Ponies and Dragons XXV (Just Have Fun)

Session 25.0 BrutalityInc

A Game of Dragons (Part 1)
 
1000 Years From Now

The Equestrian city of Fillydelphia is no stranger to the unusual throughout the last millennium - it has experienced Parasprite infestation, monster attacks, foreign invasions (Such as by Changelings, before the Great Reconciliation), a dozen uppity evil overlords, and so forth, though so far nothing has yet brought the ever growing and developing metropolis of high tech and magic crumbling into ruin. It has its own share of eccentric pony populace whose presence remained largely the same, even if their amusing, weird, and occasionally disturbing behaviours and traits changes unpredictably over the last fifty or so generations.
 
All in all, the city is not unfamiliar with the abnormal.
 
So when, one fine weekend morning, a massive fireball of arcane flames burst into existence over the city, and disgorged from it an azure dragoness and two other drakes, there was alarm, but not outright panic.
 
It helped that she had messaged the city officials ahead to inform them of her coming. It also helped that she had been here before.
 
Even by dragon standards, the dragoness was enormous as she was beautiful; the two great wyrms that accompanied her didn't even come to her ankles. Because of this, the city's Spaceport was the only open space near the city which would allow her to land, which meant all aerospace traffic would be suspended or diverted for the half hour period around her arrival, and then again at her projected departure.
 
Codenamed Novalite, the smart-material that paved the tarmac of the spaceport was a masterpiece of advanced Equestrian material science and Zebra neo-alchemy, easily capable of withstanding the weight and fiery exhaust of space shuttles, dropships, and other space launch vehicles for prolonged periods of time, and remained unscathed and cool. Even so, when the giant dragoness landed, even the substance could not stop the ground from shaking briefly over kilometers, deforming slightly where she touched-down. And if she really wanted to, it would not had survive her raw strength or burning flames.
 
Of course, the small welcome committee of city officials didn't need to worry about that happening, nor worry about the possibility of the dragoness going on a rampage to destroy their fair city (In fact, she helped saved it once). Even so, inevitably, her appearance was terrifying.
 
Like her father before her, she wore armor over her azure scales, fit to her size; though contrary to its resplendent look, the advanced metal alloys were not gold and brass, and the array of sorcerous enchantments and cutting-edge technology, all powered by a compact fusion-arcane hybrid generator, made the powered-exoskeletal attire much newer and more functional than it appears. Her headwear however, worn over her large, downward-curved white horns and long, dark blue frills, was definitely old, if no less regal; a great crystalline crown, a gift from the Crystal Empire five centuries back, decorated by many smaller gems and stones, the most radiant and precious ones arranged in a mosaic pattern that displayed the dragoness' heraldry, punctuated by one jewel from an artefact that predates even the crown by another 500 years; the Bloodstone, once and remains the symbol of her office, her authority.
 
Rapid-fire greetings were exchanged between her and the VERY nervous welcoming committee; formalities and small-talk, really, and she would had paid them little attention were she not a head of state. When that was done, she and her entourage - not just draconic body guards, but draconic PRAETORIAN guards; deadly, professional, the elite of elites - were on their way to the city, striding forward with a single purpose, the ground trembling with every step they took.
 
She was not here on a diplomatic mission.
 
She was here to meet an old acquaintance.
 
She was here to face her arch-rival.
 
She was here… to play a game.
 
= = =
 
Entire sections of Fillydelphia grounded to a halt when Ember strolled through the cityscape, making a straight line towards her destination.
 
After all, it’s not every day when a small living mountain of flesh, bone and dragon-scales make its way down the main streets of the futuristic city.
 
Hovercraft and flying vehicle traffic, now a staple phenomenon in every city of Equestria, paused in their hundreds to let Ember and her guards stomp pass. They were the reason why she couldn’t just fly there; not when every flap of her wings a hurricane that could throw them into buildings and into the ground, and with it send many little ponies to their deaths.
 
Monorails on lines that cris-crossed the ground or hung around tall buildings stopped in their tracks as the shaking grew intense, too unsafe to continue without risking derailment. Those cars at her eye-level, she could see through windows the passengers huddling together, seemingly hoping not to catch the attention of the ‘Colossal Reptile Behemoth’, or for the monorail to fall off the rails they were hung on.
 
Crowds gathered on balconies and roof-tops to see the spectacle, to witness what seemed like a giant monster flick, coming to life before them, more authentic than any holovision films or virtual reality simulations. They came in all species, shapes and sizes; Ember could swear by Tiamat that some were even Alicorns (there seemed to be a new one every time she checked), changelings, or one of those new-fangled hybrid, bio-engineered or robotic races that were becoming increasingly common.
 
They, and all others, watched her pass silently; some ponies cried, others were praying. Most were silent. They all stared at her, however, and many of them stared in awe.
 
After all, it’s not everyday that you see a living, breathing legend come down your way.
 
She had kept her composure, and projected that same commanding, regal face that she always held while in court or on diplomatic functions, one recorded in thousands upon thousands of pictures, paintings, engravings, statues, photos, videos, psychic recordings and holo-projections throughout the millennia.
 
But deep down, beneath the veneer of a high lord, she felt a profound sense of… irony, and with it embarrassment. It was so great she had to fight her instinct to chortle or blush.
 
She knows she is a living legend. She knows she is admired and abhorred, loved and feared, cheered and jeered, not only by dragons, but countless other nations and people worldwide.
 
But regardless of how they felt, they all looked at her in awe. They always had, always did.
 
Did they never realize, though? That a millennium ago, when she first came here, it was SHE who looked up at them in awe? And do they know that, even after a thousand years, in some ways, she still do?
 
If only they knew.
 
= = =
 
Starscrapers.
 
That’s what they called them now. Those towers of nano-glass, neo-steel, and ferro-cement that composed of their great cities, that now surrounded her.
 
It was but a millennium ago, less than even an eighth to a tenth of an average dragon’s potential lifespan these days, that they called them ‘skyscrapers’. She had scoffed that notion when Spike told her of them, but when she saw them for the first time, she would never forget the sight.
 
Fillydelphia. It was there that seeds of her great dream was planted.
 
True, she had been to a civilized pony settlement before, that being Ponyville. She was there, on the orders of her dad, to find Spike’s teacher in Mahjong. What a shock it was still, as it was back then; a little pony, teaching a DRAGON how to play a humble game! What arrogance she and her father had, to believe such a thing was impossible. What greater arrogance still believing that a pony could never play as well as dragon, if not better.
 
