Adventures and Alicorns

With work finished ahead of schedule and the rest of her day clear, Rainbow Dash was flying around Ponyville at a relaxing speed. The cool breeze flowed past her limbs and through her mane, helping to soothe her muscles and relax her body. Work had been pretty exhausting, and on top of that she had woken up early for once to get a jump start on things. The day was scheduled to be sunny and bright, a perfect day for a relaxing stroll through the park or an outdoors birthday party, so she wanted to make sure the day’s weather was ready by noon.

She worked fast and had finished practically half of the day’s agenda by the time her fellow weather-ponies crawled out of bed. They had all been shocked to see her up and active so early, but if anything it had then invigorated them to work even harder. After all, none of them wanted to be shown up by the weather-pony who was known for snoozing and being late to work.

Rainbow stretched out as she listlessly rolled through the air, causing her joints to pop. Once she felt fully and completely relaxed, she decided it was time to head on over to the Golden Oaks Library.

Twilight had said she would return that morning, and it was currently an hour away from noon. Seeing as Twilight’s schedules were pretty accurate, Rainbow thought it a safe bet to assume that she had already made it home. She tilted her wings and gently entered a slight dive, the library set as her destination.

Within a minute she landed before the door and prepared to open it. She didn’t feel like tempting fate and entering through a window; that usually made Twilight pretty upset. Seeing as she was coming over for them to have a fun afternoon together, she figured it’d be best to do the proper thing and enter the normal way.

Before she could even begin to open the door, however, a soft purple glow enveloped the handle and twisted it. The door opened with a soft creak, revealing two ponies on the inside of library who were heading out. The pony in the lead, a white coated unicorn stallion, stopped right in his tracks at the sight of Rainbow Dash, presumably surprised to find a pony on the other side of the door.

“Uh, my apologies,” he stammered. His eyes looked Dash up and down quickly as a few beads of sweat began rolling down his forehead. “If I may…”

Rainbow merely stared at him, equally surprised. With a start, she flapped her wings and pushed backwards and into the air. She looked down from her new hovering vantage point and watched as he exited the library, casting a few weary glances up towards Rainbow. The pony behind him then walked out as well, revealing herself to be Twilight.

“Rainbow! I’m so glad to see you,” she said exuberantly, a smile lighting up her face. “I’d like you to meet Card Trick, he’s–”

“Uh, no, Twilight, that’s quite alright,” the stallion said, cutting her off. “I really must be going, I’m almost going to miss the train.” He cast another wary glance up at Rainbow Dash before looking back at Twilight and letting out a shaky laugh.

To Rainbow’s eyes, Card Trick appeared to be quite unbalanced. His dark colored clothing were all fairly wrinkled as though he had thrown them on after they spent a week on the ground. His dark brown mane and tail only further added to his look of unease, as neither had appeared to be groomed or cleaned in quite some time. When he last looked at her, Rainbow had clearly seen the bags under his eyes, revealing that he was apparently having trouble sleeping.

Twilight on the other hand was an almost perfect opposite of Card Trick. Where he looked nervous, she was happy and smiling. Where he looked tired, she radiated energy and cheerfulness. Even her clothes, a simple purple blouse and jeans, were clean and free of wrinkles. Her mane and tail were more of the same, spotless and well groomed.

Card Trick flashed a nervous smile to which Rainbow raised an eyebrow. She didn’t want to judge this pony seeing as he was apparently a friend of Twilight’s, but something was obviously fishy about him. Twilight, however, was apparently oblivious to it.

“I’m sorry, of course. I’d hate for you to miss your train,” she said, her smile turning just a bit sad.

Rainbow shook her head and quickly landed next to her. “Card Trick, huh? So you’re a friend of Twilight’s?”

“Yes, he’s–” Twilight began before being cut off by Card Trick for a second time.

“Haha, yes! I am, but I am very late, so I must be off. It was such a pleasure getting to spend these few days with you again Twilight, we’ll have to do it more often, but really I must be off so I’ll see you next time!”

Rainbow merely blinked. Card Trick had spoken just about as fast she normally flew. In the span of a few seconds, he had finished speaking and already turned to hurry off.

