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Ponies and Dragons XXVIII (Just Have Fun)

Deviation Actions

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Session 28.0 Ardashir (with one line by me)


"Of course," Alisa said with a toothy grin, "if Mistress Rarity wants to look like a wolf..." She went to a chest set against the wall, reached in, and took out a snow-white pelt with purple hair running along the spine from the neck to her twisted ribbon of a tail.

"Alisa!" Rarity said. She took the pelt with her magic. "This will NOT be necessary, thank you! Though the fur has such a lovely sheen..." Reminding herself that her interest was purely professional, Rarity spread the pelt out and looked it over. "This is very fine work, dear. You made it in your own time?"

"Yes, and the others!"

"Others?" Rarity and Trixie both blinked as the grinning Alisa removed at least half a dozen more pelts, sky blue and bright pink and the purple of Twilight's coat and more. There was even a pale blue one with a silvery 'mane' and tail. Trixie paled at the sight.

"What, is Twilight Sparkle and her friends planning to go canine?" Trixie said. She examined the wolfsuit of herself and shuddered.. "The Equine and Proud of It Trixie will be perfectly happy to keep her original species, thank you!"

"No, no!" Alisa waved her paws. "This is for the day when Alisa's pony friends decide to visit the Diamond Wolves to play wolf game! See, game is to wear suit of other pony, and make wolves guess which one is really which based on what they know about Element Bearers. Suit even hides scent so wolves cannot cheat!" At Trixie's confused look, Alisa sniffed scornfully and added, "Prince Eric awaits pony challenge to wolf cunning. And why not Mistress and friends play wolf game? They played seapony games when visit Aquastria with three sirens."

"Wha-aa-at?" Trixie wheeled on Rarity. "You took the Sirens to Aquastria?"

"It was a promise, Trixie!" Rarity flushed in embarrassment. "Twilight and Princess Celestia promised that if they behaved they could go home on a brief visit. We went along, transformed into seaponies, to keep an eye on them. The seaponies were wary, but they asked us and the sirens to play some seapony games."

"And how did that work?" Trixie quirked an eyebrow. "Trixie suspects it did not go well."

"Oh, it went very well at first. The Dazzlings were -- oddly well behaved. However, then this kelpie showed up and bragged she could sing better than the sirens. They accepted her challenge but of course they didn't have their old amulets Twilight told us about, and..."

###

Cassie the kelpie swam for her life, eyes wide and shrieking in pain and panic. "OWWWW! Get her off my tail!"

Far behind her swam the currently aquatic Elements of Harmony, lead by Princess Twilight who yelled, "Adagio! Aria! Sonata! Don't ruin your parole over this!"

And in between, but closing on the kelpie like hungry sharks, swam three enraged sirens.

"NO TALENT GUPPIES, ARE WE?" Adagio roared, blood clouding the water from her fangs. "COULDN'T LURE LECHEROUS DIAMOND DOGS, COULD WE?"

Aria swam beside her. Perhaps she would have said something if not for the salvaged harpoon clenched between her jaws. Her eyes danced with the hunger for fresh kelpie.

And in front of both her sisters, Sonata, always the fastest swimmer, had her fangs sunk firmly into the kelpie's tail.

###

"From what King Leo said, I doubt either we or the Dazzlings will be asked back anytime soon, Trixie.... Most disturbing was Pinkie Pie was CHEERING ON the sirens! She was shouting 'Get the mare-y sue! Get the mare-y sue! Get the mare-y sue! Cleanse her from time and space!'"

Session 28.1 BrutalityInc

Out of the silence, it appeared.



When it came, its arrival was heralded by a low rumble, breaking the eerie quiet of the morning; its persistent growl picked up in volume as it approaches closer to its target. The ground shook; dust and rock loosen and tumble into craters and cracks as the earth itself trembled with ever greater intensity.




Out through the morning mists, it emerged. 



A thick fog was present that dawn, obscuring vision, hiding the horizon in a foreboding blanket of mist. It would hardly be an impediment than most other barriers to what was coming. It broke through it, like everything else, an unstoppable juggernaut.



Out across the landscape, it advanced.



It crawled upon two massive pairs of caterpillar tracks, grinding mud and everything else to paste beneath its weight. Sloped-armour that could shrug off city-destroying firepower gave the trapezoid prism shaped metal titan the impression of a moving mountain. On its hull it bristled with weaponry; turrets faced front, sides and rear, cannons stuck out from its back like spines, and missiles tucked away in their tube launchers at the rear. And high above, mounted upon a tower, the sensor sphere feeding data to the machine's AI core watches everything around it like an unblinking cyclops' eye.



Out from a distance, it observed.



Its gaze now focused upon its objective, and the forces that had been assembled to defend it. From light tanks, heavy tanks, super-heavy tanks and missile tanks, to ground effect vehicles or GEVs and infantry in power suits, a whole legion armed to the teeth was ready to prevent it from destroying the command post they were defending. Each of these units tactical WMD munitions as primary armaments. The landscape around them was a battered, cratered radioactive hell-scape, testament to the destructive power unleashed in a hundred previous battles. Nothing will live here again for at least a thousand years.



Under any other circumstances, such a defence would had been unassailable to any conventional opponent. But what they are facing is no ordinary foe.



It knew this as well. Already its advanced computer systems had calculated all possible strategies and outcomes of the battle ahead. It noted that the chances of the defenders stopping it from reaching its target was slim to none. Dispassionately, with the logic of a cold, ruthless killing machine, it selected for the best offensive plan and readied its arsenal.



Meanwhile, the comms of one of the forward defence units cackled to life. It was a message from the Command Post they are protecting.



"Unit, this is command, we are getting increasing seismic readings coming from your position. Do you have visual confirmation of the target?"



The pilot swallowed in fear. He had heard rumours, read reports, witness the aftermath of the rampages by these war machines. But he had never seen one in person; not many did so and lived to tell the tale. The soldiers inside their war machines could only pray what they had would be enough. 



Gingerly, the pilot switched to the long-range view-finder in his vehicle. What he saw sent a terrifying chill down his spine. 



"We - we have visual confirmation of the target, sir." Loudly, he reported. Quietly, he whispered the dreaded name of their enemy.


"J.O.T.U.N.!"



= = =


It had taken quite a bit of coaxing, but Shining had finally managed to get Twilight and her friends to try another sci-fi military game again. This one was an oldie, many decades old, but its appeal remained strong among nerds even today, and he and his group of friends had been avid fans of it.



"So basically, in the future setting of the J.O.T.U.N. game, wars would be fought using war machines known as J.O.T.U.N.s, giant cybernetic tanks that could shrug off city-busting weapons and dish out the same in return?" Twilight asked her brother as she and her friends pour through the instructions, lore, scenarios and maps. 



"That's the idea." Shining Armor confirmed with a nod, "In the setting, the development of a special form of protective material, known as bi-phase crystalline armor, justified and allowed for practical giant tanks to be built, as they are light enough to put centimeters of armor on light weight hovercrafts, but strong and durable enough that it'll take a ton of TNT just to penetrate that much protection. Add the development of advanced artificial intelligence, and you have giant cyber-tanks that are practically unstoppable, capable of destroying whole armies with little effort, while suffering little damage in return."