But her crowning arrogance of all was to assume that Ponyville was the norm, not the exception. Sure, it had a fancy tree-like palace made of delicious-looking crystal, but even that looked smaller on the outside. And that city hanging on a mountain looked so awfully small from Ponyville. She remembered she had the gall to sneer at the cottages the ponies built, believing as if caves wasn’t enough for them!
 
Everything she thought about the ponies came crashing down, when Spike invited her to come to Fillydelphia.
 
Nothing could had readied her for the majesty that she beheld; buildings of all shapes and sizes, as far as the eye could see, from concrete blocks of humble ‘apartment buildings’, to towering pillars of glass and steel that reached for the sky, called ‘skyscrapers’. So many of them, for so many purposes!
 
Everywhere she looked, buildings! Buildings filled with ponies. Inside; there were ponies talking, working, shopping, dancing, arguing, singing, everything! They lived in comfort, in chambers and rooms, lit by electric lights, surrounded by coloured walls from which hung paintings and photoframes, while tapestries covered floors of wood and even marble, furniture that allowed them to eat their meals and play their games, wonder appliances that could cook and clean and even allow them to speak with others over long distances! No dragon had any comforts like this in their lairs!
 
Out in the streets! Bustling crowds commuting, going about their lives in the thousands, the millions! They wore jewellery and shiny clothes, flaunting wealth that dragons would had just hidden and hoarded! They traded – not take or stolen, TRADED! – New wealth or commodities at vendors, shops, markets and malls for themselves with currencies made of gold and even gemstones! Carriage traffic jamming the roads! Trains and ships with engines that roared like great beasts!
 
She remembered asking: How could such small people do all this? How could they make themselves so rich, so powerful, in such a short life?
 
“What was the point of it all?”
 
= = =
 
She and her guards stomped past one building that looked old, seemingly out of place with the rest of the city. A holo-screen on its roof showed that it was scheduled to be torn down, an old, crumbling near-ruin about to be casted away, too worn out to be preserved. replaced with a newer building.
 
Ember took a moment to give it a quick glance, yet it was enough to fill her draconic heart with melancholy. It was one that she recognized too well; she had been there, back when it was brand new.
 
Spike and his friends answered her question, by taking her to that place, a ‘history museum’, where they recorded their past. Not just with oral traditions that the dragons ever had, but with exhibits of artefacts, recreations made of wax figures and props, statues and paintings of great ponies past hung on walls, remains of cities and creatures long gone put on display, and magically-animated pictures showed past life in speculated details.
 
There, she beheld the history of that one city alone: Beginning with its humble origins as a fishing village near the coast, named Delphi. It rose to prominence as an oracle emerged, a filly whose unnatural insights into the future drawn in petitioners from all across Equestria, and with it, trade and prosperity that turned village into a town, then into a city. Such was the oracle’s renown, she became synonymous with the place, long after she had grown up, grown old and died: Filly of Delphi. Filly Delphi. Fillydelphia.
 
It had its moments of misfortunes, disasters that threatened it with ruination; the amusements of Discord, natural disasters, the conflict waged by Nightmare Moon, Parasprites, Tirek, incursions by griffons, changelings and dragons. One scene stood out, at the medieval exhibit; there Ember saw a unicorn knight; alone, battered and bleeding, surrounded by his dead comrades, roaring his defiance with his sword held high at the monstrous-looking dragons advancing towards him, buying time with his last stand for helpless villagers escaping to safety behind old Fillydelphia’s walls.
 
It had its moments of pride; opening of Equestria’s first and greatest shipyard, churning out steam ocean-liners at the dawn of the Industrial Age; the Equestrian Games, where Fillydelphia became the first city to win the gold medals in all events; centuries later, Fillydelphia’s proudest son, an astronaut, became the first pony in recorded history to walk upon the Moon under their own power besides the Alicorn Princesses, taken there by the greatest rocket of its time. His name would be memorialized centuries later upon the Equestrian starship that would take Equestria’s first extrasolar colonists to new worlds.
 
And Fillydelphia was merely one city, in a proud realm filled with them, united in friendship and harmony, each with their tall buildings and bustling populace, each with their colourful culture and history!
 
There, at the museum, it was Princess Twilight who explained it to her:
 
“The ponies did all this, not because they were strong, like the dragons were. They did it precisely because they were weak.”
 
And she understood.
 
The ponies were at the mercy of everything around them, from predators and monsters to the elements themselves. Just to survive, they look past their petty differences, and worked together, as friends and family, to tame the environment around them with their tools and magic, always driven to innovate by necessity. Prosperity was a luxury borne from hard labour, not something that was given to them from birth.
 
This was Ember’s first true taste of modern civilization. It confused her. It awed her. Now, a millennium later, as she walked down those streets once more, it still made her feel so small.
 
Starscrapers; now their buildings had breached the sky, some reaching higher than the sky into the void of space, dwarfing even her titanic physique. Kilometre long maglev trains run on a network of rails longer than even world serpents themselves, bringing goods and travellers above or below the ground in vacuum tunnels across continents. Giant airliners shaped like flying wings flew through the air, while orbital SASSTO ferries skimmed through the void, faster than any Great Eagle or Dragon with wings, now allowing ponies to reach all corners of the globe, undeterred by the oceans, mountain ranges or leagues of distance. Colonies and cities beneath the earth and the oceans; domed settlements dotting other worlds in this solar system, and many more orbiting other alien suns; there was nowhere they couldn’t reach and settle!
 
How truly naïve she was, a foolish teenager scoffing at their achievements. Dragons made their lairs in caves, but to these ponies, only cave-ponies, primitive savages, live in caves!
 
So what did that make the dragons? Stone-age primitives. Less than that, even; they hardly ever even use tools, stone or otherwise! It’s not like they ever need them. Long-lived and powerful, they were accustomed to getting their way every time, destroying anyone and anything otherwise with their fire, claws and huge sizes. And that there lie the great tragedy of dragon-kind.
 
Dragons were all, by their own admission, creatures of avarice and aggression. Combined with their natural might, their greed and aggression had made them feared destroyers of kingdoms, but they were nothing more than that; DESTROYERS. Destroyers can never hope to CREATE anything, let alone the beautiful, shiny things that they plunder. How can there be, when the dragons are too proud, stubborn and arrogant to listen to others, share ideas, or think beyond what way of life they have?
 