“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow said, her eyes following the strange stallion as he disappeared onto a side street.

“Yes?”

“Who the heck was that?”

Twilight just chuckled, a small smile once more on her lips. She turned and walked back into the library. Rainbow went to follow her before making one last glance over her shoulder in the direction that the stallion had gone.

“Well, as you know, his name is Card Trick,” Twilight said as she took a seat on one of her couches. “He’s a pony who I met years ago. I just happened to bump into him yesterday while in Canterlot. It was such a pleasant surprise, he ended up accompanying me for the rest of the day.”

They spent the whole trip together…? “I thought you didn’t make any friends in Canterlot…?”

Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, if I’m being honest... when I was a foal, I didn’t consider him a friend. Our interactions were fairly limited.”

Rainbow’s brow knitted together as she contemplated what Twilight had said. There was a question she desperately wanted to know the answer to, but she knew she couldn’t ask it. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she thought about how she could fish for the information without being too obvious.

Twilight didn’t seem to notice Rainbow’s discomfort and continued her explanation. “I think I mentioned it to you before, but I only played Adventures and Alicorns with my brother. Shining Armor and I never shared our game with any of his school friends, but there was one pony who he talked to about it.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t even have to think about it. “Card Trick?”

“Mhm. Card Trick worked at the comic book store that Shining went to when he would buy our roleplaying supplies. He got to know my brother and they became friends. Shining would tell him all about the games that he and I would play, and apparently Card Trick became enthralled with the stories.”

Rainbow blinked. “Enthralled…?”

“Oh, sorry. It means he really enjoyed them. Basically, he thought the story telling of the games that Shining played in were so good, he wanted to meet the pony who was the GM.”

“So I’m assuming Shining then took you with him one day?”

“Yes, I went with him to the store a few times and got to know Card Trick. Again, I didn’t really consider him a friend at the time, but it was nice to have somepony to talk to about my stories. He enjoyed listening to them and we’d get into discussions about roleplaying. It was pretty fun, actually.”

Rainbow crossed her arms across her chest, still not quite sure how best to ask her question. “So… you two spent the whole trip together, huh?”

Twilight smiled as she brushed some her hair behind her ear. “Yes, it was entirely by accident, but it was enjoyable. Kind of funny though that I’d meet him again just the day after I finally played Adventures and Alicorns again.”

A niggling thought wormed its way into Rainbow’s mind. “So you two talked about our game then.” She wasn’t sure why, but something about the thought that Card Trick knew about Rainbow and Twilight’s game bothered her. It somehow made it feel a little less special… As though it wasn’t just the two of them anymore.

“We did discuss it briefly. Mostly we just spent time talking about what we’ve been doing with our lives.”

At this Rainbow couldn’t help but snort. “I’m sure he already knew what you’ve been doing recently. The whole nation knows about you, Princess.”

Twilight pretended to be offended and stuck her tongue out at Dash. The effect was ruined though by her wide smile. “Anyways, I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about Card Trick.”

Rainbow shook her head. “I didn’t even know he was here. Thinking about that though, why was he here? Why did he come back with you from Canterlot?”

Twilight stood up and began walking to the kitchen, motioning for Rainbow Dash to follow her. “He said that he was travelling to Manehatten and he had to transfer here in Ponyville. His train here just happened to be the same one I was returning on.”

Rainbow nearly laughed as she stood up and followed Twilight. Somehow, I bet that was no coincidence…

Upon entering the kitchen, Rainbow saw that Twilight was already using her magic to set up the table for their game. She watched, only moderately interested, as the GM screen, battle mat, box of miniatures, and roleplaying books all levitated to their proper places on the table. Her mind was stuck thinking about Card Trick, trying to sort through what she had learned. There was something about him that just set her on edge… What was it?

Amidst her thinking, Rainbow let her eyes rove about the rest of Twilight’s spotless kitchen. After looking past the cabinets and the sink, she spotted a lone parcel left on the counter in between Twilight’s toaster and microwave. It looked as though it was a book that had been wrapped up in brown shipping paper.