"It's not exactly giant mecha, but I like the sound of that!" Rainbow Dash remarked, holding up a model of a Mark IV J.O.T.U.N., "But what exactly does J.O.T.U.N. stand for?"



"Jotunns, with an extra n, are the largest species of giants in the world, giant deer that hail from the realm of Jötunheimr, north of Cervidia, the land of the deers and reindeers." Spike explained, reading through a tome that Twilight got him to fetch, "Jotunns stands at about a hundred meters tall on average, and are often born with magical power over fire, frost, and wind. While they are deeply integrated into Cervidian history and mythology, no one has actually seen them venturing outside their homeland for centuries. It is said the strength and wrath of even one young Jotunn is enough to destroy whole kingdoms!"



"Sounds like a fitting name for an unstoppable war machine." Rarity noted, while hoping dismally that they would not go on a rampage if they ever heard about this game.
 

“In any case, a basic J.O.T.U.N. game is rather simple,” Shining Armor explained while he prepared the table, “One player would be play as a J.O.T.U.N. cyber-tank, rolling in from one side of the hexagonal battle map, with the objective of destroying the command post of the enemy sitting on the other side. The other player would be the commander trying to defend the command post with an army of smaller units – tanks, hovercrafts, artillery and infantry – all trying to stop the J.O.T.U.N. Other scenarios exists, but the basic game remains the most common.”
 
“One cyber-tank against a whole army? That ain’t soundin’ fair tah me!” Applejack commented, “Even teh six of us couldn’t fight our way through hundreds o’ changelings back in Canterlot!”
 
“Normally it wouldn’t be fair, but because J.O.T.U.N.s are so big and heavily bi-phase armored, they are practically nigh-indestructible.” Shining Armor explained, “Every hit from the defenders usually just take out several components on the J.O.T.U.N.s, like threads and cannons, but J.O.T.U.N.s could take out entire units in a single shot. Because of this, unless the defender players are really good, J.O.T.U.N.s are usually the one that ends up winning such engagements.”
 
“I got a feeling we’re going to lose very badly…” Fluttershy noted pessimistically.
 
Pinkie Pie, uncharacteristically, nod grimly in agreement, saying nothing and staring at the model of the J.O.T.U.N.s on the table. Even now, she could imagine the scene of carnage…
 
= = =
 
Mushroom clouds bloomed across the horizon. Thunder roared and lightning flashed among the great plumes of soot and dust as they rose high into the air, their loudness and brightness dwarfed only by the blast and radiance of fresh detonations.
 
The battle had begun no less than an hour ago, yet the devastation had already been immense. The pilot who first reported visual confirmation of the J.O.T.U.N. was already dead, vaporized along with the other first casualties of the opening salvos, his last message a horrified scream, ending in static.
 
The forward defence units he was part of had been the first to open fire. Rocket launchers, electromagnetic cannons and missile pods, wielded by battle-suit infantry, light tanks and GEVs, delivered kilotons after kilotons worth of munitions at the J.O.T.U.N. from different directions, and the J.O.T.U.N. responded in kind.
 
But whereas the forward defence units perished, the J.O.T.U.N. rolled on, having weathered through the barrage like a giant.
 
The commander inside the Command Post seethed. It was not going well; his first defensive line is pretty much gone, yet they had barely scratched the J.O.T.U.N. If he don’t start seriously damaging it soon, there won’t even be an army or a command post left within the next hour.
 
“Howitzers, maintain fire! Give that monster everything you got! All heavy and missile tank units, prepare to engage target…!”

 
= = =
 
All things considered, it had been quite a game.
 
The match began with the Mane Six as the defenders and Shining Armor as the J.O.T.U.N. cyber-tank. It was a Mark V scenario, and according to the rulebook, the defenders were given 30 squads of infantry and 20 vehicles of their own choice.
 
Shining noticed the force composition that the Mane Six has decided upon; a balanced army which has included virtually every unit available. He also noticed that they had placed their command post on a distant corner on their side of the map, surrounded by a ring of defenders. Rather clever of Twilight, he reckoned; that way, the Mane Six could maximize the distance which his J.O.T.U.N. had to travel, giving the defenders more time destroy his cyber-tank through sheer attrition.
 
However, while Twilight is smart, as a trained officer he has more tactical sense. He decided to play into her game and twist it to his advantage. When preparations were completed, he began the game by placing his J.O.T.U.N. on the map, marking the ‘entry’ of the cyber-tank on the battlefield.
 
“Wait, Twilight, what is your brother doing?” Rarity asked in a hushed tone with the rest of the Mane Six as she saw Shining’s cyber-tank entry point, “He’s entering at the corner furthest from our CP! Does he intend to take the longest possible way to our Command Post?”
 
“I doubt it, Rarity.” Twilight remarked, “My brother is no fool; he has to be up to something.”

Turns passed, and Shining Armor moved his Mark V J.O.T.U.N. forward. While J.O.T.U.N.s have a movement speed of 3 hexes per turn, Shining elected not to use it. Rather, he moved slowly, at 1 hex per turn, and moving at a direction perpendicular to the Defenders CP.
 
“Maybe we should take the fight to him?” Rainbow Dash suggested, “At the rate he’s going at it, it would be an hour before he would be in range!”
 
“No, I think that is what he WANTS us to do. We have some pretty good defences set here; braving it would be practically suicidal” Twilight cautioned “He knows this. I think he’s deliberately moving like that to try and ‘unknot’ our defences, forcing us to constantly redeploy our forces around the CP and leaving gaping holes in our defences, holes that he could utilize to his advantage.”
 
“So, we’ll play teh long game, and wait for him to come to us; and when he does, we got a gauntlet fer him tah powah’ on through!” Applejack summarized for Twilight, seeing her plan.
 
With Twilight as overall commander of the Defenders, her decision was respected by the other Mane Six as final. Indeed, Twilight was on the money; Shining grumbled inwardly when he realized that Twilight had guessed his intent, not falling to his bait.
 
He’ll have to step up the game.
 
He moved the Mark V J.O.T.U.N. as close as he could towards the defensive cordon. Then, just outside the range of most units’ fire, he started doing some very unusual movements over the turns; he paraded his Mark V J.O.T.U.N. just outside the cordon, jinking forwards and backwards, stopping only to do occasional pot-shots at the Defenders’ units.
 
“Wow, and I thought I was the bouncy one! Your brother is attacking us like a blindfolded chicken running around randomly pecking at worms!” Pinkie Pie putted her two cents.
 
Naturally, the analogy was lost among the others, “Do you mean his hit-and-run tactics are being very effective?”
 
“Of course not!” Pinkie Pie clarified, “There was a game in one of those country fairs Applejack admitted, where a dozen blindfolded chickens go about pecking worms. Whichever chicken pecks the most within five minutes win. It was fun, especially when I jumped in to join the fray and they started pecking me!”
 
“In any case, this pecking is getting on my nerves! I still say we move our forces and take the fight to him!” Rainbow Dash insisted, looking irritably as another vehicle was taken out by Shining’s J.O.T.U.N. by a lucky attack roll.
 
