Equestria 5: Gods and Princesses

"Okay, just one more thing and... Perfect!"

"Twi, jus' what're we doin' here, exac'ly?" Applejack inquired.

A voice called out from behind a computer monitor, "Hang on a second, Applejack!" None of the group knew what the lavender alicorn was doing, and despite their best attempts to figure it out, they could only wait until Twilight answered. Everyone there seemed nervous, the notable exception being Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing up and down excitedly ever since her arrival.

"Oooh, oooh! Is it some kind of experiment? Is it one of those contraptions that you used to find out about my Pinkie sense?" Rainbow Dash and Applejack rolled their eyes simultaneously, looking back at the machine in front of them. It was comprised of a series of screens and boxes as the main components, while keyboards outfitted in a similar fashion to a typewriter lay in front of each screen. An oddly-shaped contraption lay to the side of each of the keyboards with two buttons and a sort of wheel in between the buttons. It didn't take much to tell that these were computers, but why were they rigged together like this in a circle? Why were they set up? What in Equestria did they have to do with anything going on?

"Twilight, darling, can you please tell us what this is all about?" Rarity pined.

Just then, Twilight's head popped into view from the other side of one of the monitors. "I've brought you all here to help me with an experiment... and for a little fun." The ponies had mixed feelings about this; Applejack and Rarity both looked confused. Rainbow Dash seemed to grow impatient–a thought reinforced by her exasperated sigh. Pinkie Pie started bouncing a little higher, but Fluttershy was the only one unfazed.

The timid pony looked at Twilight and asked, "What kind of experiment?"

Twilight's smile only amplified when the shy pegasus asked. "Well, ever since my... ascension–" Twilight fidgeted her wings to illustrate her point "–I've wondered... What would a pony do if given the power to control an army? What would they do to lead a civilization?" Even Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing as the others looked at one another to try and make sense of the entire idea. Realizing she was bemusing her audience, Twilight explained her idea in a more simplified manner. "I've just bought something of a video game that will let the average pony build and control an empire!"

Despite giving clarity to her intent, Twilight's statement only confused her friends more. Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her mane while Pinkie Pie gave the most inquisitive look she could. "Twilight, whadda ya mean?" Rainbow asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

Twilight either missed the tone or opted to ignore it, but she responded, "I thought maybe we all could sit down and play this game together. Each of us will take control of our own civilization, customizing it and everything. We'll play through and act as overseer to our subjects, and the computers will record our actions for later analysis... for research purposes," Twilight hastily added. Now the point of their presence was clear enough.

Applejack stepped forward with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Exac'ly what's s'pposed ta happen? We play along with this here game a your's 'n see wha' we'd do if we were in the place of Princess Celestia 'r some'ne o' the like?"

"Precisely," said Twilight. Igniting her horn, she turned each of the monitors on. The room, though well-lit, seemed to grow twice as bright with the computer screens on. On each of the monitors was a sort of customization form for each of the ponies to fill out. "We'll all be playing together. At first, none of us will know where the others' cities are, but as time goes on and we explore around, our countries will meet. I know this seems... odd... Okay, it is odd, but this is something I've been wanting to do for a while now, and I thought it would be something we can do as friends." Twilight looked to each of her friends in turn with a benevolent expression. The dead silence in the room was unsettling and slightly distressing.

"Ah, why not?" Applejack chimed in. Everypony else clamored their variance of the response of "yes", the exception being Rainbow Dash, who raised her hoof.

"We can lead our society the way we want?" Twilight nodded, a little surprised that Rainbow was showing an interest. Rainbow curled her lips in a twisted smile, almost as if she were planning to rob a bank.

"So... Should we make this interesting?" Rainbow asked slyly. All of the other ponies looked curiously at Rainbow, who smiled mischievously as she announced the bet. "Ten bits sound fair?"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Ah got one better fer ya. The winn'r has ta be ad'ress'd as 'Lady' fer the next week."

Rarity cut in, "You know, 'Lady Rarity' does have a nice ring to it..." The one-versus-one bet was quickly turning into a competition, which only sparked an unquenchable fire in Rainbow as her friends went in on the wager. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy nodded, leaving only Twilight to agree. The other five ponies looked at her with daring stares, and within a few seconds, all will collapsed in the young princess.

"Oh, fine," she said in mock irritation. "I'll play along." Rainbow smirked. With that, Twilight took her position at one of the monitors as the others took their seats just after her.

The ponies keyed in their desired information. While they might not have agreed on many approaches to their own simulated civilization, they all chose to have their insignia after their cutie marks. Each of the ponies took up a name as unique as their logos–Twilight's civilization was named "Literati Republica," while Rarity named her own empire "Cabochon Country." Fluttershy took up the identity of "Evergreen Alliance." Applejack chose "Stetsonia," Rainbow Dash, unceremoniously, chose "Pegasopolis," and Pinkie Pie hilariously named her society "Cupcake Land." Once that was done, the ponies hit a small wall. "Twilight, what's this do-hickey drop-down thingy supposed to be?" Pinkie Pie was pointing to a drop-box that held a list of different subjects on them.

Twilight smiled, "Oh, that's a passive bonus. Each of us can choose a unique bonus, and those bonuses can be factors for what kind of civilization we command."

Now that the unique trait factor had been explained, the ponies were better able to choose. One by one, they chose from the long list of abilities until they were all ready. Rarity decided to choose increased mining rewards, while Fluttershy went for increased food from forests. Applejack, not surprisingly, chose increased food from farms. Rainbow Dash chose barbarian conversion chance, and Pinkie Pie randomly picked to have a larger sight radius for land units. Twilight chose the bonus she integrated into the game herself–declaration of friendship bonuses. Finally, their civilizations chosen and designed, everyone looked at their competitors one at a time. "Ready?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash, being her ever-competitive self, announced, "Let's go!"

Twilight's smile took a small twist as she announced, "May the best civ win." The ponies pressed their "start" buttons, and the game had begun.