Even though Tiamat and Bahumet still breaths and walk the earth, the dragons had always treated themselves as the gods of their own little worlds. It left them constantly fighting and bickering among themselves, in an endless war for domination, to be the strongest alpha male with the biggest hoard, the best mates, and the largest territory; a desire to possess EVERYTHING, and EVERYONE ELSE crushed beneath their claws.
 
Only the Honah-Lee dragons of the East seemed spare from that great curse, but they were the exception, not the rule.
 
Dragon would never had been ones to forge mighty realms and built great kingdoms. These ponies and other races didn’t care that their founders would never see what they planted bear fruit; only that it will survive, and endure, and prosper, until sapling become a tree, and there rose the capital of a dominion where a humble village once stood, realms that could out-last even a dragon. They left a legacy that their descendants could look back with pride.
 
They aim for the heavens, once. Now, they will even reach for the stars themselves. This was an age of wonders that she was only bringing dragon-kind towards.
 
This was the glory that the dragons would had thrown away and reject, trapped in their old ways and clinging to their delusions of superiority.
 
Most dragons had only ever seen in these civilizations places where food and carnage could be found.
 
Most dragons had only ever done was tearing them down, kill their people and mock them.
 
Most dragons had only ever desire to see them burnt down, and loot the charred ruins that remains.
 
Something had to be done to correct that. Otherwise, the dragons would never accomplish anything of true magnificence. They would produce no great works of art, no great wonders of magic, no great advancement of science; no great crafts, no great culture, no great civilisation. They would forever be little more than oversized raiders and barbarians who would stay the same, slowly passing into a footnote of history while other races and nations surpass them, remembered only as thieves, bullies… killers.
 
Some dragon had to do something to change all that.
 
And Ember became that dragon.
 
They stomped past it, and their attention returned once more to the road, to their destination. There could be no distractions for what she was here to do.
 
= = =
 
Dragontown stood before her.
 
It has changed much ever since she had last visited, not too long ago by dragon standards. It has gotten bigger; now a massive urban area, sitting on an island between a fork in the rivers, linked by bridges, a city within a city, far larger than the tiny, packed neighbourhood streets it began as, centuries back. Solar panels, mana-collectors and satellite uplinks lined the rooftops of its buildings, carved out of mesas and a cliff-face; a hyperwave comm tower stood high above it all, connecting Dragontown to the rest of the planet, and other worlds beyond the stars with FTL transmissions.
 
It resembled the dragon city that had grown around her lair. Yes, dragons have cities now; her capital was the greatest among them, named after her father Torch, the old ex-Dragon Lord. Larger than most cities by necessity due to their sizes, it had its own towering buildings carved and built out of volcanic rock, and an infrastructure heated and powered by geothermal energy of the volcanic lands it was founded on. It had its own markets and malls, schools and academies, police and fire stations, roads and rails, ports and landing zones for flying dragons and aerospace vehicles; libraries and data-archives that rivaled those of Canterlot, museums as great as those of Aquestria in the Sparkling Seas that at last put oral traditions of their own past into view, monuments and art matching those made by Diamond Dogs that stood tall and proud in every public space, remembering past dragons of great renown.
 
However, for all its splendor, it had been Dragontown, along with Fillydelphia, had been the model upon which it was designed, and then improved upon.
 
And so there she was, striding towards Dragontown, past the great streets of the place where her dream began, towards her adversary, ever closer to the game she is about the play.
 
She would go as she always was, as Ember. She had an endless series of prestigious titles and ‘nicknames’ to go with it. Include among them: Ember, Daughter of Torch. Ember, the Cunning. Ember, the Bloodstone Lord. Ember, the Conqueror. Ember, the Chosen of Tiamat.
 
Ember, the Grand Lord of All Dragons.
 
These weren’t titles that she made up for herself and given to herself in bouts of megalomania; no, they were all given to her, by other dragons, something she had earned through blood, sweat and tears from the strain of monumental effort. The last one humbled her the most, for they were given to her by the dragon gods themselves, Queen Tiamat and King Bahumet, in recognition of her achievements.
 
And, despite her own doubts, she had achieved more than enough to earn it.
 
In the space of a millennium, she had taken the fractious territories and fiefdoms of dragon-kind and turned it into one of the greatest EMPIRE the world has ever known, the first that the dragons HAD known, rivalled and surpassed only in might and splendour to shining Equestria and the other great powers of the earth.
 
It was an empire with borders on every continent of the globe, and within which lived dragons of all kinds in the millions, living in harmony with one another and the nations that surrounded them, with peace and order enforced by laws she codified (And ratified by King Bahumet).
 
It was an empire that has grown richer than any dragon had with their hoards, thanks to the vast resources that could be mined or farmed by industries of their own and traded for more wealth, thanks to her investments, not counting those from the hundred nations of protectorates and vassals that pay them tribute.
 
It was an empire bulwarked by the ranks of dragon warriors, not just ravaging dragon hordes of kingdoms, but armies of elite soldiers, trained to fight in cohesive units, armed to the teeth with advance magic and weapons, indoctrinated to fight for greater good of dragon-kind than their own selfish glory, which along with their natural might, made them all but unstoppable in any battle.
 
And she ruled that empire, from her capital city, from a grand palace carved out of a mountain, its grandeur paled only to the lairs of great Queen Tiamat and King Bahumet.
 
Technically, she was still just a Dragon Lord, despite the addition of ‘Grand’ upon it, equal in power among other proxies of the Dragon God-Queen. In practice, given the unrivalled power and influence she and her clan has amongst her fellow Lords and dragons, she might as well be an empress or a shogun in all but name. Besides their own gods, she was the one all the Dragon Lords, and in turn much of Dragon-kind, had pledged fealty to.
 
This was all the outcome of her great dream, her golden ambition: to have dragon-kind overcome their flawed nature, and rise above them; to have a civilization, and legacy, that their descendants could look back on with pride, much like the other races had. Given what was at stake, it was a task she was willing pursue, no matter how long it took, no matter how it took.
 
It was not easy; to make it happen, she played a game of thrones that spanned a thousand years. Confronting the other Dragon Lords and their flights, she brought them into the fold either by diplomacy and example, turning the receptive among them to their side; and where they had been obstinate and willing to contest her, she brought them into the fold through force and guile, from wars that could rage for decades to schemes that could take centuries to bear fruit.
 
Her willingness to try the unorthodox, ask for outside help, think beyond the draconic ways, learn knowledge and skills beyond what most dragons are content with, had given her, and her flight, an advantage over her rivals. One by one, they fell before her, out-fought and out-witted. Many times it might seem like she could fail, like when the last resisting Dragon Lords, now fearful of her, put her to court before Queen Tiamat herself, where she had to defend her actions, convince her Queen of its merits, or risk being stripped of Lordship and lose everything she had accomplished; but like that time, like so many times, she had ultimately prevailed, against all odds.
 