Twilight sighed halfheartedly, “At this point, I think you’re right. He’s slowly chipping away at our defences, and the more we wait the thinner our lines will get! We’ll have to take the fight to him before we don’t have any forces left to do so!”
 
And thus, mid-match, half the Defenders’ forces, consisting of light tanks and GEVS, broke off their intrinsically composed defensive formation and advanced towards the other side of the map. Soon, they closed in on Shining’s cyber-tank.
 
“Looks like we’re going to be the ones pecking your J.O.T.U.N. to death now!” Rainbow Dash boasted, grinning as the Defender forces surrounded his unit.
 
Needless to say, she felt surprise, and then dread, when Shining Armor merely responded to her gleeful boast with a smile.
 
“Oh, I don’t think so, Ms Dash. In fact,” Shining Armor’s smirk grew even more disconcerting as he talked, “You lot did exactly what I wanted you to do!”
 
Then, suddenly and without warning, he spent the next turns accelerating his J.O.T.U.N. cyber-tank to its maximum speed, charging straight through the Defenders’ massed forces, not even bothering to fire on and destroy a few units while at it.
 
“Bet you didn’t see this coming, did you?” Shining Armor almost gloated as he moved his cyber-tank through the other side of the Mane six’s encirclement. “This is going down like clockwork…”
 
“But – but this makes no sense! You’re ignoring our strike force as if they weren’t even there!” a perplexed Twilight exclaimed, unable to discern his brother’s intention.
 
“I don’t need to anymore,” Shining explained, rubbing his fore-hooves, “Not when I had them where I wanted them to be; on the other side of the map, moved out of the way, giving me a thinner line to break through as I make my way to your Command Post!”
 
And thus, with shock and horror, the Mane Six grasped the full audacity of Shining’s plan. With one single manoeuvre, nearly half the army was neutralized from play, with hardly any shots fired. They were not destroyed, but even with their speed, it’ll take too long to get all of them back on the other side of the map and stop Shining’s J.O.T.U.N. from reaching the CP.
 
The J.O.T.U.N. approaches, and the Mane Six retaliated with the three Howitzers they had decided to place, which created ‘howitzer umbrella’ covering their entire defensive perimeter.
 
However, although artillery is the king of the battlefield in real military matters, the ponies would soon discover something which seasoned J.O.T.U.N. players would had known as one of the fundamental truisms of the game; howitzers, while possessing long range and high damage potential, were notoriously inaccurate, and add to that they are immobile, were highly vulnerable. They were considered by some players to be utterly useless as a result.
 
To make things worse, the positioning of the howitzers proved to be careless; honed by years of training and experience, Shining’s military acumen allowed him to pinpoint a gap in the howitzer umbrella’s coverage – where only one howitzer covered a row of a dozen hexes in a straight line. Shining took it and charged his J.O.T.U.N. through the gap without hesitation. For good measure, he used one of his J.O.T.U.N.’s few precious missiles to destroy it, ensuring no lucky hits would damage the J.O.T.U.N. during its advance.
 
“We have to reduce its movement points! Distance is the only advantage we have. If we can slow him down fast enough, we’ll have all the time we need to pummel that metal monster to scrap!” Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight urgently, now regretting her previous advice.
 
Twilight nodded in agreement, and made it so in her next few turns.
 
But Shining was not done; having left half the defenders’ vehicles on the other side of the map in the dust, Shining’s J.O.T.U.N. found itself facing the other halve, composed of heavy and super-heavy tanks. However, having taken virtually no damage so far, he was in a much better shape to deal with them then he would had if he charged into the gauntlet from the start, forcing his way through a full defensive perimeter.
 
Before long, a real, vicious firefight broke out in earnest…
 
= = =
 
The commander quietly breathed a sigh of relief. In contrast, however, his officers were cheering ecstatically, watching the events unfolding on screen.
 
They had managed, against all odds, to slow the seemingly unstoppable J.O.T.U.N. down in its advance, and diverting its attention from its one-tracked goal. This had brought the Defenders valuable time; and in those precious few minutes, with the J.O.T.U.N. distracted, they managed to mass what remaining missile crawlers and artillery they had without it noticing, and caught the war machine in a co-ordinated, full-salvo barrage.
 
Perhaps seeing this, and realizing it was too late to evade or counter-attack, the J.O.T.U.N. had fired a few shots from its secondary battery rail guns at the Command Post, a last-ditch attempt to destroy its target; ultimately a futile attempt, given the worst it did was damaging the CP’s communications and long-range sensors array, taking out everything except for one camera.
 
And it is from that surviving camera did the personnel in the CP bore witness to the J.O.T.U.N.’s demise; watching as the explosions erupting from the cyber-tank’s body and the land around it, throwing up dirt, debri and bits of metal into the air, soon obscuring the immediate vicinity in dense smoke and smog.
 
The Commander rubbed his temples; that had been too close, but at the very least, it was over.
 
“Alright, everyone, settle down! We still have work to do.” He ordered aloud, “Get technicians to fix the suite ASAP, and re-establish communications with HQ and any units still out in the field. I want someone to confirm if that barrage destroy the J.O.T.U.N., and finish it off if it’s still functioning!”
 
A chorus of ‘yes-sirs!’ answered him, and the CP personnel quickly resumed their work with speed and intensity befitting their military training. It wasn’t truly noticeable, but there was a change in the atmosphere of the CP, and the seasoned Commander could see, through their professional demeanour, the gloom and despair surrounding his troops being lifted, now with certain death by cyber-tank seemingly averted.
 
“Sir, I hope reinforcements would arrive to relieve us soon, and bring us back to full strength quickly in case the enemy decides to follow up with conventional forces.” His second-in-command commented, “Even if it didn’t wipe us out, that thing mauled us good.”
 
“Tell me about it.” the Commander concurred, “Have you ever faced one of these J.O.T.U.N.s before?”
 
“No, sir. And I don’t want to.”
 
The Commander snickered bitterly at that. “Neither had I. First time facing one of those things, and it’s still one times too many. I’m glad we took it down before it made sure this would be the last time as well.”
 
“I’m pretty sure we had taken it out, sir. Nothing could possibly had survived that attack!”
 
The Commander gave him a look.
 
Suddenly, there was a rumble, one that shook the CP and nearly knocking everyone off their seats. The screens went out, and then the lights flickered, and was replaced with angry red glow of emergency bulbs.
 
“What just happened?!” The Commander demanded. At the pits of his stomach, however, he felt a sinking, foreboding feeling of dread.
 
“Sir!” A soldier rushed into the building from the outside, “Sentries are reporting an explosion from the west side, just a kilometre out!”
 
Everyone in the CP went still. “The power-plant! Is it still there?”
 
“Hold one.” He said, pressing his earpiece. With array suite taken out, they were reliant on these short-range communicators, “Status confirmed. Something has taken out the power-plant. It…” Something made the soldier go pale with horror. “It’s the J.O.T.U.N.! It’s heading this way!”
 
“Impossible! We scrapped that that with the barrage!” Someone in the bunker called out.
 
