Adventures and Alicorns

“So… this miniature here represents me?” Rainbow Dash asked, fiddling around with the plastic figurine in her right hand. She was rolling it between her fingers casually, observing the fine details which had been put into its construction.

“Yes, it is to represent your character when we do combat scenarios in the game,” Twilight responded, looking at Dash over the top of her gaming screen. Her eyes flicked to the miniature in Dash’s hand briefly before returning to Rainbow’s face. “Do you like it?”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Uh, yeah, it’s cool I guess.” She placed the item back on Twilight's kitchen table.

Twilight’s face fell. “Cool, huh? You know, i-if you don’t want to play this, Rainbow, I don’t–”

“No no, I’m the one that offered, remember?” Rainbow said, cutting Twilight off before she could sink into a deeper pout. “Sure, this isn’t my normal idea of… entertainment. But you said you missed this, and I wanted to chill with you some more anyways. You get to play your old game again, and I get some more time to hang with the coolest alicorn in Ponyville.” Rainbow finished her explanation by flashing her signature grin.

Twilight seemed to brighten up a little bit and even looked away, lightly scratching at the side of her nose with her right hand; something that Rainbow knew she did when she was feeling embarrassed. “W-well, I don’t get why you wanted to spend more time with me specifically, but… I certainly don’t mind. You’re one of my best friends too.”

Rainbow’s smile, unbeknownst to Twilight, took on a bit of a forced nature before she quickly looked away, pointedly putting her attention on anything else. Her eyes eventually rested on her own paperwork which lay in front of her on the table. Her mind however was thinking about something else.

Rainbow found it very difficult to stay straight faced whenever Twilight said ‘best friend’. Her chest would tighten as the words stabbed their way into her heart. It wasn’t Twilight’s fault; she had never meant for the words to feel that way, after all. She just didn’t know the way in which Rainbow liked her.

It had been a little over a year since Rainbow had realized it herself actually, not that she was going to ever act on it. Twilight was one of her best friends and she had no intentions of ruining that by trying to look for something more. Still, that didn’t change how she felt. The heart is not so easily persuaded in the end.

Her eyes roved over the papers in front of her, reading through the many words and numbers which all amounted to ‘her character’. She wasn’t entirely sure how this game was supposed to work, but Twilight had promised her that it would be fun once she understood it. That would require some actual playing though.

Rainbow forced a smile back onto her face, one that didn’t quite reach her ears, and turned to look back at Twilight. “So, um… I guess my character sheet is finished. I did all the things your book said to do.”

Twilight looked up from behind her gaming screen again, her eyes wide and excited. “You did? Oh, what did you make!?”

Rainbow glanced back at her paperwork, dropping the forced smile as she started to double check her character. “Well, her name is Dark Sword, and-”

“Wait, Dark Sword? Really?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, an amused smile playing across her lips.

“Yeah, I named her Dark Sword,” Dash said, a bit on the defensive side. “It’s my character, and I think Dark Sword sounds cool.” Rainbow stuck her tongue out at Twilight. “Can I move on, or are you gonna judge her other features too?”

“Oh Rainbow, I was only teasing,” Twilight said, stifling a small giggle which made Rainbow’s heart skip a beat. “Go on, I want to know everything about” – Twilight made air quotes with her fingers – “Dark Sword.”

Rainbow stuck her tongue out one more time before continuing. “Well, she’s a pegasus obviously, though I was strongly considering gryphon. She’s a basic fighter type since I didn’t want to get too complicated. I don’t really get how the magic system works in this game.”

“Well that’s okay. The more complicated and obscure rules you’ll learn through practice, and if you’re playing a fighter then you won’t need to understand the magic rules as it is. Granted, knowing how it works might help you if you ever had to do combat with a caster class.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Rainbow looked up at Twilight again. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask. What’s with the board you got set up in front of you?”

“Oh, it’s called a GM screen. It–”

“GM?”