Curious, Rainbow made to walk over to the parcel. Upon picking it up, she judged that it weighed a good few pounds. Strange, there’s no writing on it… Where’d it come from?

“Okay, we’re all set up!” Twilight called over her shoulder as she took her seat at the table.

Rainbow glanced at Twilight before looking back at the package. She shrugged and put it back on the counter. If Twilight was going to tell her about it, she would have already mentioned it.

Taking her seat at the table, she retrieved her dice-bag from her pocket. Noticing that Twilight had already set out her character sheet, she emptied the dice on top of it. “Well, I guess I’m ready to get started!”

Twilight smiled at her over the top of the GM screen as she activated the magic in her horn. Rainbow watched as a couple bowls of chips and popcorn levitated over to the table, positioning themselves around their roleplaying supplies. “We’re probably going to be playing for a while, so I prepared some mid-game snacks.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea! Next time I’ll bring some too.” Rainbow flashed a quick grin before grabbing one of the pencils on the table. “So we left off I had just finished the monsters in that tomb thingie, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, you were inside of the Orden Catacombs. We won’t be starting there though.”

Confused, Rainbow glanced back at Twilight. “Why not? I thought we’d continue where we left off.”

“Well, the thing is, I designed that entire encounter to simply be a teaching scenario. I threw at you some combat situations which taught you the basic rules of fighting, as well as different things to watch out for.”

Rainbow’s shoulders slouched slightly. “So we’re just gonna pretend it never happened?”

“Well, no. That was an accomplishment for you and your character. I wouldn’t take that away from you.”

“So what are we doing then?”

Twilight chuckled a bit as she organized some of her objects that were hidden behind her screen. “I’m glad to see you’re enthusiastic to keep the story in line. To answer your question, we’re just going to be skipping forwards a little bit. Don’t worry, we won’t ever do it again, but we’re doing it now so that we can get the real game going. Consider your dungeon crawl two days ago to have been… a prologue to the story.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Do I still get to keep the gold I found in the giant coffin?”

Twilight laughed, a hearty sound that made Rainbow’s cheeks flush ever so slightly. “Of course, Rainbow.”

Rainbow crossed her arms over her chest and pointedly looked away from Twilight. “Good.”

Twilight managed to contain her laughter and wiped away a small tear from under her right eye. “Okay, well, we’re going to get started. Ready?”

Rainbow nodded her confirmation without looking at her, causing Twilight to snicker softly before continuing.

“Okay, so after leaving the Orden Catacombs, Dark Sword traveled back to the town that had told her about it’s existence in the first place. It took her two days to return so you’ll need to mark off the food and water from your inventory. When you finally arrive…”

Advent, a settler’s town, and also Dark Sword’s destination. It was from there that she had set out on her journey to find the Orden Catacombs, a mission that she had received from a friend in the town. Now that her quest was completed, she had returned to Advent, eager to once again see her friend and tell her of the good news.

Dark Sword was weary, however. The town of Advent was not a safe haven for any with wealth or power. In fact, had it not been for her friend who lived here, Dark Sword never would have come to this town. Every building seemed to loom over her, as if trying to gauge her worth. Everypony she met in the town carried an overall unfriendly attitude with them wherever they went. Careful not to reveal her newfound wealth to any of the potential pickpockets here in the town, Dark Sword continued along, eager to get to her friends welcoming abode.

After a while of walking and having to explain her presence to a corrupt guard or two, she at last found herself before her destination. The one alchemist in the town, her friend Goldshine’s home was also her shop. As such, the building had plants growing all over it, vines coming out of cracks in the brick and snaking along the paved walkway to the front door.

Dark Sword walked right up to the entrance and opened it without knocking; it was during business hours so there was no need. The interior of the home had been renovated so as to set up a shop in the front room. A few walls had been moved to make the space bigger, but only seemed to add to the ramshackle feel of the building. Tables and counters were spread everywhere, covering as much square footage of the area as possible while still leaving room to walk about. All kinds of plants and items covered every inch available on the tables, each one a different ingredient or item used for Goldshine’s alchemy.