Evidently, it wasn’t enough. In fact, the Commander realized, it had used it to its advantage; the smoke and dust thrown up in that barrage masked its movements, obscuring its survival from the Defenders’ view while it out-manoeuvred them. Those secondary rail-gun shots had not been a desperate final attempt to complete its mission, but calculated blows to cripple their comms and long-range sensors, which could had burnt through the smog and detected it. Even if any unit in the field discovered it was still alive, they won’t be able to report it to the CP, making sure they wouldn’t be able to co-ordinate a second barrage that could destroy it.
 
Once it reaches the power-plant, it’ll have a straight line towards the CP, and nothing would be able to stop it. In the end, the J.O.T.U.N. had out-witted them all.
 
The Commander slumped to his chair even as the other personnel, including his second, abandoned their posts and ran. He knew it was futile; they won’t get far away enough to evade the death that was coming to them. Even now, he could imagine the cyber-tank’s cyclopean eye acquiring target at the bunker, and turning one of its primary turret cannons to destroy it.
 
There was a roar of thunder. The Commander’s world briefly turned white, then midnight.

 
= = =
 
The Mane Six was appalled at the carnage that ensured.
 
Shining’s cyber-tank had been successfully stalled, now moving at 1 hex per turn with its damaged tracks. It has taken significant damage to its weapons and armour, lowering its health and offensive capabilities. Now, it was a battered thing, crawling at a relative snail’s pace towards its target.
 
Even so, it has exacted a heavy toll upon the Defenders; most of the heavy tanks, superheavy tanks, missile tanks, and squads of power-suit infantry had been annihilated. And the lighter half of the Defenders’ armies that had been on the other side of the map are literally a turn or two away from being within range to attack the J.O.T.U.N.
 
Of course, Shining could focus on using his last remaining weapons on destroying the Command Post, but considering the JOTUN’s battered state, the penalties on his attack rolls would deduct the overall effectiveness of any successful strikes, even at a flimsy target like the CP, while the Defenders’ reinforcements could make sure, with successful rolls, that he won’t have enough turns to destroy the target before being destroyed in turn.
 
Shining decided to not take any chances; dice rolled, and within a few turns, half of the light tanks and hovercrafts that are returning from the other side of the map had been decimated when Shining turned his cyber-tank around and engaged them, a classic surprise manoeuvre in the J.O.T.U.N. gamers circle.
 
But that left him exposed to fire from the remaining few long range units the Mane Six had.
 
“There! Now’s our chance!” Rainbow Dash noted, “Twilight, target the last weapons your brother have and leave him defenceless!”
 
Dice rolled. And that’s when Shining’s luck finally ran out that night; all the rolls were lucky, and the last of the cyber-tanks' weapons were destroyed.
 
“How do yah like 'em apples now?” Applejack taunted.
 
Shining frowned; he’s literally two hexes away from the command post, and he now had no means to destroy it before the remaining Defender units get to him in force in three turns.
 
Save for one…
 
“I ram the CP with the J.O.T.U.N.” Shining Armor said finally, with calm resignation.
 
The Mane Six dropped their jaws.
 
“You WHAT?!” Twilight exclaimed.
 
“Like I said, I ram the Command Post.” Shining Armor repeated, “And before you ask, yes, the rules said my cyber-tank’s tread units would take damage from doing that, and given my cyber-tank’s battered state, I would no longer be able to move at all. It’s the only way I have left to finish my primary mission.”
 
Two turns passed. Dice rolled. And…
 
“Critical! Command Post destroyed!” Spike declared, “Also, you’re now immobile.”
 
And Shining’s J.O.T.U.N. followed it to oblivion as the Mane Six’s remaining units finally caught up and blasted it oblivion in the next few turns. It was hardly a consolation, however, given they failed their main objective.
 
“Celestia’s golden crown, we were so close!” Rainbow Dash moaned despondently.
 
“It’s a draw, so I guess that’s at least some achievement…” Fluttershy meekly offered.
 
“Look, you all did pretty well playing this for the first time, especially against a veteran of the game like me.” Shining offered some reassurances, “If you don’t want to try this again, I can…”
 
“Oh, no, not this time! We’ve never been able to one up you when it comes to war-games before, but I refuse to believe that it’ll stay that way, not when this game shows we could!” Twilight said, suddenly filled with fierce determination, “One more game, and this time, we’ll win!”
 
Hearing this, Shining Armor grinned, “That’s the spirit!”
  
= = =

All things considered, the cyber-tank’s cold, calculating electronic brain noted, the outcome was never really in doubt.
 
The Command Post has been destroyed; where a bunker-building had once stood, only a smouldering crater remained. If any of the defenders are still alive, they would have had already retreated, fleeing from the behemoth which had crushed them utterly.
 
The J.O.T.U.N. took a moment’s pause to run a diagnostic on its systems. Armour integrity had been compromised at multiple places on its chassis. Several cannons are off-line. The missile batteries had been destroyed, though all ammo had been expended before it happened. One of its front turrets is a smoking non-functional wreck. And its treads have actually sustained enough damage to slow it down, somewhat.
 
The cyber-tank noted its damages, logged the information away into its database for when it returned to base for repairs, then restarted its engines once more. The wounds it sustained was considerable, but not crippling. What mattered was that with its successful assault, the enemy’s line had been broken. Now, as the vanguard of its masters’ armies, it must exploit the opening while the enemy is still reeling.
 
And so, the J.O.T.U.N. rolled on. Implacable, unstoppable, merciless and uncaring, it is a grim reaper that would leave nothing standing in its wake.
 
It was noon, and the morning mists had long since vanished. Replacing it is a smog of smoke and soot rising into the air, growing fat from the burning wreckage and ruins of the cyber-tank’s many victims; before long, it would all but obscure the J.O.T.U.N.’s fading form.
 
The earth stopped shaking and went still. The rumbling noise that filled the air soon became faint, and finally, silent.


Session 28.2 Mtangalion and SomeRandomMinion (edits by me)


Pinkie giggled. "My Titan casually strolls through the harbor and steps on the blockading ships. Oh! And roll for a Bite on the Imperial flagship! Yum!"

"Well...I suppose turning that desert into a tundra WAS a bit much," Rarity admitted, "But that horrid Empire general said my Jotun doe had a fat backside! I simply couldn't let such behavior go unpunished..."

Spike could barely contain his giggles. "Erm, Applejack; you stumble and land sitting down....on the whole castle...flatten--flattening it to rubble...instantly....BWAHAHAHAH!"


Gilda snort. "Yeah, right. Like there could really be a deer bigger than a castle. So, how about my dragon-griffon crossbreed character idea?"


Twilight warned. "Gilda...you're just ASKING for a Jotun to show up some day, and almost eat a tree you're napping in. And the crossbreed is, um, creative....but there's no such thing in the game's lore. And you also made her big enough to EAT THE PLANET."



Gilda gave her a glare. "What's your point, dweeb? Besides, you haven't even read all the awesome cool powers I listed for her on the back of the page... Wait, what are you doing with that wolf miniature?"

"It's point, and MY POINT is that your character LITERALLY can't exist in this game. Besides, there's ALREADY a giant griffon race in here; just go with that and you're cool."

"Since when? Lemme see that..."

Twilight smirked. "Oh, so now you care about the lore book."

"Well, now I have a reason to, Miss Purple. ...Heh, this stuff ain't half bad; gotta love these big griffons keeping whole tiny armies as pets."

