Huzzah! Thy XP hath been doubled!
The crystal tree house shone marvellously as the sun light reflected from its glorious crystal walls and windows. Its artificial leaves, combining the sun rays with its own colour, casted a beautiful rainbow effect that was slightly noticeable from the inside as it mirrored from the castle’s lucent sharp corners into the glass windows and back inside the clean, clear castle floors.
Rainbow was one of the ponies that contemplated this marvellous moment that only seamed to happen in the afternoon, after the sun was in the right position to cast the incredible reflections.
Although, she was a bit busy at the moment to look at it for more than a few seconds. She was in one of the castle rooms, in her room actually. Twilight’s new tree house was pretty big, it included loads of rooms where numerous ponies could occupy. Rainbow had her own where she usually spent time there during the day to read some Daring Doo books or play videogames. Although, she did continue to live in her huge cloud house despite all the use the new castle was to her.
Rainbow, at the moment, was playing some video games. Not really a surprise to most ponies since she’s pretty much known for playing games in general. She was playing, one of her favourite video games actually, Call of Harmony: Ancient Warfare. She loved the amount of weapons that she could have at her disposal as well as the gameplay. That wasn’t the only game she played, though. She also played others such as Battlesteed, World of Warhorse, Gears of Chaos, and a few more.
“Yes!” Rainbow cheered as her team won the match for the third time. She took her headset off. “Okay, one more match until I unlock the Magic Orb.”
Games like these attracted Rainbow Dash quite easily. If it was not for the impressive trailers released every now and then or gameplay, it was for the known fact of futuristic weapons in the game otherwise known as ‘guns’, to please the cyan coloured pegasus for a game time of pure awesomeness.
As she prepared to put her headset back on, she heard voices from outside. One of the voice was familiar, coming from Twilight, Rainbow could easily notice it. But the other voices were a bit harder to catch.
Just before Rainbow could decide to investigate, a familiar dark blue alicorn entered her room startling her at first.
Luna, after realizing she was in somebody else’s room without permission, was surprised and a bit embarrassed. “Oh! Pardon our misbehaviour, we were in search of the kitchen in order to find more of the delicious cookies.”
After Rainbow noticed it was Luna, she simply shrugged. She just remembered that Twilight invited the princesses here for some tea. “Oh, don’t worry your majesty, it’s okay.” She then turned to the television screen.
Luna put on a confused face after trying to figure out what Rainbow Dash was up to. “What is thy doing? If I may ask.”
Rainbow turned back. “Oh this? I’m just playing some video games.”
Luna’s expression didn’t change. “Video games? We are not familiar with this type of vocabulary.”
Rainbow didn’t expect Luna to not know what video games are. Sure this is new technology but she expected Celestia would at least inform her sister of what it is. Well, Luna is the Princess of the Night and she has a few duties and tasks. Rainbow took the easy root and gave Luna the controller causing her to frown at the complicated device she held.
“Just think of it like a chess game,” Rainbow said confidently. She knew Luna had the credentials to commanding an entire army so she was sure this would be a piece of cake for her.
“A chess game?” Luna asked in confusion.
Rainbow nodded. “Yes, well… a chess game were you play as the soldier.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Soldier? But we are the Princess of the Night, we shouldn’t fight in the frontlines, we should be commanding our troops to victory!” Luna raised a hoof.
Rainbow didn’t look amused. “Yeah, well the game doesn’t know you are the Princess of the Night so you should roll with it.”
Luna looked at Rainbow then back at the screen. Not long after, she looked back at Rainbow. “Shall we tell the game we are the Princess of the Night?”
Rainbow Dash put her hoof to her forehead. Luckily, she found a way out of the subject.
“Oh look!” She pointed at the screen. “The game is starting!”
The screen suddenly changed from the loading image to a first person point of view of the game. The character was holding an assault rifle. The player could see the amount of ammo that was left in each weapon as well as a small map that showed enemies whenever they engaged or proceeded to an offensive or defensive manoeuvre. In short, it mostly showed enemies who started shooting. They also had a timer for when the game ends. Lastly, they had the match scores. After the timer countdown, the match started.
