When Applejack and the rest of the Mane Six find an old game board in one of Twilight's Castle's rooms, they decide to play it. But when strange things start to occur, they have the potential of even affecting all of Ponyville! If they don't defeat..
When Applejack and the rest of the Mane Six find an old game board in one of Twilight's Castle's rooms, they decide to play it. But when strange things start to occur, they have the potential of even affecting all of Ponyville! If they don't defeat the mysterious game in time, who knows what'll happen? Join the Mane Six as they try to overcome challenges, and overall just do their best to fix the mess they've gotten themselves into.
As Applejack trotted along, an icy cold wind blasted her coat and whipped her mane. The sky was a sad mottled grey and the sun barely peaked through the thick carpet of clouds. Not many ponies were out that day, but Applejack could see some little school fillies wearing earmuffs and scarves while running around playing hoofball. As the last remaining leaves of the season crunched under her hooves, Applejack couldn’t help but mourn the sound. The apple harvest season, when apples were at their peak of freshness, was over and now the once full trees were barren, waiting for spring to chase winter away so they could blossom once more.
She glanced up at the sparkling castle that was now before her. Even though it was the “Castle of Friendship” it seemed to loom over her like a dark shadow. Applejack shuddered slightly as she walked past the massive doors. Making her way through the crystalline halls, she studied the drapes and the soft lighting. It seemed only a short while ago this castle had been a big surprise and mystery to them all, but now it seemed to have become normal. Well, as normal as it could get. Echoes of the other mares’ laughter and delighted squeals were audible as she entered the passage that led straight to the throne room.
“Hey AJ!” called Pinkie Pie, who bounded over as soon as she saw her.
“Howdy, Pinkie.” replied Applejack.
“Are you excited for the sleepover Twilight’s hosting? I know I am!” said Pinkie perkily.
Applejack nodded and smiled. She had been looking forward to spending some fun with her friends all week. Things at the farm were passing by slowly, and she was constantly searching everywhere for anything she could do.
“Hey y’all!” called Applejack, stepping fully into the throne room. The other ponies trotted over with wide smiles and friendly greetings.
“I hope you didn’t have trouble coming over here,” Twilight said nervously. “I mean, the weather is looking dreary and it’s really cold out, so I was hoping you could still make it.”
Applejack grinned at Twilight’s nervous (yet endearing) antics. “Don’t worry sugar, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Twilight absolutely beamed at this, and Rarity decided to jump into the conversation.
“Oh Applejack dear, you really do need a winter coat!” she declared, staring at the lack of winter gear she was wearing.
“Hmmm I think I have some proper winter fabric at my boutique that would go great with that skin tone of yours-” Rarity was quickly cut off by Rainbow Dash, who said “Enough with the frou-frou stuff! Let’s get down to why we’re really here…” she trailed off ominously.
“To PARTY!” she declared and did a few loop-de-loops in the air.
Everyone gave a hearty laugh and continued the friendly banter before Twilight cut in. “Alright guys, what do you want to do first?” she asked with eyes sparking excitedly.
“Fashion Show!”
“Story time…?”
“A race!”
“A DANCE PARTY!”
Everyone started to call out different ideas until Applejack came up with the perfect one. “How about hide and seek?” she suggested. “It’s a pretty big castle we got here and it sure would be fun to try and hunt each other down.”
Rainbow gave a broad grin. “Oh so a competition then? I bet twenty bits I could last longer than you, AJ,” she teased. Applejack gave her a competitive smirk before replying, “Oh it’s on!”
Fluttershy seemed relieved that it would be a more relaxed event than something like tag. Rarity was looking a bit upset that she couldn’t be dressing up as much as she wished, but she seemed happy enough. In the middle, Pinkie Pie was giving everyone a mischievous smile that made even Rainbow Dash look slightly nervous.
- - - -
Applejack crept quietly up the a looming set of stairs sparkling with lavender and pale blue hues. Since Twilight was hosting, the princess was chosen as the seeker and the rest of the Mane Six had thirty more seconds to hide. With no idea where she was going, Applejack could only hope that it would be a good place to hide. She did her best to muffle the noisy clacking noises of her hooves, but honestly, it was a lost cause.