"Uh... you do realize, they just made those up for the game, right? Outside of centuries-old war propaganda, I doubt there's ever been such a thing as a 'Grand Griffon.'"

Of course, outside the castle, an airship-sized griffon asked, "You're certain the Princess won't mind coming outside to speak with us?"

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Don't sweat it! You're not even our strangest visitor this week! (Close, though...)"


Pinkie sighed and patted Princess Twilight Sparkle on the back. "OH, Twilight, why must you invite Gillimare Cuts?"


A hair sprung out of place on Twilight's mane. "It's not my fault! The squirrel made it happen. What do you mean you don't see him? He's right there!"

Ratatoskr said nothing.


Gilda said, "Princess, you might need a day off. Maybe make us both as big as that guy," Gilda pointed to the Zepplin-sized griffon outside. "...and we all go rampaging--I mean, for a walk."


Twilight tilted her head. "What guy? Ahhh!! ... What's that, Mr. Squirrel? Yes... yes, that *is* a great idea! There's nothing wrong with wanting to meet a potential new friend on a level playing field, is there?"


Gilda nodded. "See? Even your hallucination agrees with me! Now come on, let's get big!"

*Couple Spells Later*

Airship-sized griffon said awkwardly, "Um, this is unexpected..."

Twilight the giant Alicorn echoed. "W- Whoa!"


The Giant Gilda steadied Twilight with a claw. "Easy there, princess." Gilda grinned and stretches out. "Oh, hey."

The visiting Grand Griffon saidm "Hrrr... indeed, the Alicorns of this land are powerful."

Dash buzzed Gilda's head. "How did you talk Twilight into doing this? You gotta tell me!"



Giant Gilda Looked at the 'bug-sized' Dash by her head and smirked, whispering to her. "Was pretty easy when I said being this big would make a hike through the Badlands safe. Princess wanted to drop some science, or something. Keep that in mind next time you want to 'grow up' or be a dragon. I'm gonna make sure we...accidentally...stumble on some Diamond Dog camps; have some fun while Twilight's cataloging rocks, or whatever."

Giant Twilight asked. "What are you two mumbling about....?"

Grand Griffon said, "I think your Pegasus friend wants to join us....and also be our size. I wouldn't mind; she was rather polite when I first arrived ... How strange, that you small, frail ones wish to continue interacting with me. Others flee and hide until the thunder of my claws and paws has passed, and my wings overshadow their towns no longer. I might even find the company... welcome. As for the Idol of Astra, other claws have dug it out the rock already. I planned only to pay courtesy to the rulers of this land, and then take the Idol for safekeeping before this changeling hive misuses it."

Everypomy looks at him in unison, eyes wide.

Giant Gilda said slowly, "Wait a minute..."

Giant Twilight whispered, "'The Idol...."

Rainbow Dash said, "...So, you're actually King Grover or something, I guess? And what's this about Changelings? Something two...ahem, THREE giants could help out with?" Twilight and Gilda looked at her. "...What? I was just getting to the point."


Grand Griffon chuckled deeply. "King, little pony? Far too small a title for a Grand Griffon of the Tauran Peninsula, descended from Boreas' own clutch. Call me Gerulf."

Gilda nudging Twilight. "Just made up, huh?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Sure, rub it in."

Gilda said. "Maybe later, princess. We've got stuff to do."

Twilight twitched.

Rainbow landed on Gilda's head. "Yeah, like making me big already!"

Twilight got back at Gilda by zapping Rainbow to giant size right there.

Session 28.3 Alex Warlorn

World of Horsecraft. It was quickly becoming one of the most popular, if not the most popular, MMO on the market.

The release of its first expansion pack, Reigns Of Chaos, had been delayed after delay... but it had been released, allow people to play now as griffins, and maybe and maybe not other tribes now. And to now play as stallions instead of just mares and could change their pre-existing mares into stallions for a one way offer to PCs that had already existed before the expansion, and of course, for a 'reasonable' micro transaction.

In the virtual Ponyville Honest Apple spoke with Orchard Blossom. "Ah don't like how they're trying to drain people who have already bought their game either big brother, but are ya sure ya don't wanna fix up Orchard Blossom?"

"I do declare dear sister, there is nothing wrong with Orchard Blossom that would need fixing!" Big Mac said in that girlie southern bella tone WITHOUT the help of voice modifying software.

The reign of chaos expansion had also turned half the towns in Equestria into something like a cross between Lewis Carol and  Salvador Dalí! One could NOT say that Discord did not have a good imagination! Not to mention many of the animal turned into bizzare shapes (Fluttershy was in particular horrified at the poor bunnies now looking like giraffes).

Not to mention a large percentage of the NPCs who had been 'grayed out' and 'Discorded' to act the opposite of their normal personalities. And as always, there were power hungry players who LET themselves suffer the Discorded status effect for the bonus' in chaos magic infected areas this gave... so what if they had to complete a few minor quest lines that involved being jerks to soulless NPCs who'd just resurrect and reset for the next PC?

It was almost, effectively, an unofficial sort of 'factions' between PCs, between the harmonized and the discorded. Of course, the official factions were supposed to be Sun and Moon, and in style of the game's sense of cooperation, they weren't meant to be actually enemies... but that hadn't been implemented in this expansion.

No one had actually managed to BEAT the end boss Discord yet... And those who had completed the 'corruption' quest line dared not speak of the end, so bleak and dark it was. Who had also been making random in game appearances, to make permanent buffs and debuffs, and changes to characters and locations to his whims. None of the players knew that Discord during these appearances was being in fact role played by none other than Discord, the real life game developer with a degree in programming, psychology, and chaos theory, and the occult (he insisted that he'd been part of a chaos god worshipping cult in his youth was just filthy rumors). He also set up an small alarm so, if he was able, to personally take over the Discord NPCs for those PCs who had managed to pummel their way through the prerequisites to face him.

Company President Sombra WOULD begin to grow suspicious, aa demand Discord 'nerf' the difficulty soon, not to mention if he learned of Discord's 'pranks', but Discord would enjoy the fun while it lasted.

Chrysalis and Sombra had come to terms with them sharing the next update package with their own self insert villains... maybe, it wasn't wise to argue with the boss though.

+++

Meanwhile in the Pony World...

Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Amore Cadenza, sat around a low table. There were several dice, four different figurines, a fold out game board, and four stacks of cards. There were actually two versions of the game, one for casual players and blank flanks, and another for hardcore players. The Princesses had chosen to play the advanced version.

The game had come into being from Buckstarter, with ideas, input, designs, even the art, all be contributed by MANY contributors across Equestria, even from the crystal empire!

The game itself was called 'Alicorn Princesses', and there two different game styles, one was for trying to become an Alicorn before the other players, or being the one to accomplish an set amount of great deeds or the most amount of great deeds in a certain number of terms.

The 'great deeds' were specific to each princess, as well as the prerequisites for being an Alicorn in the other version, even if they only had Twilight Sparkle to go off of.

A bonus version including Princess Flurry Heart was already in the works.

"Qurry our sister," Luna asked. "Why havest thou begotten us to play a 'game' about the very things we art doing every night anyway? Seems hardly a game for ones whom it is but a simplified simulation of our work."

