searched for a story involving Jumanji, but the ones i found didn't quite convince me, but yours not only reminded me of various aspects of adventure, danger and fear from the movie, but you added new opportunities and threats of the game, great story dude!! 👏 ❤

[Allsmiles]

(Fun game... though maybe they SHOULD have talked with Twilight and Zecora before giving it to Discord. Y'know, so that it could be dispelled like Zecora wanted? Oh well.)

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

11259482

Fun references to all of the three Jumanji Movies. Except Zathura.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

Even though things had gone back to normal, and no one except for Smolder, Gallus, Ocellus, and Silverstream remembered what had happened, that question still needed to be answered. The more they reflected on the intense adventure they had, they all realized that they all got very lucky in getting out alive. All throughout that nightmare, there were plenty of opportunities where any of them, or their teachers could have been killed by this wicked board game. So that only left with the thought of what would happen to anyone who might not be so lucky.

So that means Yona, Sandbar, Twilight, Spike/Mane Five, and even Zecora doesn't remember all of this?

Guess it's a good thing that poor Yona won't remember the traumatic experience. But it does suck that neither Twilight or Zecora remembers the dangerous game until one of the four tells them about it.