Finally, she had reached the top right of the stairway when Twilight’s voice rang out like a bell, “READY OR NOT HERE I COME!”.
Applejack was in panic mode. She sprinted down the hall and swung open the first door she saw. With a hasty kick, AJ closed the door behind her but almost immediately had to stifle a groan of frustration at the sight before her. The door had led to yet another staircase. Swiftly ascending the flight of stairs, she raced upward until she came upon a worn wooden door with a rusty handle. Huh, that’s weird. I thought this castle was newly made. AJ pondered. Applejack nudged open the ancient door slowly, slightly afraid of what she would find behind it. The lights flicked on with a dusty WHOOSH as soon as the creaking door opened fully, revealing a strange room full of vintage items. Old archives of century-old tales and contraptions of foreign importance littered the shelves and tables that took up most of the room.
She carefully stepped around the room, examining small trifles such as a shard of glass that faded from a warped surface to a clear crystalline edge, and a device that seemed to change color with each touch. She continued to explore the room for what seemed like only about 10 more minutes before she could hear calls of, “APPLEJACK! APPLEJAAAACK!” echoing up the steps she had ascended before. She dove behind a crate of trinkets before she could hear the other five ponies trot in.
“Wow, what is this place?” asked Twilight in wonder.
“Who cares about that! I can’t believe AJ beat me,” grumbled Rainbow Dash
“Now, now Rainbow don’t be so rash, just look at this marvelous mirror!” exclaimed Rarity with delight. “Oh! Just look at it! Those glimmering crystals on the border, the smooth silver surface, oh it’s such a wonder!”
“And look at these mythical creature diagrams,” cooed Fluttershy, who was examining thick volumes of leather-bound journals at the time.
“And lookie what I found! It’s an exact replica of Applejack!” squealed Pinkie, pulling Applejack out from behind the crate. Applejack nearly toppled over from Pinkie’s hard tug on her backside.
Twilight sighed before saying, “Pinkie that’s not a replica of Applejack, that is Applejack!”
Rainbow Dash gave a little smirk and spoke, “Well, who do we have here! If it isn’t Applejack, caught the second we came into the room.”
Applejack gave her a small glare. She was great friends with Rainbow but she sometimes couldn’t stand how obnoxious Rainbow could get about competition. “Oh yeah? Looks like someone got caught in the first three minutes of the game,” retorted Applejack. Rainbow’s face turned the color of a cherry.
“Oh yeah? Well y-” Rainbow was cut off by an exasperated Twilight who said, “Girls, cut it out. You both would’ve gotten caught if Applejack hadn’t found this room that even I didn’t know about. So please, just calm down and maybe actually look at the wonders in this room!” The two piped down, but still had a silent feuding when Twilight wasn’t looking.
“Wowie, look at this guys!” said Pinkie, eyes wide as she bounced up and down at her finding.
“What is it, Pinkie?” asked Applejack, as the other mares walked over.
“It’s a mini party cannon!” exclaimed Pinkie, “It’s so tiny and adorable and shoots mini confetti and just- eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” she squealed. She was obviously going crazy from the adorableness of such a tiny item.
“That’s… Nice, Pinkie,” said Applejack, trying to be supportive of her without showing her lack of interest.
“Yeah,” agreed the rest of the mares.
Despite suspecting that they were only trying to please her, Pinkie glowed with delight, beaming at the rest of the group. They then spread out yet again in the room, examining objects and fawning over others. It wasn’t until Twilight picked up a book from a stack on an old worn desk, that everything went crazy. An imperceptibly thin string appeared to be attached to the book cover. The second the string was taut, even though it was just for a moment, the smooth glassy surface of the mirror Rarity had been admiring earlier slid back to reveal a secret compartment.
“Ahhhhh!” screeched Twilight, caught off guard by the sudden movement of the mirror.
“Woah,” whispered Fluttershy in awe.
“Wow! How cool is that! Like on a scale of one to ten, that’d be a nineteen!” Pinkie said, speaking as fast as anyone could speak.
“Eh, it could be about twenty percent cooler,” remarked Rainbow Dash.