"I think Lulu, it's important that we get to experience how our subjects see us, how they see the struggles, blessings and burdens that come with being a Alicorn Princess. And it is a good excuse for the four of us to be together when Equestria's fate does not hang in the balance."

Cadence and Twilight nodded at this, and Luna had to admit, she saw the merit in that last one at least. "Very well, we shall play this game. BUt only if we be allowed to play ourselves for the first round, yes yes, playing as each other we are sure would be very enlightening, but we should get a feel for the game first with what is familiar, should we not?"

The other princesses looked at each other and nodded.

As the 'oldest princess' Celestia according to the rules went first. She drew her card to see what 'great deed' she'd have to perform to gain a 'jewel' (Twilight had to explain to Spike they were just plastic) for her crown space in front of her.

Celestia read aloud. "Gather the Six Elements of Harmony tokens on the board, then track down and banish Princess Luna to the moon space in far corner of the board (or Twilight Sparkle if Luna is not being played, followed last by Cadence)." Celestia cringed. As did Princess Luna, before gingerly hugging her sister.

"I'm... I'm sure they don't need to be insensitive Princess, er, Celestia," Twilight said, "It's just what you're known for, defeating Nightmare Moon."

"I know Twilight... I know."

Then Twilight realized something about the order of opposing players. "But... why do they think I'm more likely to go evil than Cadence?" Twilight found herself asked her ears wilted. "... Does this have to do with the Want It Need It Spell?"

Cadence hugged Twilight.

Princess Luna then drew her card. " 'A nightmare monster appeared on the board in the Everfree Space (it was in the opposite corner of the moon space), every turn it takes the most direct route to Ponyville... defeat it before it reaches there and protect the dreams of innocent foals.' " Princess Luna looked at the card for a few seconds before saying. "Twas much better than we expected... tis seems that words of our deeds have spread."

Twilight Sparkle drew her card. "Draconequus token appears on royal garden space (which was right next to Celestia's 'Canterlot' starting position), roll to randomly decide which direction it goes, it blocks your path and can not be fought. Collect all Elements of Harmony to and banish it." Twilight Sparkle thought. "But what if it's blocking a space to one of the Elements? This is a game breaking bug... and... " She looked at Luna and Celestia. "It feels kinda uncomfortable with how we have to basically sabotage each other. If Celestia or I get the Elements, the other can't use them to reach their 'great deed' and what if both get some? Can we use them together? The game saying nothing about that. And if Luna is banished, she can protect foals from the nightmare monster and fail her quest... I wish there was a way for all of us to win." Then Twilight Sparkle was struck by the memory of Starlight Glimmer's motherly words, 'See? Now Everypony wins!' "I suddenly feel very conflicted."

Wondering if her quest involved the crystal heart or similar Cadence magically lifted up a card. "Shining Armor token appeared in Canterlot... get married and live happily ever after?" Cadence tilted her head. Then she took another card.

"CADENCE! That's against the rules!" Twilight said, horrified at the sight before her.

Cadence didn't respond. "Visit Ponyville and have Rarity make you a new pretty dress?" Another. "Change Baby Flurry Heart's diaper without being vaporized by one of her sneezes?" Another. "Have a tea party with foals?" "Baby sit Celestia's student?" "Declare Pretty Pink Day? Move to each corner of the board to paint it all glittery pink?" "Get kidnapped by changeling queen, have somepony else rescue you?!" And... "Stand there and look pretty, don't move for one turn, great deed automatically completed after turn?!"

The Pretty Pink Crystal Princess  was silently for a very long time.

"Uh... Cadence? Are you okay?" Twilight asked carefully.

"Dear niece we can ye art offended, but-"

Then the pretty pink figurine of Princess Cadence melted on the board, glowing the same color as Cadence's magic. Cadence flew out the window.

Session 28.4 Kendell2

"Alright, FINALLY!" The human Rainbow Dash said, the group now standing at the threshold to Discord's lair in World of Horsecraft. It'd taken days, many snacks, and the combined mental capabilities of two Twilight Sparkles, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer (but not as a player) but they'd finally managed to make their way to the villain himself. 

Princess Twilight and Sunset hadn't taken a Discorded Celestia being a boss very well, but they'd muscled through. Luna, who was playing from Equestria but in their party, had consoled them they DID save her.

"We got all the items we need?" the human Gilda asked.

Human Twilight shrugged. "We don't know, we're the first players to ever get this far. All we could do was get the best items for fighting things with his alignment and the strongest equipment we could."

"Well, at least there was a save point right there..." Rainbow Dash said.

The group entered his lair to find Discord sitting on his throne sipping a glass of chocolate milk. He laughed manically, drank the GLASS and threw it over his shoulder were it exploded. "Well well well! Finally somepony manages to get here, I was believing to think I'd made it too hard."

"Which is entirely right," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"But boy do I have a real punchline to THAT joke," Discord said, then got a smirk. 

"Uh, girls," said Pinkie Pie. "I just got a tweet saying that everyone online is seeing this cutscene right now."

"What?" Princess Twilight asked.

"Hello, subjects! This is Discord! You President of Chaos speaking! And I have an announcement. Thanks to all of you who were smart enough to go down MY super fun chaos route!"

Discord held up his hooves and orbs of light the same color as the Elements swirled around them. There were a lot of these  "These little balls? They're your affinity for a particular Element. When you joined my team willingly, they kinda were corrupted into MY Elements. And became MINE..."

The spheres darkened and turned BLACK.

---

The Shadowbolts stared in shock at their computer. An 'achievement' reading 'Nice Job Breaking It Player' popped up.

---

The human Discord sat down at his screen with a bucket of popcorn. "It's SHOW TIME!"

---

"I can't believe it was so easy to get you on my team, you must really love tormenting innocent NPCs, huh?" the Chaos Spirit asked, laughing like that was a great joke. "Not that I blame you. Had NONE of you done that before somepony challenged me, I'd fight these intrepid idiots in this gorgeous form. But now, with your help, I can absorb these little corrupted Elements and become all-powerful! Well even MORE all-powerful than I already was. As in 'I own you, I own this planet, I own this universe, I own this TIMELINE' all-powerful! So thank you, my little ponies, for making this possible."

"So everypony that did the Chaos Route..." Rainbow Dash said, not liking where this was going.

"Made the final boss of the Harmony Route more powerful!" Sunset exclaimed. 

"Actually pretty creative game design when you think about it," Pony Twilight remarked.

"I mean yeah, several alternate universe versions of me died. But let's be honest, if our positions were reversed, they wouldn't give a darn either. Now! Behold my final form!" Discord exclaimed, absorbing the corrupted spheres. 

The entire screen turned pitch black as Discord's laughter played on the speakers...then the screen changed to Discord performing a magical girl style transformation. However, what came out of it wasn't a pretty girl in a school girl outfit. It was something that'd give Hoofcraft Nightmares. 

RULER OF ALL REALITY: ULTIMATE DISCORD

"Time is dead and meaning has no meaning! Existence is upside down and I reign supreme!" Discord announced, laughing evilly.

"...Well...here we go," Princess Twilight said, gulping.

Luna private conversationed the group say: This tis not what happened. At all. We art confused.