So far, Grand Dragon Lord Ember has had an illustrious, if not unparalleled reign. But even on that seemingly flawless record, there was a blemish.
 
And one of those who created that blemish live in Dragontown.
 
= = =
 
As she approached, she noticed how eerily deserted and quiet the whole place had become. Silence reigned; not a single dragon with wings in the air nor walking upon its cobblestone and ferro-concrete streets. The only sound was the footfall of her heavy claws and the rumbling of the earth as it shook in her wake.
 
She knew the reason why: they know she was coming, and so they hid.
 
Dragontown had a place in her heart; seeing and touring it, all these years ago, contributed to her epiphany and fledging ambitions. It and its populace showed her it was possible for dragons to coexist with other races, and replicate the wonders ponies achieved. She modelled much of the new draconic society she had forged, based on Dragontown.
 
So it hurt her inside, to see that those dragons who showed her that they could be more than brutes, only regarded her as a tyrant. Just like father, just like daughter.
 
Then again, Dragontown was originally founded as a haven for Equestrian dragons to escape her father’s control. Father had refiled it for being an ‘anarchist town’; but her reservations for it was different.
 
She found what she was looking for; a great sinkhole, covered in a mechanized metallic lid. Many of these exists in Equestrian cities these days; most were usually left open, if they had a lid at all. They serve as entrances to tunnels and passage ways for underground traffic, many leading to great spherical geo-front chambers, buried underground, filled with more habitats and commercial centres that serve as hubs of the subterranean colonies that now exists within every continent of the earth.
 
A few smaller geofronts are located beneath Dragontown, lairs for the larger dragons to dwell and meet. The one beneath her now, belonged to her adversary.
 
Ember took a moment to and steady herself. The time has come. The game is about to commence.
 
She took a deep breath.
 
“COUNCIL DRAGON OF DRAGONTOWN! I, EMBER, GRAND LORD OF ALL DRAGONS, SEEK AN AUDIENCE!”
 
Nothing like an Alicorn Princess, using the Royal Canterlot Voice, but even still, her great size meant that every-pony could hear it at a radius of a dozen kilometres.
 
There was a moment of tense silence and stillness.
 
Then, slowly, the metal lid came to life. Generators ran, motor spun, machinery activated; there was a groan of gears and metal, until slowly but surely, the cover lid moved and slide aside upon its guide rails.
 
And from the depths, the council dragoness, the elected community leader of Dragontown for many years, came slithering out of the darkness to greet her.
 
Mina of Dragontown’s blood shared lineages from two different broods of dragons; one came from the western halve of the world, one which Ember herself belong, and it showed with the great wings of purple and deep pink that complemented her main body scales, the upward crooked horns of light sapphire that complemented the scales of her underbelly, flanking her bright pink frills. From her mother and grandfather Master Babylon’s brood, the Honah-Lees of the Oriental east, came her now rather serpentine body and the bright pink frills that now came down her neck. Her eyes, beautiful as the rest of her, was like her grandfather’s, revealed a deep, if cunning and mischievous, wisdom.
 
She was only slightly smaller than Ember, but this still made her the largest resident of Dragontown. She hovered mid-air, by both her wings and Honah-Lee magic, matching height with Ember. The two stared at each other intently. 
 
“Hello, Ember… I knew you were coming when I felt the tremors, even from deep down here.” Mina began cordially, tapping her claws in a way reminiscent to a devious schemer, characteristic of many Honah-Lee dragons like her grandfather; she’s smirking like him, too. “You need to lose some weight.”
 
The two dragon praetorian guards bristled at that seeming implied insult, but a wave Ember’s huge claws stayed their claws.
 
“Maybe I should stop eating so many emeralds; they always go to my hips, for some reason.” Ember herself snorted and smile; she knows Mina is just joking.
 
“You came early, at this time of the year.” Mina continued.
 
“My schedule is full for the second half. This is the only time I would be free and available. I want to make good use of it.” Ember explained.
 
“You are always busy these days, it seems, running your regime. Still, it is good for you to visit. I’ve missed our conversations and our contests.” Mina replied.
 
Both dragoness knew this was sincere; they are not exactly friends, but neither are truly enemies. They are rivals, as mentioned; each regarded another as a worthy opponent, and a trustable ally in a crisis, as they had faced in a few times.
 
But Mina’s next words put an end to the initial cordiality they have between them, “But really, ‘Grand lord of ALL dragons’? Do you still insist on that, even though it is not entirely true?”
 
Ember stopped smiling.
 
That jab was a provocation, an opening move to hostilities to come, and Ember knew this. Normally Mina would not do this, and she would not rise to this; but for dragons, this day is different from all others. Mina was doing this because of what she represented, and in front of Dragontown before her and Fillydelphia behind her, Ember must stand her ground, for what she herself represented.
 
“It was the title bestowed upon me by the will of our gods, Mina, you know this.” Ember answered evenly, “You also know that with that title, our gods gave me a mandate to bring all dragons into the fold. Even the Free Dragons.”
 
There was a pause, as Mina seemingly considered her argument. Then she replied.
 
“And you remember, as I had reminded you for over a hundred times, it is also by their will that Free Dragons can live unmolested in their communities within other realms, provided that they stay within those borders.” Mina retorted calmly, throwing Ember’s argument back at her seemingly with ease. “Queen Tiamat recognizes that we may seem like defying her by disobeying her proxies, the Dragon Lords, but we’re not DIRECTLY challenging her. She and her consort recognizes all dragons had the right to live as they wish; so had they been neutral in our conflict, never directly ordering us to submit to you or your fellow Dragon Lords without question.”
 
There was a palpable tension in the air, much like the simmering heat that radiated from both their massive draconic bodies for kilometres.
 
“One mandate cannot contradict another.” Ember said. “That is why the Games exists.”
 
“Of course.” Mina acknowledged.
 
The Games. It all came down to this. It was this that the future of all Dragon-kind now rested upon.
 
Two groups of dragons never recognized Ember’s reign; the first were the Old Guard, Dragon Lords or just average dragons, traditionalists and reactionaries who had accused her of weakening the dragons with her new ways, seeking to stop her and return to the old dragon ways of life – to destroy and plunder like barbarians, to live for violence and avarice, to be where the fittest, mightiest and the strongest survive and rule, and the weak crushed beneath them.
 