“Well, I’ll be darned,” said Applejack, her voice barely above the sound of silence. “Is the rest of the castle full of hidden traps like this?”
“Who cares about that, when items like this are inside!” squealed Rarity, investigating the contents.
The compartment was covered in a soft purple velvet and inside laid supposedly precious items, all except one. There was a golden goblet, a silver yoke, a couple of bits, and, the most unusual of them all, an old game board.
Applejack frowned, her face scrunching up and her eyes narrowing. “This makes no sense. Why have a compartment full of old items that seem important, but then have a game board… Why have that in there unless…”
“Unless it was dangerous,” Twilight finished, eyes wide.
“Oh please! More likely that it just appeared here in the wrong place, I mean, the castle just appeared randomly, couldn’t it have done the same?” Rainbow challenged defiantly.
When no one answered, Rainbow continued. “Exactly.” she said with a smirk. “So, since it’s here, why don’t we play the game?”
“I don’t know Rainbow… Just because it was here and all doesn’t mean we should play it. It was in a secret compartment for ponies’ sake!” cried Applejack
Rainbow Dash gave her a smug look. “So…You’re too afraid then?”
Applejack nearly split her seams. “I am not!” she said indignantly. With a disgruntled scowl, Applejack grasped the box in her hoof and stormed down the stairs, carrying it with her.
“Applejack, I don’t know… Are you sure this is okay?” asked Twilight, her voice full of concern.
They all had traversed back to the throne room, everyone looking nervous at Applejack’s harsh demeanor. No one was as excited to be here anymore, but Applejack was determined to play this game and show Rainbow that she was brave.
“Twilight it’ll be fine,” answered Applejack, her eyes belying her words.
“Yeah, Twilight lighten up! It’s just a game,” confirmed Rainbow.
Twilight looked like she wanted to argue but piped down. Applejack set the old box on the floor area behind the thrones, and everyone sat down. She opened the weathered lid which read “Venatus Malum”, coughing at the small amount of dust that flew from it. She removed an instruction sheet and read aloud,
“You and five other friends are about to embark on an epic journey. Beginning at the first game square, each player will roll the die and move the number of spaces that the die reads. However, every time you land on a space, you must perform an action. That action will be determined by an action card you pull from the pile (included in the game set). If you fail to perform this action successfully, you must draw an affliction card. Whatever the card reads will occur and you must continue to play the game with whatever affliction given. Note: ONCE YOU START PLAYING THE GAME, YOU CANNOT STOP. You’ll see why if you try to. Enjoy! ~The Game Creators.”
Rainbow laughed, “Yeah, I bet if we stop, terrible things will happen!” she squealed in mock fright. The rest of the Mane Six laughed with her, but more of a nervous, unsure laughter.
“Might as well get this started,” said Applejack, pulling out the game board from the box. The board was a map of Equestria, covered in a winding path of colorful squares. The pathway started out in Appaloosa and made it’s way around the map to various other cities and areas, before finally coming to a stop in Ponyville. Applejack pulled out the two stacks of cards, one purple and labeled “Actions”, and the other green and named “Afflictions”, and set them at the edge of the board. She then pulled out six game pieces and set them on the board.
“Alright, who wants to be which piece?” asked Applejack.
“I’ll be the flugelhorn!” squealed Pinkie, scooping up the small silver item.
“I’ll be the lightning bolt,” said Rainbow, nudging the said piece near her.
“Hmm, I shall be… Oooh, that silver spool!” exclaimed Rarity, plucking it up with her magic.
“Uhhh, I’ll be the picnic basket… If that’s okay,” said Fluttershy softly. When the others confirmed that it would be fine, she used her wing and put it on the starting point.
“Alright, I’ll be the wagon,” said Applejack, putting her piece on the starting point next to Fluttershy.
“And I’ll be the last piece, this pen!” said Twilight, using her magic to set the pen on the starting point.
“Alright y’all, place all pieces on the starting point,” said Applejack. Those who hadn’t already done it set their pieces on the square. “Who wants to go first?”
“Me!” called Rainbow Dash immediately. Applejack handed her the die, and she rolled, scoring a six. “Awesome!” she yelled, and suddenly, the piece moved on its own!
