Equines and Enchantments
While many ponies were hurrying home as the pegasi prepared the clouds for rain, one little filly was hopping along on her merry way with her saddlebags full of sweets. Despite the threat of rain, it was not enough to keep this plucky little red head from visiting the library. The first drops of rain began to fall just as she reached the tree-shaped building, skipping into the library with only a little water on her.
Twilight was at the shelves near the door at the time. She saw the visitor and immediately recognized her as one of her most frequent visitors. “Hello, Twist.”
Twist trotted over to Twilight with a big smile on her face. “Thank you for the cookbook. I really learned a lot from it.”
“Well I’m glad to hear someone checkout that cookbook. I almost felt tempted to sell it.”
As Twist reached into her saddlebags to grab the cookbook with her teeth, she noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders staring intently at a spoon on a table.
“What are they doing?” she asked with the book in her mouth.
“Oh, they’re trying telekinesis,” said Twilight as she telekinetically suspended the book and put it back on the shelf. “The rain is suppose to last all morning so we decided to spend the day here.” As Twist looked around, she noticed Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie at a nearby table, apparently having a tea party. Spike was off to the side, dusting off the bookshelves with a filthy feather duster.
Twist reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a brown paper bag, grasping it with her teeth. “Here, I baked these cookies for you.”
“Aw, thank you, Twist.” Twilight gripped the bag with her teeth and carried it toward the table where her friends were waiting.
Antsy for a new book to read, Twist visually scanned the shelves. Having read all the books in the children’s section, she went on into a nearby section. As she ferreted through the reservoir of books, one brightly colored spine caught her eye. Reading the tittle brought a huge grin to her face.
“Twilight,” she called out, “do you have any graph paper?”
Scootaloo sighed in frustration. “We’ve been staring at this spoon for hours and it won’t bend.”
“I guess we’re not cut out to being psychics,” said Sweetie Belle.
“That’s funny coming from a unicorn like you.”
“Hey, I’m only at the beginner’s level.”
“I think we might want to try something else,” insisted Apple Bloom.
“Like what?” Scootaloo pressed her chin onto the rim of the table out of boredom. “We can’t go outside until the rain stops. What more could we do here?”
“I have a suggestion,” said Twist as she approached the fillies with a book and a stack of graph paper on her back. She gently placed the book onto the table and brushed off the paper. On the cover of the book was the title Equines and Enchantments. “It’s a game I’ve been playing at home. It’s a lot of fun.”
Apple Bloom opened the book and started flipping through the pages. “I don’t know, Twist. I’d reckon this game must be hard.”
“No, it’s not that bad and you guys can learn as you play.”
“Let’s give it a shot,” said Sweetie Belle. “Maybe we could earn a game player cutie mark.”
“Sounds good to me. Let’s do it,” said Apple Bloom.
At that moment, Twilight showed up with a little leather bag. “Hey Twist, I just found a bag of playing pieces you can use.”
As she set it down, Spike showed up with pencils in his claws.
“I got the pencils,” he said. “Can I go outside?”
Twilight looked out the window, letting out a huff as she saw the rain splashing hard against the window. “Sorry Spike, but I can’t let you outside in this rain.”
“Aw, but I finished my chores. What am I suppose to do all day?”
“You could play games with the fillies.”
“But I don’t want to play a boring table top game.” Before he had a chance to leave, he noticed Twist emptying her saddlebags full of cookies onto the table. The sugary aroma wafted into his nose, causing his stomach to growl. “Maybe I could stay a little while.” Spike sat down next to the table, slyly grabbing a cookie and taking a bite out of it.
Twist divided up the pencil, paper, and playing pieces.
“So how is this game played?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“First, you need a character to play.” Twist flipped through the book until she found the sample character page. “Apple Bloom, you can be a ranger.”
“That sounds cool.”
“Sweetie Belle, you can be a sorcerous.”
“Oh, I hope I can learn a new spell from this game.”
“Scootaloo, you can be a warrior.”
“Oh yeah, that sounds awesome.”
“And Spike, you can be...Apple Bloom’s dog.”
“WHAT? I don’t want to be a dog.” Spike defiantly crossed his arms, a scowl plastered on his face.
“Uh, okay, you can be...a shaman.”
“That’s better.”
Twist handed out the pieces to the others.
“So how is this game played?” asked Apple Bloom.
“You guys play as intrepid adventurers on a quest for excitement and treasure,” explained Twist, spreading out her hooves in a show of grandiosity. “It’s easy. You draw the map of the area on your paper, and with your pieces, you imagine yourselves as your characters.”