A great obstacle at first, their influence eventually crumbled, not that anyone liked them much to begin with; the younger dragons, those of her generation and after, abandoned them in droves for the new dragon society Ember sought to build, where they could be more than barbarians and live for more than plunder and violence. Some had come to see the light, changed their ways and joined her. The rest were all but swept aside when Tiamat and Bahumet, having been convinced of the merits of her goal, had ordained her the title of ‘Grand Dragon Lord’ to legitimize the process.
 
Then there was the Free Dragons.
 
Some dragons got sick and tired of the constant abuse of power by Dragon Lords, and their own obstinate fellow kind as they followed their draconic nature with sociopathic abandon. Dragontown of Fillydelphia had been the first; Ember’s father had never forgiven them for their insubordination, his grudging respect for Master Babylon, one of the chief architects, notwithstanding. Its success led to more being found within the borders of other realms across the world.
 
Even before she came to power, the other Dragon Lords had spoke disapprovingly of those Free Dragons and wished constantly to ‘bring them back under their wings’. Ember was inclined to agree with them. To Ember, they were no different from the dragons of the Old Guard, the ‘other end of the horseshoe’, as an Equestrian saying goes.
 
They spoke so highly of independence and will, but Ember believed that they would easily slip back into the old ways of excess again. And she feared that in living within other species’ borders, they would become dependent on the good-will of other races, becoming subordinate where EMber wanted them to stand tall.
 
She didn't hate them like the other Dragon Lords did; in fact, she had adapted some of their ideas herself, on her own terms. She felt they were merely misguided, like the Old Guard, and Ember wished to guide them back to where they belong, as she had done before to save Dragon-kind from its flaws.
 
And that’s where the Games became relevant.
 
Centuries ago she had nearly made war upon Griffonstone, once again restored to glory and rose greater still, when its Free Dragon community harboured a dragon which had wronged her flight, angrily accusing the Free Dragons, and the griffons, of complicity in that dragon’s crime.
 
King Bahumet himself flew in midst of the armies of the two nations, staring at one another on the verge of battle, and demanded her to stand down. Griffonstone was friendly to Equestria, and by association, it is also friendly to the dragons. And he made it abundantly clear, as he had to her father, he would not allow the dragons to attack their allies, even over this.
 
But that left a conundrum.
 
Dragons are free to live however they wish, doing what they want, when they want; so decreed Queen Tiamat. Ember had curbed the worst excess without TOO much infringement, that was why the dragon gods had allowed her to continue achieving her dream as much as she had. But that also allowed for Free Dragons to immigrate and form their communities, harbouring those who disagreed with the way she and the other lords were doing things.
 
Yet they had, technically, broken the unspoken conventions of Dragon-kind, built upon the Dragon gods’ decrees, with their insubordination against the Dragon Lords, their gods’ proxies among her children, and they had the right to place them back under their authority, in any way possible. And did the title of Grand Lord Ember possessed grants her authority, and mandate, over ALL dragons?
 
All these conflicting decrees, laws and spheres of authority contradicted one another, came to a head over this dispute, and reconciliation seemed difficult. While Dragon Lords like Ember’s father could and had change their minds, Divine Mandates, once given, cannot be so easily reversed; after all, gods cannot appear to contradict or second guess themselves, or their infallibility comes into question. And all present agreed settling them all in a court would be too troublesome to be bothered with.
 
That’s when someone came up with the idea of the Games.
 
The idea is simple: Dragons should be allowed to live, yet the Lords like Ember can enforce their rule. Both may contradict, but which one to follow can be decided by having the leaders on both side play a game.
 
Chess, go, checkers, O&O, even videogames; it didn’t matter what game was used. What mattered is that the leaders of both factions, headed by the Free Dragons community leaders on one end, and Ember and the other Dragon Lords on the other, play against one another in regular matches.
 
So long as the leaders of the Free Dragon communities continue to win every time, whenever they came to play, they could retain their independence.
 
But Ember could take all the time she needs; because if she or one of her subordinate wins, even once, by the rules of the Games, the community Free Dragons must submit to her authority without question. So decreed King Bahumet.
 
So far, Grand Dragon Lord Ember had been on the winning side of the equation. Each decade, more and more of the communities slip, their dragons returning to the Empire with a pardon, and a fresh start. And Ember herself, among the greatest generals, states-dragon and leaders ever produced by dragon-kind, had won most of these games.

Except against Mina.
 
Mina’s victory over her in every round of the Games so far had ensured Dragontown’s continued independence. Mina was the strongest player among the Free Dragons, and a well-respected leader among the Free Dragons; her advice had been invaluable to many other Free Dragon leaders still holding out. Ember had seen to face her off personally, and their rounds and their outcome had became so famous, they came to be synonymous with the Games and the struggle they represented.
 
Mina had won every time. But if she finally lost and Dragontown submits… it would be a catastrophic, if not fatal blow to the morale and hopes of the Free Dragons to stay independent. Ember had predicted that they would all give up and voluntarily submit to her authority within a century, even without the Games.
 
Their Game. The fate of all dragons decided.
 
Until that happened though, Ember wanted to try every other way. She decided upon another approach; she always hoped to reconcile this dispute peacefully.
 
“Must we always be in conflict, Mina?” Ember asked, dropping the formality, hoping it might defuse tension and make Mina more receptive to her points, “Our goals are not mutually exclusive. I never minded peaceful co-existence with other races, or building a functioning community where dragons could prosper and live in harmony, instead of stagnating in unchanging barbarism and cut-throat squabble. It was a dream we both share.”
 
“I know, Ember. And I know you are sincere about it.” Mina nodded in understanding, “But the way you did all of it… it scared us. All the blood you spilled; all the manipulations you made; was it truly worth it? Dragontown fears that if you would go this far to enforce your ideas, what would it truly be like to live under your rule?”
 
Ember shook her head. “I’m not proud of some of the things I did. And I always wished some hard choices I made didn’t have to be made at all.” She admitted, in a low voice, once again showing just how different she is from most Dragon Lords past “But it was all necessary for the greater good of dragon-kind.”
 
Mina raised an eye-lid.
 
“There is always a better choice.” Mina said, simply.
 
The moment of regret passed, and Ember’s eyes hardened with resolve. It was too late to turn back from the path she had chosen.
 
“And I choose the Games.”
 
Mina accepted this with a resigned nod. “So… what game do you want to play this time? A quick game of mah-jong, perhaps? I would like it if I could make it to that Holovid convention my son invited me to attend this afternoon.”
 
“Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long.” Ember assured. She didn’t want to drag this painful, if necessary deed out. It makes reconciliation difficult. “However, I would like to try something different.”
 
Ember opened her right claw. In a flash of arcane dragon fire, a small box (by dragon standards) appeared, and she presented it to Mina to inspect.
 
Mina’s large eyes widened when she recognized what it was. “Is that…?”
 
Ember nodded, “I suppose you’re familiar with it?”
 
Mina pulled her head back up and looked into her eyes. There was something in that gaze that has changed, Ember noticed; there was a glint of… uncertainty, behind that constant look of confidence.
 
“Well… I may had seen my grandfather played it once or twice with old friends. He taught me more than just Mah-jong.” Mina explained. “But actual play? Not so much. It never came up in game nights.”
 
Ember sense she was telling the truth, resisted the urge to give a feral grin. Her agents in Dragontown were on the money, it would seem; she knew virtually every game that could be played. Combining that familiarity with experience, natural cunning, and every claw of trickery that her grandfather had taught her, Mina had won every game.
 
But this was the one that she would be the least familiar with. This would be the game which she would have no experience or clever play that she could fall back on. This would be the game, at long last, would allow her to bring the dragons of Dragontown back into the fold.
 
After all, whereas Mina knew but never played, Ember happened to have spent the last century and a half playing it with her own children and relatives. This time, she had all the advantages.
 
This Game. It all came down to this.
 
If Mina felt any fear or dread, she didn’t show it. “I accept. Just give me fifteen minutes to refresh my memory, and we can play. Would you like some tea as well before we begin?”
 
“Of course.” Ember agreed, now allowing herself to smirk slightly.
 
With that, Mina lowered herself down back into the pit, to her lair, and Ember followed. The lid came to life once more, its gears grinding until it sealed itself shut again with a resounding crash of metal. The two dragon praetorians, left topside on Ember’s orders, stood guard attentively.
 
Slowly, one by one, the Free Dragons of Dragontown left their hiding places and looked over to where great drakinas had their banter. They were nervous, anxious, terrified, shuddering over the possible outcomes of the Game, and whether or not they would soon live under the Great Dragon Lord’s banner.
 
However it went, it would go down in history and legends as among the greatest of the Games, one which would be sung in sagas and remembered for countless generations to come.
 
Far in the distance, back in Fillydelphia proper, the resident ponies were quick to get back to their activities once more. They were used to her coming to play the Games by this point, so there’s nothing to it. Crowds dispersed, traffic resumed, and Fillydelphia returned to its bustling life.
 
Some will judge, others question, but if any one of these ponies had any opinion to this state of affairs, none voiced it, deciding it to be business they cannot, should not, interfere.
 
This was, after all, a game of Dragons.



= = = 


Session 25.1 Kichi


Time skip:  X years in future

Princess Twilight was sitting in front of a table playing chess, it was not a surprise, as she managed to be one of the best players in Equestria just under her mentor Princess Celestia (she'd improved), and managed to win a couple of championships, but it seemed that this day was not her day.

"Spike, add it to the score," Said Twilight angrily as she seemed to be about to explode.

"Are you sure Twilight?" Asked Spike looking to her as she nodded. "Well... Okay... Twilight 0, Winning for 30 games, Flurry Heart, and to think it was supposed to be a normal day..." Say the dragon looking to the opponent of Princess Twilight.

That day began like any other day, Princess Flurry was visiting her auntie Princess Twilight by surprise, mainly thanks to Flurry's great reserves of magic that let her teleport from the empire to Ponyville without too much problem. Princess Flurry Heart liked to visit her to see some of the interesting books that her auntie usually read like that one about Vectorial Calculus, even if at first it was a little hard to understand, it was fun to read at the end. But that time was different, as she caught her auntie playing chess with cousin Spike, that got a little growth in those years, growing in a very handsome drake.

Of course, with her curiosity, Princess Flurry asked to play and Princess Twilight could not see a problem letting her niece play a little with her, that was her first error, the second error was taking it easy because she was a beginner and a filly, but after the game number ten, it was too late, the adult alicorn could not stop and even when at first the game was very hard for both, as the filly began to win more games, it seemed like she was getting bored and was more easier for her to win.

"Auntie, it's getting dark and daddy want me in the palace today because auntie Chrysalis and cousin Pupa are coming to play with Discord nii-chan," Moaned the little filly alicorn.

"One more game... Just one more game..." Say Twilight looking to Flurry to the eyes, with a smile, a maniacal smile.

"Auntie... You are beginning to scare me..." Muttered Flurry Heart.

Meanwhile, Spike yawned as he looked at that. "Sigh... I'll write Shining and Celestia... Again," groaned Spike.

Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire

A green flame appeared suddenly with a message that Shining caught and begin to read.

"Twiley is again taking Flurry for extra time, it seems we are needed to take her," Commented Shining armor to his wife.

"Again? Sometimes I wonder if it was a good idea to let Flurry stay that much time with Discord, Sombra and Chrysalis as foalsitters," said Cadence.

Session 25.2 Richforce


Duel of Dishes (part 1)

Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow had stopped by Sugar Cube Corner to play a calm game of crazy eights with Pinkie Pie. Mrs. Cake had brought over some tea and scones as Pinkie looked over her cards. “Ok I play Two of Moon.”

The other girls groaned. “Not that tired old joke!” said Rarity.

“What I’m really playing the Two of Moon on the Princess of Moon.”

“Good,” said Rainbow. “I’ll play Eight of Friendship and change the suit to Sun.”

Suddenly a scream came from outside, everypony (and wolf) ran out to see a huge goat zapping buildings with his horns as the ponies panicked around him.

“I Grogar, after millennia of imprisonment in the Realm of Shadows have returned to this world and shall claim this land!”

“These fellows never learn do they?” said Rarity nonchalantly.

“I’ll take care of this,” said Twilight. She started to prepare a spell when her magic just gave out. “Huh?”

Grogar turned to the Alicorn Princess. “Thought you could just send me back to the Realm of Shadows?”

“Actually I was trying to banish you to Tartarus.”

“Either way it won’t work. My spell channels the use of all magic in the land through me! If you want to keep your peaceful lives and the sun and moon moving bow before me!”

Twilight was trying to think up a plan when Cupcake stepped right up to evil wizard. “So you’re the Grogar I heard from my family’s stories.

Grogar snorted. “Who dares speak to me in such a manner?"

“Cupcake, and yes I am a descendent of Cupcake of Paradise Estate.”