“Oh, sorry. GM stands for ‘Game Master’. That’s the pony who is in charge of the monsters and the characters in the game that you don’t control. You, as a player, only control your own character. The GM controls every other being, including the villains.”

“Okay, so…” Rainbow scratched her cheek in thought, “I’m Daring Do, and you’re A.K. Yearling, controlling my villains.”

Twilight blinked for a moment, thinking through what Dash had said. “Uh, yes, actually. That fits perfectly.”

“Okay, I get it!” Rainbow laughed a bit, slightly pleased that her comparison had worked. “So then, thinking that way, your screen thingie is to prevent me from knowing what you’re doing, right?”

Twilight nodded in response.

A thought crossed Rainbow’s mind, causing her lips to pull into a frown. “So why don’t I get a player screen? You just get to know what I’m doing?”

Twilight laughed, her shoulders shaking slightly with her merriment. Shaking her head, she said, “You don’t need one, since you’re the player. I need to know what you’re doing so that I can create the game around you. How can I make a fun encounter for you if I have no idea what Dark Sword is attempting to do?”

Rainbow grunted her acknowledgement and turned to look at the rest of the table. Scattered across its surface was a large mat that was covered in lines to form a grid, and on the mat was a handful of miniatures, all similar to the one that Rainbow had been holding before. There were assorted miniatures representing ponies of all sizes and races, as well as miniatures of monsters. Each mini was in a different pose too.

The miniature which represented Dark Sword was standing on her hooves, both arms out in front of her with swords in her hands. The pony had wings since it was a pegasus, but they were both folded against her back. Black armor adorned the miniature, covering the torso, legs and arms, and holes had been made in the backside for the wings. There was no helmet on the pony, so her red mane was flowing down past her armor and in between her wings. Her fur, which could only be seen on her face, was a dull grey.

Next to the mat, which Rainbow had now determined to be for battling, was all of Twilight’s books that she owned which contained the rules of the game. Every time Rainbow saw them she couldn’t help but smirk.

Of course one of Twilight’s favorite games as a foal was one which involved books. Lots and lots of books.

“Okay,” Twilight said, interrupting Rainbow’s thought process. “I finished my preparations and you fully made Dark Sword, so I think it’s time for us to begin!” A big smile was covering Twilight’s face, giddiness just emanating from her. She quickly assorted all her papers and books which she had behind her screen and then looked at Dash with a happy grin.

Rainbow nearly snorted once she saw just how excited Twilight was. Any worries she had that this might have been a lame idea were cast aside once she saw just what this had done for Twilight. Sure, maybe she didn’t consider the idea of ‘roleplaying’ to be exciting, but this seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for Twilight. Rainbow didn’t think she’d ever seen her smile so wide.

Sitting there in that moment, she couldn’t help but think back to when Twilight had first mentioned that she used to play this game as a foal. She didn’t have any friends so she only ever played it with her brother, which was apparently fine with them. Rainbow however had laughed, thinking that only an egghead would enjoy a game that required lots of books. She had the tact to not say anything however, and had kept her thoughts to herself.

Months later, what with Twilight’s coronation and her entire life turning upside down, she had been slowly slipping. Rainbow Dash immediately recognized the symptoms; Twilight was feeling unimportant and depressed with herself. Naturally this only made Rainbow hurt as well and she decided that she’d do whatever it took to help Twilight cheer up. When Twilight offhandedly mentioned that she missed roleplaying with her brother, Rainbow immediately suggested that the two of them pick it up in an attempt to get her out of her funk.

And Rainbow couldn’t deny that her plan had apparently worked. Sitting here looking at Twilight as she feverishly prepared to play a game from her foalhood was all the proof she needed. So what if this might be considered ‘uncool’ by some social crowds? It made Twilight happy and, after all, that was what really mattered.