“Eliminate the soldiers. Take no prisoners,” The CPU said to everypony on the team.
Luna looked pretty mad. She clenched her teeth. “THY SHALL NOT COMMAND THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT, THY PITIFULL WHELP!” Luna’s voice boomed.
Rainbow uncovered her ears from the inevitable loud shout. “Luna! The computer won’t answer you!”
“Why not? Shall we shout louder?”
“No! No! Please! I mean... just play the game.”
Luna shrugged. “Ok, fine, cyan coloured pegasus one.”
Luna, in the game, found herself in an open grass field with a few buildings on each side. This map mostly allowed a complete visibility of all the players at all time so it was sheer luck that the game picked this one when Luna was given the controls.
She was a quick learner, more or less, and was able to catch up with the controls rather fast. Rainbow Dash was surprised at this as she saw Luna run around corners and jumping over objects rather well. Although, Rainbow’s expectations didn’t last long as Luna’s first encounter appeared.
“Okay, now shoot him,” Rainbow said, leaning on Luna’s shoulder while maintaining sight of the game.
“Why?” Luna asked while turning away from the screen. That only seemed to stress Rainbow even more.
“Just shoot him before he shoots you!” Rainbow was now flailing her hoofs at the screen hoping more and more that the enemy doesn’t notice Luna.
“Maybe he is an innocent civilian lost in the battlefield.”
“NO, JUST SHOOT HIM!”
“Calm dawn, Element of Loyalty, we shall make peace with this pony and escape this battlefield.”
Rainbow suddenly lost all hope in surviving this encounter. She covered her face in her hooves.
“Hey! Over here!” Luna shouted, completely oblivious that the player couldn’t hear her. “Are you lost?”
The enemy, noticing Luna’s loud hoofsteps, quickly turned to her. He shot Luna without hesitation, leaving her screen covered in red.
Rainbow Dash uncovered her face not long later noticing Luna’s death screen. “You know, you can go back to having tea with Twilight and your sister if you want.”
Luna turned to Rainbow with a look filled with determination. “The Princess of the Night shall not flee from battle! We shall end this bloodbath, victorious!”
Wow, talk about motivation. Rainbow thought.
“Okay then. I like the way you think… sort of. Now, I suggest that you pick the…” Just before Rainbow could finish her sentence, Luna’s death screen became visible once more as she died for the second time.
Rainbow tried her best to not slap her own forehead. Even Fluttershy didn’t die so quickly, and that’s from a pony who gets scared of the gun itself.
“Do not fear, Rainbow Dash. This controller is clearly unworkable,” Luna said while showing Rainbow the obviously working and shiny controller. No doubt Luna was making an excuse.
“I just bought it yesterday,” Rainbow said flatly, crossing her hooves in front of the poorly attempted excuse.
Luna put on her ‘I’m busted look’ while staring at Rainbow. She then shook her head and acted like her normal formal self. “No worries, Rainbow, thy Princess of the Night shall pay for the damage conflicted on this poor, harmless remote. What are the charges?”
Rainbow honestly thought she was smarter than this. “Luna, the controller is working fine. If you want to go back to chatting with the princesses go ahead, I don’t know what’s stopping you.”
Luna looked down for a few moments before looking back up. “We shall attempt to be victorious in a different game.”
Even though Rainbow Dash was surprised at Luna continuing her game time, she thought of a different video game she could play. Maybe she’s more of a Battlesteed player.
---
“Yes! This game is more like it!” Luna said as she flew an attack chopper straight into battle.
Rainbow Dash was stressed at the lack of strategy moves Luna was using and the complete waste of every vehicle she used up to now.
“We think we are getting better at these games,” Luna said smiling.
Rainbow approached Luna from behind. After glancing at the screen, she looked at her with a board expression. “You died fifteen times.”