Maneuvering around all of the tables and careful not to knock over any potted plants, Dark Sword made her way to the back of the room. Once there, she positioned herself next to a table which was covered in pre-made potions and waited; Goldshine would be along shortly, of that she knew.

As if to prove her point, Goldshine emerged through an open door just a few moments later. Dark Sword looked at her earth pony friend and smiled before seeing that she was quite flustered. Goldshine’s pinkish-red mane and tail which were normally well groomed was quite ruffled and had loose hairs sticking out at odd angles. Her eyes were puffy as though she had been crying and her clothes were stained and a tad disheveled.

Upon seeing Dark Sword, Goldshine immediately let loose a bright smile and rushed forward, pulling her into a tight hug.

“You’re back! I was so worried about you!” she cried out, her voice slightly muffled as her face was pressed against Dark Sword’s armor.

“Of course I’m back. You didn’t think that smelly old tomb was gonna stop the Das- I mean, the Dark Sword, did you?”

Twilight let out a short snort before covering her mouth with her hand. Despite her attempt, a few giggles still made it to Dash’s ears. “I’m sorry, Rainbow. That was just too funny. Thinking about your character calling herself ‘the Dash’ like you do in real life…”

Rainbow was unamused. “It isn’t easy thinking like my character sometimes. A lot of your descriptions sound like they’re happening to me so it’s kinda hard to separate my character from myself.”

Twilight nodded. “I understand, it happens. I’m sorry I laughed.”

“You know, you still haven’t told me why it is Goldshine sent me out to the Orden Catacombs. All you’ve said so far was that I got the quest from her, but not why.”

Twilight shuffled through her papers momentarily, her eyes looking down at her work. “Well, as it turns out, Goldshine is in a lot of trouble and needed somepony’s help. Being her friend, you traveled to the town of Advent so that you could assist her.”

Rainbow rested her chin on her hand, her elbow locked against the table. “I worked out that much. What is she in trouble with that required me to put myself in danger to help her?”

“Well, she owes a lot of money to some dangerous individuals,” Twilight said, her eyes shifting in a way that Rainbow didn’t like. It made her feel like Twilight was trying to set up something bad.

“So, being the good friend that I am, I went to the Orden Catacombs where there was supposed riches just laying in wait.”

“Exactly, so that you could help Goldshine pay her debts.”

Rainbow sighed. “Well, it looks like I won’t be able to keep the one thousand gold pieces after all.”

Twilight merely laughed.

“I returned victorious, Goldshine. All your money problems will be behind you,” Dark Sword stated, a triumphant grin on her face.

Goldshine pushed out of the hug, a look of shock on her face. “You… You actually found the tomb!?”

“You betcha! And I defeated the monsters within it.” At that, Dark Sword hefted her backpack off of her shoulders and lay it on the ground between them. As she set it on the ground, the sound of rattling coins could be heard from within.

“You really did… And you’re going to help me?” Goldshine’s eyes were wide as she looked back and forth between the bag of coins and Dark Sword’s face.

“There’s no way I’d let my best friend suffer if I could do something to help. You know that.”

Goldshine smiled, tears threatening to leak past her eyes. She opened her mouth to respond, but a sharp knocking on the front door suddenly cut her off. Before anypony could react, the door was smashed opened, nearly breaking on its hinges.

In walked two massive stallions, one a grey coated earth pony and the other a yellow coated unicorn. Both ponies wore leather armor which covered their torso and legs, yet left their arms exposed. A sinister smile was present on both of their lips as they took in the sight before them.

“Well lookie what we got here,” the unicorn said, turning his attention to his ally. “What do you reckon this is then, eh, Dirk?”

“Looks to me like we got ourselves somepony who want’s to get ‘er armor all bloodied,” the earth pony, Dirk, replied. He let out a malicious laugh before continuing. “Say, Firework, why don’t you oblige her?”

Dark Sword was surprised, but nonetheless pleased. She hadn’t liked these ponies from the moment they walked in. She drew out her longsword and shield and readied herself to fight them.

Goldshine looked frightened but jumped forwards, her arms waving frantically. “No, wait! Please, I have the gold you’re owed! Just take it and go!”