“So, you’ll need these to play the game,” Twilight said as she handed a small silk bag to Rainbow Dash. “That bag contains the multiple dice that I was telling you we’d need. I… bought those for you when you said you’d play with me.”

Rainbow stared at the bag in her hand, her mouth dropped slightly. The bag was gorgeous. The silk was soft and smooth, and it was multicolored in a fashion similar to her hair. Upon opening it and emptying its contents, she found that the bag contained the dice Twilight had mentioned. Seven different dice fell from the bag, each one with a different amount of sides ranging from four to twenty, and each die was a different color of the rainbow.

“Wow, Twilight… That’s awesome! Thank you!” Rainbow looked up at Twilight, flashing a toothy grin.

Twilight smiled in response. “I thought you’d like them.”

“Like them? I love them! And I’ll be using them to play this game?”

Twilight nodded once again. “To perform actions and the like.”

“Alright, well, let’s get started. You said you were gonna give me an easy beginning to help me get the feel for it, right?”

“Yes. Alright, Rainbow Dash. I hope you’re ready… because ‘Adventures and Alicorns’ is starting now!”

Dark Sword found herself approaching the entrance to the Orden Catacombs, the ancient tomb of an Elder King who lived over a thousand years ago. Clad in full plate armor and wielding a shield and longsword, she knew that nothing existed within that tomb which she could not defeat.

A soft breeze passed by, ruffling her flowing red mane. It served as a soft reminder of what she’d be giving up to enter the cold depths of the mysterious tomb. Her piercing blue eyes stared into the darkness of the crumbling entrance, seeing that it descended deep underground. Walking forwards slowly, she placed one hoof on the first step. The soft clack echoed down the steps into the tomb, announcing her presence to whatever vile creatures lurked within.

A lesser pony would try and sneak in, not wanting the evil to know of her presence, but Dark Sword was no coward. She boldly faced her challenges head on, not one for backing down or taking the easy route. Opening her mouth, she spat down the steps.

“Evil creatures of the tomb! Know that I, Dark Sword, will not tolerate your bullcrap! I will cut you with my weapon, and you will bleed!”

Twilight snorted in laughter, unable to contain her mirth. “Really? Really? That’s your challenge to the monsters of the tomb?”

Rainbow Dash scowled at Twilight over her GM screen. “I thought it sounded good.”

“Alright, alright! Well, just think of it this way. If I was actually threatening you with a knife and I said ‘I will cut you and you will bleed,’ would you take me seriously?”

Rainbow scrunched up her muzzle. She could see Twilight’s point, but she didn’t want to admit it. “Whatever, let’s just continue.”

Unable to see into the depth of the tomb, Dark Sword realized that she would need to acquire a torch. Luckily for her, she had bought the standard adventuring equipment which was listed on page 86 of the ‘Core Rulebook’ for ‘Adventures and Alicorns’. This meant she had three unlit torches at her disposal, as well as flint and steel to light them with. Sheathing her sword and strapping her shield between her backpack and her shoulder blades, she retrieved a single torch and lit it.

With a huff, she realized that she was going to have to hold this torch with one hand, so she could only have her sword or her shield in her other. Deciding that defense would be a better choice, she settled on having the torch in her right hand and the shield in her left.

“Hey, what if I-”

“No Rainbow, you can’t hold the torch with your teeth,” Twilight said, rubbing her face with her hand. “We’re ponies, we have hands to hold items with. You’re not a barn animal, you don’t use your teeth to hold things. Really, that’d be ridiculous.”

Rainbow merely grumbled in response.

After a few minutes of descending the dusty steps, the light from Dark Sword’s torch cast out into a massive room. The room was roughly two stories in height and was wider than most houses. On the other side of the room was a massive golden sarcophagus ornamented with jewels. Dark Sword almost didn’t notice, but behind the sarcophagus was three goblins that were hiding.