Luna took a closer look at her stats. Which matched what Rainbow just said. “Yes, but we are sure the developers of this game mistook the K’s and
D’s position.”
“So you’re saying you have fifteen kills and zero deaths.”
“Exactly.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Okay then.”
A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. Rainbow seemed to be the only one who noticed it since Luna was too into dying for the seventeenth time. Rainbow Dash was expecting her friend, Twilight for no other reason but wondering where Luna was. But as she opened the door, she saw a fairly confused pink pony standing in front of her.
“Hey Dashie! I just wanted to know if everything is alright,” Pinkie said.
Rainbow Dash was a bit confused to why Pinkie was asking that, so she wasted no time in finding out. “Pinkie, why do think everything is not alright?”
“Well it’s because I killed you about seven times in Battlesteed, and you died a few more times after that.”
Rainbow was slightly surprised that Pinkie was the one that kept killing Luna. But she knew Pinkie always takes the opportunity to beat her friends at video games.
Rainbow chuckled. “No, that’s not me. Luna is playing-“
Before Rainbow could finish, Pinkie Pie tackled her, causing her to land under Pinkie while she stared at the cyan coloured pegasus.
“Rainbow, did you say Luna?” Pinkie asked with her eyes wide open.
“Uhh… yes?” Rainbow said.
Pinkie got off Rainbow while gasping. “Rainbow. We can’t let Celestia find out about this,” she said in a whisper.
Rainbow got up while scratching her mane. “Why?”
“Duh! We can’t let the celestial goddess, kindness and most forgiving princess in Equestria, see Luna brutally murdering ponies in a virtual world!” Pinkie whispered.
After finding out what the problem was, Rainbow chuckled once again. “Oh Pinkie, there’s absolutely no problem here.” Rainbow started to walk towards Luna. “Celestia won’t see Luna doing that because Luna’s activity in the game was nothing but dieeee-“ Rainbow couldn’t finish, as her mouth was wide open at what Luna was doing in the game.
Pinkie Pie also had her jaw dropped as she stared at the screen.
“Uhhh… Luna? Can I ask you a question?” Rainbow Dash said, not taking her eyes off the screen.
“Of course, my friend! What is it that you ask?” Luna said smiling.
“WHAT IN TARTARUS ARE YOU DOING?!” Rainbow shouted with all her voice.
Luna turned to Rainbow, eyes fixed at hers and her serious look returning. “Thou shall not hate the player, thou shall hate the game.” She then smiled childishly and turned back to the screen.
Rainbow slowly walked back to Pinkie, eyes still on the screen. “What in the hay is she playing?!” She whispered while leaning backwards to Pinkie.
Pinkie frowned. “She’s playing the campaign.”
“Of what game?!”
“It doesn’t really matter what game she’s playing, Dashie. Celestia can’t just walk in here and find a floor filled with dead ponies and Luna behind the controls.”
“Hazzah! Take that you feigns!” Luna shouted as the endless array of gunshots continued. It wouldn’t be long until the princesses realize the loud noise.
Rainbow glanced from Luna to Pinkie. Sweat ran down her neck. “We need to stop Luna before it’s to-“
Celestia trotted towards Rainbow Dash’s room. “Hello my subjects, do you know where my sister-“ Celestia entered the room. The loud gun shots caused her to look towards the screen.
She just stood there, with a shocked look on her face. She slowly turned to Rainbow Dash. Pinkie was already long gone. Probably just made it to the train leaving Equestria.
“Rainbow Dash, I’m going to ask you a question, and I want your honest answer,” Celestia said with her calm, clear voice.
Rainbow Dash gulped. Her neck just became a river of sweat. “Y-yes?” She smiled nervously.
Celestia closed in on Rainbow while looking deep into her eyes. Rainbow could hear Celestia’s deep breathing and could almost feel her eyes staring at her. After a long gaze, Celestia finally said.
“Do you have another controller?”