Firework, the unicorn, looked startled. Apparently he hadn’t expected to be interrupted. He had already drawn his greatsword and now had to sheathe it. He walked forwards, his eyes locked on Dark Sword, who hadn’t lowered her weapon. She wasn’t about to trust either of these goons.

Picking up the bag, Goldshine withdrew the pouch which contained all of Dark Sword’s gold. Pulling two hundred gold pieces from the pouch, she turned and handed them to Firework, her arm shaking as she reached it forwards. Firework smirked, taking all the money from within Goldshine’s hand.

“Hey, what do you know, it’s all here! I guess she wasn't kidding, Dirk.”

Dirk smiled, flashing his teeth momentarily. “Too bad it doesn't count towards her debt.”

Dark Sword’s grip on her longsword tightened, her stance still ready to defend herself. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at the two stallions. “What do you mean? It’s gold. Of course it counts.”

Dirk shifted his beady eyes to Dark Sword before grinning impishly. “We ain't idiots. We know this gold is yours, Feathers. We ain’t got a debt owed by some pegasus, we got a debt owed by a pony named Goldshine. Is your name Goldshine, Feathers?”

Dark Sword saw Goldshine shrink back against the wall, her hands clasped in front of her. A spark of anger flared up inside her. “I gave the coins to Goldshine, so it’s coming to you from her. The debt she owes is wiped clean.”

Firework threw his head back and laughed. “Nope! That’s not how it works with us, girlie! The gold you just gave us is considered a generous donation from you, not a payment from your friend. Her debt still stands, and we’ve come today to collect.”

Dark Sword turned her head and saw tears streaming out of Goldshine’s eyes, matting the fur on her cheeks. Short whimpers were coming from her mouth as it opened and closed, her failed attempts at asking for forgiveness. Dark Sword’s nostrils flared out as she let loose a held breath.

“I rush forwards and attack the one named Firework,” Dash said, her voice barely concealing her own frustration. “These jerks have messed with her long enough.”

Twilight looked out at the battle mat, calculating just how much Rainbow could do at that moment. “Since they haven’t made any aggressive actions yet, you get a surprise round against them. You have enough movement to make it just in front of Firework by the end of your turn, leaving you with the ability to make one simple strike.”

Rainbow smiled. “Perfect. You said their armor didn’t cover their arm’s right?”

Twilight nodded as she used her magic to position Dark Sword in her new spot on the mat.

“Then I’m going to do a called shot to his left arm since that’s the one he used to hold his weapon earlier.”

Surprised, Twilight leaned back and looked at Dash. “You really did do the proper studying of how to play your class. I didn’t think you’d know about called shots.”

Rainbow raised her hands in mock offense. “What? You think I, of all ponies, wouldn’t properly read all those massive, boring pages pertaining to my class? Jeez, how rude can a pony be…”

Shaking her head as she giggled, Twilight looked to her paperwork. “Okay then, so you know that called shots bring a penalty to your attack roll. A called shot to an arm is a negative five, so keep that in mind.”

Rainbow nodded, not really listening. She had the rules for called shots written down on her character sheet for quick reference, so Twilight’s explanation had been unnecessary. Grabbing her twenty sided die, she rolled it in her hand before releasing it to the table.

With a guttural cry, Dark Sword launched forwards directly at Firework. She lunged her longsword straight ahead for a piercing strike, it’s tip aimed directly for Firework’s left elbow. The stallion cried out as the blade pierced his skin and tore through his muscle, rendering his arm useless. With a laugh, Dark Sword ripped her sword out of Firework’s arm, blood coating most of it’s length.

Dirk, having expected the attack, had already drawn out the weapon after which he was named. The short dagger held in the grasp of his right hand, he jumped forwards and landed on top of the table next to Dark Sword. Potted plants and bowls of liquid were scattered about the floor, shattering upon impact.

He thrust his weapon forwards, making it past Dark Sword’s armor. The dirk dug itself in between the plates, it’s tip penetrating her flesh. She could feel her warm blood spilling from the wound and licking its way down her right arm from where the weapon had stabbed her.