REAL_Princess replied "I know, but the Human Discord coded this, I imagine he did it just to feed his ego...or troll everyone...or feed his ego AND troll everyone."

Purple Pup added. "Probably the latter."

---

Chrysalis looked at Discord. "I thought you said the boss battle would be straight forward!"

"The NORMAL version of the boss battle IS," said Discord. "I play the big cocky supervillain who doesn't realize he can actually lose until his HP hits zero. But I decided 'eh, if we're including the Discorded route, why not add something if enough people are stupid enough to try it'?" he said, then laughed. "And I can't believe enough people ACTUALLY DID! Oh boy are some people going to be unpopular with the chat after this! Don't worry, I'll reset the number after this and maybe increase it next nerf."

Chrysalis raised her eyebrow. "I don't know if that's brilliant or just being a troll."

"I consider it brilliantly trollish."

---

[=Final Fantasy Final Boss Music- Final Fantasy VI Kefka=]

To their shock, Discord began attacking before they could even react, his attacks being as one would expect. Flaming cats and dogs raining down from the sky, exploding pies, acid chocolate milk to the point of bullet hell.

After SOMEHOW surviving that attack, the managed to get an attack off...only for a big 0 to be the damage.

"What?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "We can't even hurt him?!"

"There must be a trick to it!" Twilight said. 

They kept attacking, kept dodging Discord's attacks...then he GRABBED THE SCREEN and shook it around, slamming their characters into walls that ingame probably didn't exist and wiped them out.

"Well...that sucked," Rainbow said, flatly.

"We're the only ones to make it this far, we have to keep trying," Sunset said.

It didn't help matters when the opening had been changed to a Discord themed one and started back DURING the boss fight.

They continued fighting (and they kept dying, a lot), but nothing they threw at Discord could do a dang thing to him. Even status effects just caused completely nonsensical on him. Sometimes he'd flip the screen upside down and invert the controls. 

"I control the horizontal..."

The screen compressed down to a horizontal strip they had to struggle to dodge his attacks in.

"I control the vertical!"

The strip turned into a vertical one, making it even harder to dodge.

As the battle raged on, however...the Twilights noticed something.

"Every so often one of his eyes lights up the color of one of the orbs..." both Twilights remarked.

They tried using color coded attacks, having the member of their party with the proper Element alignment attack, and so on, but still were coming up with zeroes.

"It has to mean SOMETHING!" Princess Twilight thought back. The game had introduced a spell called Memory, which was needed to remove the Discording debuff that even non chaos route characters sometimes got, just like it had in the real events. It was the one spell that could remove Discord's corruption. 

"I've got an idea..." Twilight said, and used it on Discord.

The screen turned black and a red orb appeared, the Memory Spell hitting it...and causing the darkness to fade before returning to the battle.

"That's it! We need to last long enough to use the Memory spell on the orbs!" Twilight explained.

"Alright! We've got a game plan now!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, high-fiving Twilight.

"Uh, the other Twilight did it," Human Twilight replied.

"Oh, woops..."

The boss battle was anything but easy, as Discord DID keep upping his attacks and they died a few times, but eventually, Twilight used the Memory spell on the final sphere.

"What?!" Discord exclaimed, looking like he was in pain before lights in the color of the Elements began to erupt out of him. "NO! NO! NO! NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" the lord of Chaos screamed, his form cracking apart as more energy began pouring out of him. "WHY ARE YOU HELPING THESE IDIOTS?! WEREN'T WE HAVING FUN?!"

Discord exploded in a rainbow colored explosion that engulfed the screen.

The orbs swirled around the character with the proper Element for their character.

'You Obtained the True Sword of Loyalty!'

'You Obtained the True Hammer of Honesty!'

'You Obtained the True Shield of Kindness!'

'You Obtained the True Spear of Generosity!'

'You Obtained the True Scepter of Magic!'

'You Obtained the True Tennis Racket of Laughter!'

'Equip?'

The group looked at each other, then checked the weapons stats.

"Golly! These things stats are better than anythin' Ah thought we could get!" Applejack commented.

"And look at description 'Deals Critical Damage To Chaos and Disharmony Aligned Enemies'," Sunset replied.

Needless to say, they all equipped them and all the permanent debuffs Discord had put on them disappeared. 

Discord got back up, reverted back to his true form and baring an expression resembling a child throwing a temper tantrum. "NOT FAIR! THEY WERE MINE! I'D WON! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!"

A rock remix of the game's song began playing as 

His attacks where similar to before, but MUCH less intense and doing a LOT less damage, and the random medium bending attacks were gone. Their attacks also did a LOT more damage with the new weapons, even though Discord had more help than any boss until this point. 

Finally, Discord's health hit zero and a cut scene played.

"THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!" Discord screamed like a child throwing a tantrum, forming a sphere of pure chaos above his head. "I'M DISCORD! I'M A GOD! YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF TOYS! NOW I'M GOING TO BREAK YOU!"

A prompt came up and they pressed the button, causing their characters to put the weapons together and their magics mixing together, firing a rainbow colored wave motion gun as Discord's attack was thrown. The rainbow beam pierced straight through the attack and sped at Discord, the cutscene giving a satisfying up close look at his sudden reaction of panic and terror before the rainbow washed over him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The screen disappeared into light and it came back to the area returned to normal and a petrified Discord falling to the ground with a thud.

The group cheered as they leveled up multiple times from the experience. 

"Oh yeah! Who's awesome! We're awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, celebrating.

Applejack grabbed a cup of (soft) cider and downed it. 

'Achievement: TRUE Savior of Equestria'.

OOC: I'll let someone else handle how Human Discord reacts to someone actually beating his expansion.

I imagine the difference between the 'normal' version of the Discord boss and the version after defeating his super form is the difference between fighting Majora normally and with the Fierce Deity Mask.

Session 28.5 Mtangalion

"Hey, cool," said Purple Pup in their vent channel.  "There's a cutscene after the battle!"

"Okay, everybody hush!" said Rainbow.  "We wouldn't want any more blown speakers, would we?"

'Moonlight' groaned.  "Must you always remind us?  It was just the one time!"  Several of them chuckled.

The game's version of the freed Celestia trotted into final boss room.  She was still weak from being Discorded, but Princess Luna was there too, supporting her.  

"Note how Princess Luna avoided corruption," said Moonlight, sounding smug.  "This confirms that she's the Best Princess."

"My little ponies," said Celestia, "you all have my deepest thanks..."

"Hey Princess, don't you mean, 'ponies *and* griffon?'" grumbled Gilda.  "Sheesh, you bust your tail saving Equestria, and..."

"Hush up!" interrupted AJ.  "Ah'm trying to hear."

Princess Luna was speaking now.  "Even though many cities remain under Discord's influence, that fiend's power has surely been broken today.  It is only a matter of time until all of Equestria is freed."

"Whhhaaaat?"  They could practically hear 'Real Princess' twitching, even if they couldn't see it.  "Why wouldn't the Elements have completely cleansed Equestria?  How can Discord still be influencing anything when he's turned to stone!?"

Sunset Shimmer coughed.  "Because, you know... other players still have to play through the final raid tier?"