This gathered a gasp from Pinkie Pie. “But those ponies are legendary!”

“It’s not anything that special, my ancestor simply liked making and eating sweets but her stories were passed down and since the Paradise Estate ponies defeated Grogar I have the right to demand trial by combat to make him stop.”

Grogar snorted. “You think you can beat me in a fight?!”

“No, but the rules state that we can select a champion to fight in our place if they are willing to do so.”

Rainbow Dash stretched her wings. “Just leave him to me.”

Cupcake sighed. “Thank you but I don’t want anyone hurt, even him. I am picking Pinkie Pie as my champion and ask that this battle be settled by culinary combat.”

“Hahahaha!” said Grogar. “Culinary combat?! Do you think I’d let the fate of MY empire be determined in the kitchen?! It doesn’t matter you ponies probably replaced that outdated rule with arbitration. You better get serious about this or prepare to say goodbye to your family!”

“Wait!” said Twilight before teleporting away. She popped back a second later with an enormous book, opened it and started reading. “Article four, subsection five, paragraph B, Grogar is technically correct we did move on to arbitration since Celestia forbidden trials that could result in death or injury. The old law however still applies since it was never actually removed and Mrs. Cake asked for a non-violent manner of fighting. Culinary combat will decide this.”

“It seems my hooves are tied. Very well culinary combat it is. I shall except the challenge myself and oppose your chef, but if she loses you her and your family must all lay down your spatulas NEVER TO COOK AGAIN!”

“You can’t!” said Pinkie Pie. “Baking is what the cakes are all about! I can’t risk you or Mr. Cake or the twins…”

“I wouldn’t ask unless I knew you could do it,” said Mrs. Cake.

“The battle will take place in one week’s time,” said Grogar. “I will find a fitting venue and arbitrary judges to settle this. Make you peace in that time.”

Grogar gave mighty leap into the sky and was gone. Pinkie Pie turned to Mrs. Cake. “Are you sure about this? I know how to bake but…”

“Don’t worry,” said Cup Cake. “There’s an old cooking school friend of ours who owes Mr. Cake a favor and should improve your cooking skills. I assume you’ve heard of Emerald Grass?”

Rarity gasped. “The famous chef whose restaurants are the favorite of Equestrian high society?!”

“The same, but I good as he his I think Pinkie will bring just the thing those recipes will need to stop Grogar.”

Session 25.3 Mtangalion


Spike spread a stack of character sheets across the Cutie Map table, shuffling them around.  "Let's try mixing things up a little!  Hey Twilight, which character do you want to play?"

Princess Twilight sipped from a coffee mug, hooves jittering a bit.  "Oh, any of them, really...  just not the bard!"

Spike blinked.  "Huh?  Why not?"

AJ grinned.  "Everypony raise yer hoof if ya think that's definitely the character Twi should play."

Twilight watched Dash, AJ, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all raise their hooves.  "But, I couldn't!"

"Um, yeah, you totally could," said Rainbow Dash.  "It's called roleplaying.  You can be a wizard any day of the week."

"But what if we were out on a quest, and I accidentally sang a song that became a huge pop hit?" fretted Twilight.  "What if my bard became famous, and all of your characters got jealous?  My fame might become a huge distraction, and completely give us away when we take stealth missions.  What if I ruined the whole adventure!?"

Fluttershy slid calmly out of her throne, trotted around the table, and gave Twilight a big soothing hug.  "Twilight... is there something you need to tell us?"



Outside the castle, Derpy flew past, tossing a copy of the Canterlot Times which bounced off the front door and rolled to a stop with the headline page face up.  "'Sweeping' the Nation - Vinyl Scratch does it again!  Sweep Sweep Sweep feat. Twilight is the new #1 hit!"

Session 25.4 Kendell2

(OOC: Note, I didn't change the name, because the franchise this is based on is owned by Hasbro.)

"So...what's this game called?" asked Rainbow Dash. The game board set up looked like an alien world...but all the game pieces seemed to be plastic rocks.

"Rock Lords..." said Maud Pie, who'd brought the game in. "It was my favorite toyline. I got 8-Bit to get the rights to make a game..."

"Okay..." said Rainbow Dash, everypony looking as confused as her (with the obvious exception of Pinkie Pie). "So...they're just rocks?"

"Powerful living rocks...from another planet...there are good rocks...who fight bad rocks..." Maud said in her typical way.

"Riiiiight..." Rainbow Dash said. "Simple enough..."

"Oh...and they do this..." she said, grabbing one and transforming it into a pony form that actually looked pretty cool.

The cyan pegasus blinked in confusion. "Admittedly, that's kinda awesome."

"This one's name is Boulder...he's Boulder's idol..." said Maud, putting Boulder next to Toy!Boulder. "...He's made of Tungsten...Magmar is made of Igneous..."

"...Magmar?" Rainbow Dash asked, seeming hesitantly interested.

"He's the bad guy..." Maud replied, picking one up and transforming it into a fairly intimidating pony form.

"...This reminds me of Discord's refrigerator..." Fluttershy admitted.

---

Fluttershy, visiting Discord's house in the dimension of chaos, tried to open the refrigerator to get some ice...only for it to transform into a robot a good head taller than her with double barreled shoulder cannons and cannons for front hooves. Fluttershy eeped as it looked down at her...then recoiled.

It transformed back, now with tank treads and a cartoony face on the front. "Apologizes Fluttershy. I didn't know it was use."

"...It's okay..."

---

"He said it was from Chineigh," Fluttershy explained, awkwardly.

"...Okay then..." Rainbow Dash replied. "Well, I'm okay with it."

"Alright..." Maud said. "...Boulder's hungry..." she said, picking up her pet rock and dropping him into her bowl of chips.


(OOC: Yes, the fridge thing is an actual thing. It's part of the 'Appliance Heroes' line: youtu.be/1r42ktMkRyg )

Session 25.5 Richforce


The time until the fated culinary combat had half elapsed and Pinkie Pie was sweating bullets.

Pinkie had only been in Chef Emerald Grass’ kitchen for two days and it was all just so much to learn. Nearby was a slightly chubby stallion in a chef’s coat and a green fur, his cutie mark was a jalapeno pepper cut in half by a large kitchen knife.

“Ok, the secret to good gumbo is okra, but since it is a Neigh Orleans dish you also need the holy trinity of Cajun cooking which is…?”

“Three parts onion, two parts celery and one bell pepper,” said Pinkie Pie.