“Wow! The board and pieces must be enchanted,” exclaimed Twilight. Rarity and Pinkie Pie glanced at each other as if to say, “Another reason not to play this game”.
Rainbow Dash removed an action card and read aloud:
“Complete three loop-de-loops in the air, non-stop.”
“Easy-peasy!” she said, complete with an eye roll. Rainbow gave a quick flap of her wings and soon enough, she had done three loop-de-loops in the air. “And this game was supposed to be all-” she paused and put a gruesome look on her face. “Spoo-ooky!”
“You’re right!” Rarity suddenly said, a courageous gleam in her eye. “I can’t believe what I was thinking, I’ll go next.”
Applejack stared at Rarity in shock. Though she had always respected Rarity, she had never known her to be a thrill-seeker. The shock wore off quickly, but that spark in Rarity’s eyes unnerved her a bit…
Rarity smiled and picked up the die. She blew on it for luck, rotated it around with her magic, and proceeded to drop it. “Yes! Three, my lucky number!” she cried in her excitement. Rainbow Dash glanced over at Applejack questioningly. Applejack managed a small shrug as Rarity drew her Action card and the silver spool moved three spaces.
If Rarity’s coat could’ve turned ten shades whiter, it would have. Her eyes widened and she temporarily was unable to speak. Her mouth was mouthing words, but no sound came out. Fluttershy stepped forwards, her concern for Rarity overruling her fear. “Rarity… What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked softly, placing a hoof on her shoulder. When Rarity ceased to respond, she gently removed the card she was holding and blinked. “Oh no,” Fluttershy whispered. “What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, grinding her teeth in a nervous manner. “See for yourself,” said Fluttershy softly, handing over the card.
Twilight picked up the card and read aloud:
“Using the materials provided, create a dress that anyone would deem ugly.”
Twilight winced at the words. “That’s not good. That’s not good at all.”
Rarity suddenly took a deep breath. “It’s alright girls, I think I’ll manage.” As if sensing her acceptance of the challenge, the air by her shimmered and a second later, a basket of fabrics and materials appeared. The basket contained shimmering gemstones, lavishly soft fabrics, beautiful strings, and other tools. A few seconds later, a mannequin appeared next to the lovely items.
Rarity’s eyes widened. “These materials…” She felt the soft fabrics. “They have to be imported! After all, most strings from Equestria are machine made,” she muttered. “This is going to be much harder than I thought.”
As the rest of the Mane Six watched Rarity work, Applejack’s mind was racing. How could this game be able to find Rarity’s one weakness? The board game was indeed enchanted but… How was it possible for it to know our lives, our stories, our talents? Applejack could not fathom how this worked, but her thoughts were interrupted by a whimper from Rarity.
She had finished her gown that was supposed to be hideous. However, despite her best efforts, it was still stunning. Even though she had tried to use loose and terrible stitches, cut jagged lines in the fabric, and use terrible colors, it had been for nothing. It had a silky black top, that flowed into a soft pink bottom. The bottom was a long skirt with a jagged rim, and the edges had a some gem shards loosely sewn into it, giving it a slightly rugged look. It hung tightly on the mannequin, seeming sheer and showy. It wasn’t Rarity’s usual style, but everyone could agree, it wasn’t ugly whatsoever.
“Sorry Rarity… That dress may not be your best work, but it’s still pretty,” remarked Twilight.
Rarity sighed, clearly disappointed at her failure to complete the task. “At least, this is just a game… Not a fashion show,” she teased, trying to cheer herself up. She was clearly failing at that task as well.
Rainbow glided over. “Hey, it’s alright Rarity. You’re just too good at making dresses to make a bad one. It’d be hard for me to make a good dress. Just take an Affliction card and let’s continue. You’ll do well on your next turn.”
Rarity cracked the smallest of smiles. She sat back down in her spot, feeling a bit more cheerful. She drew a muck green Affliction card and proceeded to read aloud:
“For your failure to complete the task assigned, you must wait in reflection till glass undermined.”
“‘Reflection’? ‘Till glass undermined’? What could that possibly mean?” asked Applejack.
“I’m usually great at riddles, but the only thing I can think of is that she just will have to think about what she did wrong,” remarked Twilight.