Reacting quickly, Dark Sword thrust her shield forwards and across with her left arm, shield bashing Dirk directly in his chest. The unfortunate earth pony was sent reeling, his legs scrambling to keep himself standing on the wobbling table. Wasting no time, Dark Sword kicked her left leg forward and smashed against the table, forcing Dirk further off balance.

With a startled yelp, Dirk fell backwards where he crashed on top of a second table. Glass vials and clay pots shattered beneath his weight as the wooden frame of the table splintered, sending him into a messy, painful heap on the floor.

Dark Sword had just managed to rip the dirk out of her arm when she noticed the fist flying at her face. Firework’s right hook collided square with her jaw, blood and spittle flying out of her mouth. It hadn’t been for naught, though, as it seemed that the poor stallion was not trained in hand-to-hand combat. He had left his armpit exposed during his attack, a mistake which Dark Sword had been quick to capitalize on, particularly since she had a thrusting dagger in her hand at the time.

Crying out in pain for the second time in less than twenty seconds, Firework found himself outmatched. Dirk was having a hard time standing up from his crash landing, and he couldn’t even draw his own two handed weapon.

A smile leapt to Dark Sword’s lips as she watched the cowardly stallion before her. He was looking about, a desperate gleam in his eyes as he tried to think of something, anything he could do to prolong his life.

“Accept the gold and I’ll let you both live,” Dark Sword said, a predatory expression on her face. Oh, how she wanted these ponies to say no… As far as she was concerned, they might just threaten Goldshine again one day if they were allowed to leave. She was ready to just finish it here and now.

Rainbow Dash let out a whoop of joy. “Haha, yes! This is awesome. I totally stomped them down.”

Twilight rolled a few dice behind her screen. “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘stomped them’, but you did show them that you’re nopony to be messed with. Per what I just rolled, they’re both plenty intimidated by you, and you can easily tell by the way they’re looking at you.”

“Yeah, serves ‘em right. They waltz in there like they own the place, acting all tough and making threats… Now look who’s in charge! Man, I’m like a tank! An unstoppable ta–”

Twilight looked up, unsure of why Rainbow Dash had cut herself off. Rainbow was sitting there, a strange look of thought etched onto her face. Slowly her lips twisted into a grimace and her teeth clenched together. “Rainbow…?”

“Crap!” Rainbow’s exclamation had been loud and forceful, causing Twilight to flinch slightly.

“What’s wrong!?”

A look of horror was paramount on Rainbow’s face. “I forgot to feed Tank this morning! I was so busy when I woke up early, I wanted to get the days weather finished quick, I can’t believe I forgot!” She slammed her hands down on the table, knocking over some nearby miniatures in the process. “Twilight, I gotta go! I’ll be right back, okay!?”

Twilight blinked, slightly startled by the suddenness of Rainbow’s realization. “Uh, yeah, that’s fine. I have something I need to start working on anyways. I can get a head start on it while you’re gone.”

Rainbow cried out her thanks as she made to fly out a nearby window only to find it locked. With a cry of frustration, she turned and made to fly over to the window on the other side of the room. As she did, she idly noticed Twilight levitating over that brown package from the counter that she had seen earlier. Briefly, her curiosity got in a few words and wanted her to ask and find out what it was, but Tank had to come first.

With a sharp flap of her wings she was at the unlocked window. Opening it up and hurrying off, she began her flight back to her house to feed her pet tortoise.

She was flying as fast as she dared when in the lower air space of Ponyville. Nearing the edge of town, she began to fly a little faster. However, something on the ground caught her eye and, for a brief moment, completely distracted her. Right there, attempting to hide in an alleyway, was…

Card Trick…?

Twilight had mentioned that he was taking a train to Manehattan back before they’d started playing, and that was right around two hours ago. He himself had said he was late for that train, so why was he still in town?

Rainbow’s wing twitched momentarily, itching to fly down there and confront the sketchy stallion, but she knew Tank came first. The poor tortoise hadn’t eaten since his early dinner the night before. Deciding that she’d worry about Card Trick later, she took off once more, flying faster than she had been before.

She burst through the front door of her cloud home and immediately jumped to the kitchen. Within less than a minute, she had found Tank’s food and poured it onto a plate. Now she just needed to find him.