“Bam!” said Emerald. “You are getting this stuff down! Emereald took a sip from a soup pinkie had simmering. “Nice, but you could kick it up a few notches if you added paprika.”

“Thank you, but I need something that will really wow everypony. Equestria and Sugar Cube Corner is at stake. Your friends may never bake again and the twins! What if they would want to bake someday but can’t because I failed?!”

“Calm down Pinkie. You and that creep will not know who you are cooking for until it is time. You just have to use what you know and do your best.”

“Still I’d like a recipe that would impress everypony. Something that when you see it you think ‘nothing could possibly be that tasty but then you take a bit and realize it tastes WAY better than it looks!”

“Fancy tricks and extravagant appearances are no substitute for pure clean flavor,” said an older pony who was carrying in crates full of spices.

“Nice to see you again Mr. Miso,” said Emerald. “Pinkie this is Miso Soup, the chef that taught me and the Cakes everything we know about cooking.”

Miso just opened up the crates and began unpacking. “I am no chef, not since the incident.”

“The incident?” asked Pinkie tilting her head.

“It was a long time ago. Back then I was the head chef at the Canterlot Palace and considered the finest cook in all of Equestira perhaps even the world. But I noticed that every year as the Summer Sun Celebration approached my princess wouldn’t smile from her heart, not even at the most scrumptious of my foods. I secretly learned about Princess Luna and of a cake that was created to celebrate their rule; the Sunrise, Moonrise Sister’s Surprise.

“I had thought for that year’s celebration I would revive the lost recipe and bring joy to our ruler’s heart and so mark myself as the greatest chef of all time. But in my arrogance I had made not just a cake fit for a princess but one for a city. Many chefs thought I was going too far, that such a monstrosity of a cake would collapse under its own weight. I thought I came up with some innovative solutions to the problem. But one turned out to be not so brilliant…”

+++

Celestia licked her lips in anticipation of the giant cake with pink and purple icing, casting a spell to light the giant candle on top. But as the flame caught on the wick Chef Miso remembered the tanks that were pumping pure oxygen into cake to keep it from falling.

“NOOOOOOOO!”

One massive sugary explosion later Canterlot and the surrounding countryside was splattered with the remains of the giant cake.

+++

“And so I went into a self-imposed exile, living the life of a lowly spice merchant only taking up the utensils of the trade when three eager and somewhat pushy foals begged me to teach them to cook. So you see ambition without clarity leads only to disappointment. A true chef doesn’t care if they are renowned, but if the food they make brings happiness to those they make it for.”

“So when you face that old goat get him out your head,” said Emerald. “What matters the smile on the faces of those you cook for.”

“Thank you Mr. Grass, Mr. Soup,” Pinkie bowing her head.

“I think that when the time comes she may be ready for this.” Miso Soup pulled out a single tiny vial filled with a clear liquid. “The ultimate spice, the essence of pure flavor. Just a few drops of this will bring out the best in any dish when used by a truly skilled chef.”

Pinkie took the vial. “How will I know if I’m ready?”

“When you are on that stage and facing the dark wizard, you’ll know.”

Session 25.6 Ardashir (Note: This idea is based on a magic item and spell that actually exists in one game system I know of.)


"So..." CEO Sombra said to the smiling employee before him. He frowned. Something about this man looked entirely too familiar. "How long have you worked for my company?"

"Since it was Ms. Rabia's company, sir," Kabuto looked wistful. "I was a main designer on some of her best games. Cupcakes, Rainbow Factory, Sweet Apple Massacre..."

"Don't remind me," Sombra shuddered. There were times he regretted buying his mother's stock out. But not when he was reminded about those games. "You say you came up with something new for the Horsecraft game, Mister - Kabuto, is it?"

"That I have, sir," Kabuto smiled, his eyes seeming to bulge from their sockets behind the heavy lenses of his glasses. "I noticed that the gamers have complained about the inability to change their race in the game, the loss of their powers and wealth and all the rest."

"Yes, yes," Sombra said. "They complain about everything, so why not that as well? But as long as they keep paying for new characters and gear..."

"That's just it, sir," Kabuto interrupted. He hurried as his boss's eyes began to blaze. "They're leaving for other games! I came up with a way that would work in the setting to allow them to change their race and keep everything they paid for."

"We helped!"

Both Sombra and Kabuto turned and glared as three new interns came into the room. They smiled obsequiously at their employer and shot dirty sidelong glares at Kabuto.

"Ah yes," Sombra said. "Miss Decepticolt, Goldcap, and Zappityhoof, is it not? Very well, so you helped Kabuto." His brow darkened. "Helped him do what?"

"Create this!" Kabuto said, setting down the small laptop he held. It showed one of the players, an Earth pony, approaching a pegasus. Somehow, the Earth pony got an evil smile on their face as a small box popped up reading, 'You wish to become a pegasus. Do you wish to use your Recorporeal Incarnation amulet?' A price tag appeared along with it. Sombra's eyes widened.

"That... is a respectable amount of cash. But what is this -- WHAT!"

The pegasus exploded into a small red ball of mist that raced over to the Earth pony. It enveloped her, and when it settled she was now a pegasus. The new-made pegasus took to the air.

Sombra blinked. "Did... that one pony just blow the other one up and put them on like a suit??"

"Well, yes," Kabuto said, he and his assistants standing proudly. Sombra stared at them in disbelief. "Oh, don't worry sir! It's not permanent, though we don't tell the player that. If they want to stay their new species, they have to do a new quest to hunt down and, well, subsume a new pony of the desired race in a month or so. And it costs as much as the first one." Kabuto leered, looking ghoulish. "Any player desperate enough to do this in the first place will keep coming back for more."

"And we can make it even more popular!" Goldcap said, a manic grin on her face. "All we have to do is spread the rumor in-game and on the message boards that this is how alicorns get their power, and that eventually ponies who do it often enough will get the powers permanently. Not that they ever will, but gamers will do anything to get a power boost."

Sombra looked at his four employees. "So... let me understand this. Your idea for keeping people playing a light-hearted adventure game without losing their old characters is to start selling a magic item that allows them to commit murder and wear their dead victim's skin?"

Kabuto conferred with his three assistants before turning and saying with a huge smile on his face, "A bit crudely worded, but... yes! So when will it be put into the game?"

"An' when do we get our pay bonus?" Decepticolt muttered.

Sombra just smiled.

---------------------

"I threw them out, Mister Sombra, sir. You need me for anything else?"

"No, no, Iron Will. Just keep an eye on the rest of the security guards and never let those four lunatics back in the building again."