“You mean we have to use our imaginations?” demanded Scootaloo. “That’s boring.”
“Oh come one, Scoot,” said Apple Bloom, “using your imagination can be fun.”
“I guess...”
“So what are you going to be doing?” asked Sweetie Belle to Twist.
“I’m the game master. I control everything that happens.”
“Okay, so what adventure are we going to try first?” asked Apple Bloom.
“How about something awesome like slaying a dragon?” suggested Scootaloo.
“I don’t like that idea,” said Spike, irritably.
“Don’t worry,” said Twist, “I got an adventure in mind. I made it up myself.”
After Twist quickly explained some of the rules as well as introduced them to their characters and their abilities, she got out a pencil and paper and started the game. “Okay, you guys are traveling along a dirt road when you encounter an old woman off to the side.” Twist raised her voice to sound like a frail old woman. “Oh, the horror, the horror...”
“What are you doing?” asked Spike.
“As the game master, I’m suppose to act out the characters, and you guys are suppose to act along.”
Apple Bloom tapped her hooves onto the table playfully. “Oh I see, it’s like a play except with no audience. Okay, uh...What seems to be the problem, madam?” Apple Bloom spoke in a deeper voice, hoping to sound like an older mare.
“Oh it’s horrible,” acted Twist. “There I was this strange creature. It tried to eat me.”
“What was this strange creature?”
“It was a monster...a monster made of...taffy.”
“Oh you got to be kidding me,” whined Scootaloo, using her hoof to fiddle with her playing piece out of boredom.
“Come on, Scoot,” said Sweetie Belle. “Play a long.”
“Fine,” said Scootaloo, reaching for a cookie.
“So where do we find this taffy monster,” asked Spike as he also reached for a cookie.
“Walk down the chocolate road, then you must enter the cave of caramel for in the cave is the taffy monster. Oooooooo!” Twist waved her hooves around as if she was telling an exaggerated campfire story.
“Don’t worry,” said Apple Bloom. “We’ll defeat this monster.”
“Especially if there’s candy involved,” said Spike, his mouth full of cookies.
There was an awkward pause before Sweetie Belle said, “Soooo, what do we do next?”
“You guys have to decide that for yourself,” said Twist.
“Okay,” said Apple Bloom, awkwardly. “Then I say we go to this chocolate road.”
“You guys walk down the path, traveling until that afternoon to a road made of dark chocolate. The smell of it drifts up your nose and makes your mouth water.”
“Now I need a cookie,” said Sweetie Belle, reaching for another of Twist’s confections.
“So, now that you guys are at the chocolate road, what will you do now?” asked Twist.
“That’s easy,” said Spike, “I’ll just walk across.”
“Yeah, I think we’d all do the same thing too,” said Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nonchalantly agreed.
Twist let out a sinister laugh. “You all step on the chocolate road, but then you begin to slide.”
“What? Why?” Sweetie Belle eyed Twist, confused.
“The chocolate is melting and you all discover that you can’t stand very well. Penalty: -5 on dexterity.”
Spike a let out a frustrated sigh, irritated by Twist’s overacting
“Then, you hear something slithering out of the trees.” Twist paused for dramatic effect. “As you struggle to stand, from out of the bushes emerges...a cockatrice, hissing and glaring at you with its burning red eyes.” When Twist noticed the lack of reaction from the others, she added, “This is the part where you look concerned.”
“Uh, oh no, it’s a cockatrice. We’re all doomed.” Scootaloo spoke in an insincere voice, waving her hooves in the air.
“Don’t look into its eyes, it will turn you to stone,” warned Twist.
“How can we look at something that isn’t there?” asked Spike.
“Just pretend you’re looking at the ground.” Twist emphasized her point by looking at the floor in mocked fright.
“So how do I fight the thing?” demanded Scootaloo.
“Roll the dice.”
“But we don’t have any dice.”
“...Uh...but surely we must have some.” Twist frantically searched the table, brushing paper and pencils aside. “Spike, did you bring some?”
“No.”
Twist groaned in frustration. “TWILIGHT!”
With dice procured, Scootaloo rolled the dice with her teeth, getting a six.
“Sorry, Scoot,” said Twist. “The cockatrice has an armor class of eight. Your attack does nothing. The cockatrice fights back.” Twist rolls the dice and gets a ten. “The cockatrice deals damage.” Twist rolls the dice again. “You get twelve points of damage.”
“Twelve points? You got to be kidding me?” Scootaloo sulked miserably.