Probably planning to ambush me when I go to open the giant coffin. Well, I may be new to this game, but I have an idea…

Silently setting down her shield, she retrieved a vial of Alchemist’s Fire, a dangerous concoction which ignites into flames when exposed to air. The liquid is kept in a safe glass vial which can be thrown. Taking careful aim, Dark Sword intended to do just that.

The vial sailed through the air, tumbling end over end before colliding with the ground just behind the goblins. An explosive shattering could be heard, followed by a burst of green flames that licked at everything the liquid had landed on. Dark Sword grinned when she heard the cries of one of the goblins; the flaming liquid had landed on the vile monster.

As the burning goblin attempted to stop, drop, and roll, the other two vaulted over the sarcophagus, rusty weapons in hand. They charged straight at Dark Sword, ready to tear into her and create an early end for the fresh adventurer. Fortunately for her, the flames from the Alchemist’s Fire were more than enough to illuminate the dark tomb so she was able to drop her torch and pull out her longsword. Simultaneously grabbing her shield, she readied herself for their assault.

Two daggers dove at her, aiming for her legs. With nimble feet she was able to avoid one of them while her shield deflected the other. Taking it as an opportunity to strike back, Dark Sword leveled her longsword with one of the attacking goblins and went to cut into its flesh.

A tearing sound could be heard as her sword tore right through the flimsy armor that the goblin was wearing. With a streak of bluish blood, the weapon cut into the goblins chest. Wounded, it cried out in pain, leveling its weapon so as to attack again.

Dark Sword grinned, knowing full well that the puny goblin wasn’t going to be able to-

“Auuugh!” She cried out in pain as the other goblin had stuck its blade right between the plates of her armor. It’s point pierced the skin on the back of her leg and she could feel her warm blood soaking the inside of her calf.

Grunting in frustration, she parried the attack of the goblin and then struck at it again, this time her weapon piercing it through the chest.

“One goblin down…”

With a quick turnaround, she faced the sneaky one that had managed to harm her. A sinister grin spread across its features as it danced in front of her, taunting her with its every move.

“Now hold on! How come I didn’t get to know it was attacking me? You didn’t even give me a chance to block it when it struck my character,” Rainbow griped.

“Good, I’m glad you were thinking about that!” Twilight gave Rainbow a quick smile before continuing. “See, this is one of those rules you’ll need to remember. What the goblins did to you is called flanking. One got behind you so you couldn’t focus on both at the same time.”

“That’s totally not fair! I can’t flank them!”

“No, you’re right, you can’t. You’re just one pony, and flanking requires two or more individuals.”

Rainbow grumbled, briefly considering calling Applejack over to the library so that she could have an ally in the fight.

With a few quick strikes, Dark Sword had successfully dealt with the second goblin and begun to move onto the third. The last goblin was still attempting to put out the alchemical fire that it had been covered in; unsuccessfully, Dark Sword noted. With a merciful coup de gras, the goblin was put out of its burning misery and allowed to die in peace.

Smiling in triumph, Dark Sword turned around to face the sarcophagus.

“Well, I finished the monsters, and there is no where else to go in this tomb. I guess this means my treasure is inside the coffin?” Shrugging, she went up to it and began pushing against the lid.

Despite all of Dark Sword’s considerable strength – her strength score was a 16 – it still took her a whole minute and a whole lot of cursing to get the lid pushed all the way off. Grunting in success, she looked inside and grinned. Within the sarcophagus was an ancient mummy, mostly rotted and covered in frailed rags. However, under the mummy was a massive wealth of gold coins.

Dark Sword clapped her hands together. “Jackpot!”

“I don’t think so.”

Her smile fell. “Huh?”

Rainbow’s eyes were wide as she watched Twilight use her magic to bring a miniature of a mummy onto the table. She set it on top of the sarcophagus that had been placed on the battle mat. The miniature looked really well painted and even had bits of its cloth dangling from its outstretched arms.