“Easy peasy! Rarity probably has to face her fears or something!” remarked Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie, don’t be ridiculous. That’s not what the card says at all,” said Twilight, giving Pinkie Pie one of her prime glares. Pinkie frowned at this, but she piped down.
“Umm guys,” said Fluttershy softly.
Twilight continued on, not hearing her, “Well, maybe she just has to break a bunch of glass or something. Silly, I know, but it could be what it’s asking,”
“Guys!” Fluttershy called, but still, the mares continued babbling.
“GUYS!” Fluttershy yelled, louder than usual. The mares suddenly whirled around to face Fluttershy, whose face was stricken with panic. “It’s Rarity. She… She’s gone.”
“She’s right!” cried Twilight, in full-on panic mode.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god!” screeched Rainbow, flying up through the oak tree chandelier.
“We’re all gonna die!” shouted Pinkie, in an oddly cheerful voice.
“Guys! Calm down,” commanded Fluttershy. Her love for her friends was overriding the panic that was visible in her eyes.
Rainbow slowly landed on the floor with a thump! Twilight slowly used Cadence’s breathing exercises to ease her worries. Pinkie was still smiley and bouncy, but she was trembling, as if she couldn’t keep up the act forever.
“That’s better,” said Fluttershy softly. “Now, we need to find Rarity. Let’s search the castle.”
“Ummm, that won’t be necessary,” remarked Rainbow Dash, a fearful appearance on her face.
“And why is that, Rainbow?” asked Twilight, giving her a stern look.
“Because I’ve already found her,” Rainbow said, gesturing towards the wall.
It was a simple crystalline wall, but what they found hanging there made them gasp. There, with it’s beautiful gem encrusted edges, lay the mirror they had found in other room. But that wasn’t what was freaky. Inside the mirror, tinged blue and hooves banging seemingly on the inside, was none other than Rarity herself.
“RARITY!” screamed Twilight, already racing towards the mirror.
The others followed behind, their faces showing what only could be described as pure terror.
“Rarity, how’d you end up in there?” cried Applejack, putting her hoof on the mirror.
Rarity seemed to be speaking, but if she truly was, she made no sound.
“Rarity, we can’t hear you! You’re going to have to find someway to write to us!” yelled Twilight, whose screws were seeming to come loose.
Rarity scrambled throughout the frame of the mirror. The room was similar to the castle, but the layout was completely different. She opened a large cabinet and rumbled through the contents until she was able to find a small stick of lipstick.
She rushed over and started writing on the mirror. The stick was a sharp shade of red and though smudgy, the letters could be made out. There was only one problem though.
“Rarity, the words are backwards!” called Applejack.
She shrugged helplessly, unable to erase all the information she had written.
“Can any of you read backwards letters?” asked Twilight desperately.
Pinkie stepped forwards, a twinkle in her eye. “My time has come,” she said in a mystical voice.
She approached the mirror and scanned the text. As she read, she said the words aloud:
“I have no idea where I am. This place is no reflection of the castle, so I’m lost as to where to go. I know one thing though. It’s because of the card, because of the game, that I’m here."
“Rarity, is there any way for you to escape?” asked Twilight.
Rarity hastily raided the cabinet and pulled out a cloth. She rubbed the old lipstick message off and continued to write a new piece. As she wrote in a curvy scrawl, Pinkie read:
“There are doors, but most of the lead to long open hallways with more doors. However, no matter what, you musn’t stop pla-”
Rarity suddenly dropped the lipstick and gave a silent scream, her eyes widening in terror. She scurried out of the room before she could finish whatever she was writing.
Rainbow knocked on the glass. “Rarity,” she called, “Come back!”
“She’s gone, Rainbow. Something happened in there. I don’t know what, but what I do know is, the best way to help Rarity is to keep playing. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to release her after a few turns,” said Twilight.
“Is it safe to keep playing?” asked Pinkie, her cheerfulness falling and her hair starting to lose its poof.
“I don’t know,” admitted Twilight, “But-”
“But,” Rainbow interjected, “We’ve got to move forwards! For Rarity’ sake.”
Putting their fears aside, they cheered and cried, “For Rarity!”