"Oh," said Princess Twilight sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie managed to get to the loot box and start rummaging around in it first.  "Ooh, what's this?  Orb of Prophecy?"  She started shaking it like a snowglobe.

"How does she have an emote to do that?" asked Purple Pup.

Then all of their screens went blank.  "Here's a better question," said Applejack.  "Did Pinkie just break World of Horsecraft?"

Letters began to appear: "Crystalsoft Presents"

"Not another cutscene," complained Rainbow.  "How many of these are there?"

"Wait," said 'Faithful Student,' the human Twilight.  "Is this what I think it is?"

A scene faded in... Canterlot Castle.  Inside one of the towers, a familiar pink pony princess was magically writing in a journal.

Half of them exclaimed "Princess Cadence!?" in the vent channel.  The other half gasped "Vice Principal Cadence?!"

All except for Gilda.  "Who the squawk is Cadence?  One of these days, I'm gonna found out what website you guys get your info from!"

A voiceover began to speak, as the Princess continued to write.  "It has been ten days since my beloved vanished without a trace.  "Since then, many ominous signs have occurred.  Monsters have appeared in our land, like nothing seen before."  There was a brief scene of large winged insect creatures, swarming high above the streets of Canterlot.  "Citizens have been attacked, unprovoked."  Ponies in an alleyway cowered in fear, menaced by a spiky dark shape with burning green eyes... which seemed to change into something else eerily, just when a cloud blocked out the moonlight, obscuring the scene.  

"Most recently, a weapon of powerful dark magic has been stolen, right out of the Royal Museum."  Next, there was a shot of a black crystalline sword in a glass display case.  A blue, white-coated hoof smashed the glass, and then violet magic levitated the sword out.  The cutscene showed Princess Cadence again.  "I do not even want to imagine what these events could all mean together."

It sounded like 'Real Princess' was hyperventilating.  "It's okay.  It's just a game.  That's not how it happened...  Oh no, Shiny's going to flip when he sees this..."  

"Princess!" said an annoyed Faithful Student.  "Remember that little talk we had about spoilers?"

On their monitors, the scene went dark, then faded in on a massive glacier ice wall.  The view panned down to a single pony, wearing a chitinous suit of pitch black armor, and carrying the stolen sword.  The unicorn's head was visible from the back... white coated, with a striped blue mane whipping in the frigid wind, until he put on a matching black helmet, with a tall jagged black horn surrounding his natural horn.

The Black Knight drew the sword slowly and charged it with his magic... the black crystal glowed ominously violet from within.  Then he raised the sword and hurled it, driving the blade deep into the glacier.  The glacier rang like a bell, glowing cracks spreading every which way, until the whole thing shattered, falling to pieces.  From the icy mists beyond, a sprawling crystal city was revealed.

"I fear the worst," said Princess Cadence's voiceover, "but I still have faith.  My beloved *is* alive.  I have summoned the mighty heroes who bested Discord and Nightmare Moon.  They will find him, and when we're together one again, we will fear no evil... for true love conquers all."

The view dissolved to the arching castle in the middle of the city... panned past a Crystal Heart wrapped in black chains... and rose into a throne room, where a dark figure sat on a throne.  His eyes snapped open suddenly, green and red with evil purple mist flowing from the corners.

A block of ice slammed down and filled the camera view.  Glowing patches carved letters into the ice:  "World of Horsecraft:  Wrath of the Crystal King"


While all of that was sinking in, Rainbow Dash pressed her push-to-talk key.  "We're gonna need a bigger raid."

Session 28.6 Kendell2

"Uh, Twilight...is this game really about being a Changeling Queen?" Applejack asked, looking at the game sitting in front of him called 'The Hive Queen'.

"Yes, but this one is different," Twilight explained, looking excited. "This one was actually given to me from Empress Black Rose, and it's something she and her children made using a crownfunding thing to try and repair some of the damage to their species reputation Chrysalis caused."

Twilight opened it and took out the instructions. "You DO play as a Changeling Queen and try to maintain your hive, but you have multiple paths you can take. You can be like Supia and be a beloved guardian of ponies who give your hive love freely, or you can be a symbiote living alongside ponies. Or just hide among ponies and feed off ambient love."

"What about Cicada's hive?! Can we be like them?!" Pinkie Pie asked, having very much liked the massive party she'd had with that hive.

Twilight nodded in agreement. "That's right. You can also play Chrysallis' way, and Chrysalis DID give some say...but her sisters only let her on the condition that route is the absolute hardest route with the biggest consequences. Chrysalis' sisters hate her."

"No surprise," said Rainbow Dash.

"She DID kinda make all their lives harder with that stunt. The point of the game is that you need to measure and plan to keep your hive afloat and deal with challengers to your rule, arranging heirs. Empress Black Rose also provided advice you can take when you need it, just like her children can." She left out that the Conquest Route's advice consisted of 'This is a horrible idea, don't do it'. "It's an interesting concept and should be helpful in showing Changelings AREN'T all evil."
This is a group-story/addventure/chain-story/round robin, fanfic 'story' of the Mane Six Plus Spike playing Dungeons and Dragons/Oubliettes and Ogres, with occasional guest players (like Trixie or Gilda), with Spike and Twilight rotating as Dungeon Master. It's intended to be an IN-CHARACTER comedy. 

Each post should be more self contained, if say (in game) Twilight is fire balled by a Mimic in one post in a desert pyramid, the next post can have them sailing a ship encountering seaponies siren expies, each one containing a short joke, or an extension of a previous scene if that's what the poster wants. Time skips, flash backs, the ponies rotating different characters and campaigns, are all allowed (and ENCOURAGED) as long as the ponies stay in character (such as Pinkie Pie NOT fireballing a cabbage sales stallion and saying she thought he was a demon, thank you very much).

Pinkie Pie, "And pretty please do not take anything personally! It's just a game!"

Rainbow Dash, "What did you say!?

What's you post in the comments, it's then copy and pasted into the fic above, have fun. 
IMPORTANT: WHEN MAKING A SUBMISSION POST IT AS A NEW COMMENT! 

Trope Page:
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php…



Session 28.0 Ardashir (with one line by me)
Session 28.1 BrutalityInc (DISCLAIMER: I actually started this and completed most of it months ago, but I've been force to go on and off of it repeatedly due to writer's block, other obligations and real life matters. Just decided to polish off the remaining segment last half hour. For reference, this is based on the classical 1977 tabletop military sci-fi game O.G.R.E.. O.G.R.E. resources, including rule-book, lore and gamer strategies, could be found here.)
Session 28.2 Mtangalion and SomeRandomMinion (edits by me) REDITED BY MTANGALION! 
Session 28.3 Alex Warlorn
Session 28.4 Kendell2
Session 28.5 Mtangalion
Session 28.6 Kendell2


Cover image by cheezedoodle96 Zecora, Everfree Druid by cheezedoodle96

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ardashir's avatar
I like the 'Changeling Queen' game, and in 28.3? Oh poor Cady. She will be having some words with the designers of that game.

Heck Chrysalis might be offended when she hears about it: "What! Are they implying that I beat the weakest alicorn? Some miserable empty-headed pretty filly? This is an insult! Cadence was almost as powerful as me -- I did not beat a mere weakling!"