“The mummy slams one of his arms into you, making an attack roll that gets past your defenses. You take –” Twilight quickly rolled a die behind her GM screen “– four points of damage and you’re thrown backwards five feet, where you’ll land prone.”

“No way! That means I’ll land in the Alchemist’s Fire!”

“Uh, yeah, I guess it does.” Twilight grinned, revealing to Rainbow that she had some kind of malicious enjoyment in hurting her character.

“You’re mean, Twilight!”

“Hey, it wouldn’t be fun for Dark Sword if this was easy.”

“Ow ow ow!” Dark Sword cried as she rolled out of the flames. She could feel the fire licking at her tail as she got herself back on her hooves and hopped out of the burning flame. Thankfully the liquid hadn’t gotten on her so the fire had not spread to her body; Alchemist’s Fire could only burn where the liquid that was in the vial had landed.

Taking stock of her situation, she noticed that her shield had fallen out of its clasp and skidded across the floor a good ten feet away. Drawing her longsword, she prepared to face the mummy.

“My treasure shan’t be yours, grave robber!” the mummy cried out, its voice sounding like gravel rolling down a hill.

“I’m still alive, so we’ll see about that!” Dark Sword said, readying her weapon and standing in a fighting stance. She narrowed her eyes and looked through the dying flames of the Alchemist Fire directly at the mummy. “The living shall always triumph over the dead!”

The mummy wasted no time in responding, moving in quickly for a body slam. It stepped through the Alchemist’s Fire to do so, taking a small amount of burn damage. Dark Sword was ready this time and quickly sidestepped the attack, bringing her own weapon up into the chest of the mummy. The momentum of its body slam worked against it as it could not avoid falling onto Dark Sword’s blade.

With a quick slash, Dark Sword spun around and forced the blade to cut its way out of the mummys chest, organs and skin falling to the ground and turning to dust.

“Wow, that’s impressive… You took out the mummy in one hit.”

Rainbow Dash had jumped out of her seat and was actually hovering in the air slightly above the table, a manic grin spread across her face. “That was awesome! The mummy was coming for the strike, and I just went bam and got a critical hit! Boom, dead!”

Twilight just smiled as she used her magic to remove the mummy’s miniature from the battle mat. “I think it was more of a ‘slice’ than a ‘bam’. Also, the mummy was already dead, but still. Well done.”

Rainbow floated back down and sat in her seat. “So, now what?”

“Well, now we’re gonna stop for the night.”

“Wait, really? Why, this was just getting to be fun!” Rainbow threw her hands up in the air out of frustration. “Come on, let’s keep going!”

“Dash, it’s eleven pm.”

Rainbow blinked. “Whoa, really?” She turned and looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. “Wow, you’re not kidding…”

“Yeah, we spent a good while getting ready today. I mean, you making your character took about three hours, and that was almost all of the time we had to play tonight,” Twilight began cleaning up the supplies, starting first with the books.

“Well, when can we play again?” Rainbow said, likewise cleaning up her own supplies. She put all her dice in her new rainbow colored silk bag and tucked the whole thing in one of her pant’s pockets.

“I have to go into Canterlot tomorrow, but I’ll be back the following morning. We could play then. I have the rest of that day unscheduled.” Twilight smiled over her shoulder at Rainbow. It was obvious that she was thrilled her friend liked ‘Adventures and Alicorns’ as much as she did.

“Cool, we’ll plan for that then! I can’t wait!”

Twilight giggled. “Alright, it’s a date.”

Rainbow’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest at hearing those words. She knew what Twilight had meant, but that didn’t mean hearing her say it like that was any easier.

“Yeah… It’s a date.” She smiled, doing her best to keep her bravado up, but she knew she wasn’t succeeding.

Every time she says something like that… Why can’t I just be normal around her?

Rainbow helped Twilight finish putting away their roleplaying supplies before saying her goodbye for the night. As she flew home, her heart and her mind were both yelling at her, but each one was saying something different.