“What do we do now?” asked Apple Bloom.
“How about Sweetie Belle uses magic,” suggested Twist.
“I told you, I only know simple spells.”
“No, I mean use your character’s magic.”
“Oh, then...I use a banishment spell.” Sweetie Belle rolls the dice. “I got a twelve.”
“Then the cockatrice disappears with a flash of light,” said Twist, clapping her hooves together in celebration.
Scootaloo grumbled. “Well that was too easy. Sweetie Belle defeated the monster in just one blow and yet I got bitten...uh...Hey Spike, use your magic to heal my injuries...and stop eating those cookies!”
“But they’re so good,” said Spike, his mouth full.
“Spike!”
“Oh, alright. I cast a healing spell.”
Twist rolled the dice. “Spike restores three points.”
“Oh come on!”
Sweetie Belle sighed in frustration. “Ugh, this game is getting boring already. Can’t be skip on over to the cave?”
“Well, if you insist,” said Twist. “You all arrive at the cave of caramel where the walls of the cave drip with—what else?—caramel.”
“Oh, I think I’ll take a lick of that caramel,” said Spike before swallowing yet another cookie.
“Spike takes a lick of the caramel,” Twist rolled the dice, “but suddenly, he stiffens like a statue. The caramel had a curse on it, and Spike topples over like a log.”
“Hey, that’s not fair. How was I supposed to know that was going to happen?”
“I warned you that there are traps in this game.”
“That’s it, I’m quitting.” Spike grabbed the last cookie and stormed off in a huff.
“Can he do that?” asked Apple Bloom.
Twist sighed. “Yes. Do you guys want to continue playing?”
“I want to see how it all ends.”
“Make your move.”
“Okay, then I fire an arrow into the cave.”
“You hear a loud squelch sound followed by a roar of anger. RRROOOAAARRR! From out the cave moved a huge blob of taffy.”
Scootaloo frantically looked through the book for the list of moves she could do. “Uh, I slash at it with my sword.” Scootaloo rolled the dice. “Yes, I rolled an eight.”
“The monster has an armor class of nine,” said Twist.
“Ooooh,” groaned Scootaloo, angrily.
“I cast a fireball spell,” said Sweetie Belle. She rolled the dice and got a nine. “It’s a hit.” She rolled again and got an eight.
“The taffy monster roars with anger,” said Twist, raising her hooves into the air to mime the monster’ actions. “The monster reaches for Sweetie Belle.” Twist rolls the dice. “It manages to grab Sweetie Belle, holding her hostage.”
“Uh, I’ll cast fireball again,” said Sweetie Belle.
“It’s not your turn,” injected Twist, “and you can’t move.”
“You mean I’m helpless? Awww, this game is no fun.”
“Don’t worry, I can cut you free with my sword.” Scootaloo rolled the dice and got a ten. Excited, she rolled the dice again, but got a three. “This dice is rigged.”
Twist rolled the dice. “The monster reaches over and successfully grabs Scootaloo.”
“You mean I’m stuck too. That’s it, I’m out of here.” Scootaloo stormed away from the table.
Sweetie Belle looked outside the window, seeing the sunshine through the parting clouds. “Well, it has stopped raining. Maybe we should end the game.” Without waiting for a response, she left the table, chasing after Scootaloo.
“Oh come on, you guys,” called out Apple Bloom. With an angry huff, she gathered all the paper on the table. “I’m sorry, Twist.”
“That’s okay,” said Twist with a friendly smile. “It’s not a game for everyone.” She looked at the pile of cookie crumbs that were lying on the table. “Maybe they would have stayed longer if I gave them my Peppermint Chocolate Cake with chocolate chip ice cream.”
“Yeah, that might have helped,” giggled Apple Bloom.
With the game concluded, the two fillies cleaned the table. At the same time, Twilight and her friends had been watching the game, two mares in particular seemed interested.
Twist had gathered the Equines and Enchantments book and the remaining paper and pieces when Fluttershy and Twilight approached her.
“I have to say, the game sounded interesting,” said Twilight. “A mix of role-play and fantasy, it sounds like a game I could get into.”
Twist gave Twilight a wide grin. “Really? I had no idea.”
“I would like to play too,” said Fluttershy.
“Well, I know the perfect game for you,” Twist ran up to the shelves, the same one where she found Equines and Enchantments, and brought over another book to the table. The book Twist found bore the tittle Bunnies and Burrows written on the cover.
“Oh,” said Fluttershy, intrigued.
The End