“Tank!” she called out, her hands cupped around her mouth. “Where are you, buddy!?” She stopped calling out and waited. A few seconds went by, the silence almost stifling. It was then that Rainbow noticed it.

Silence? That isn’t right, I can hear his flying gear no matter where I am in the house…

Rainbow raced out of the kitchen, her heart going nearly as fast as she was. If Tank had lost his flying contraption, then was it possible he could have fallen down to…? No. He’s okay. He’ll be okay.

Throwing her head into the entryway of every single room, she looked about her house as fast as she could: the living room, the balcony, the pantry, the bathroom… All were devoid of a friendly little tortoise. At last she reached her bedroom, but upon looking inside she found no signs of Tank. Her ears turned down slightly, she made to leave and continue looking elsewhere. Before she could, though, something caught her eye.

Confused, Rainbow walked into her bedroom slowly. Directly before her, sitting in the center of her bed, was a brown parcel. Rainbow stared at it for a few moments, not even daring to blink. It looked to be almost as big as the one that she had seen at Twilight’s. But why would one be here? And for that matter, what was it?

Rainbow cautiously reached out, intending to open it and sate her curiosity once and for all. Before she could grasp the brown paper the package had been wrapped in, the sound of Tank’s flying contraption reached her ears. Startled, Dash flipped around and attempted to find the source.

“Tank!” she cried out upon locating the tortoise. He was in his flying harness and hovering directly outside Rainbow’s open window. “What are you doing out there!?”

Tank didn’t enter the window. In fact, he turned around and did the exact opposite. His little propellers whizzing as fast as they could, Tank flew off towards the ground.

“Tank!” Rainbow flapped her wings and dashed out the window, keeping Tank in her line of sight. She caught up to him right as he landed on the ground next to a building. Rainbow alighted beside him and knelt to pick him up when she noticed the worried expression on his face.

She blinked, momentarily stunned. What is going on…? As soon as she had thought the word, she heard the sound of somepony talking relatively close by. Her ears tilted upwards so as to catch the words better, and she immediately recognized the shaky, nervous voice that was speaking. Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she grit her teeth.

Card Trick!

“–I told you, I couldn’t ensure her passage! Please!” Card Trick cried out, his voice high pitched and shaking. “I did as you asked, but Loyalty showed up and I couldn’t stick around to watch!”

Rainbow’s eyes shifted about as she craned her neck to get closer to the wall. It sounded to her like Card Trick was just in the room on the other side, and as though he was talking to somepony else. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hear anypony else in the room; just Card Trick.

“No, I swear! Please, she won’t interfere, I promise!” his voice was panicky. If Rainbow didn’t know any better, she’d say it almost sounded like he was…

Is he crying…?

“Yes, yes, of course I did! Once she got involved, I went to her house and left one for her as well!”

Rainbow blinked. She looked down at Tank again who was looking even more upset than before. Thinking hard, she ultimately came to one conclusion. Twilight’s in danger!

She blasted off, no longer concerned with speed limitations. Within moments she had landed in front of the library, not slowing down in the slightest. Carrying her momentum from flight over into her running, she burst through the door and dashed into the kitchen. Twilight was nowhere to be found.

“Twilight!?” she cried out, hoping that the alicorn would respond from somewhere else in the library. She grimaced as her only response was pure, unending silence.

Thinking back, she recalled seeing Twilight preparing to open that package. She looked about, seeing everything the way it was before she had left, minus Twilight of course. She looked all about the table and the chairs, not locating it anywhere. When she finally looked behind Twilight’s GM screen, something peculiar caught her eye.

Since when did Twilight have two rulebooks? Sure enough, there behind her screen was two separate ‘Adventures and Alicorns’ books. One was underneath Twilight’s paperwork, and the other was on top of some brown paper shreddings.

Tentatively, Rainbow reached out and grasped the second book. She lifted it up and held it in both hands. “What the hell is goin’ on…?”

Without warning, the book flipped open in her arms and a blinding light was emanating from it’s pages. Rainbow let go of the book and went to cover her eyes with her arm, only to discover that the book was now levitating at the height where she had let go of it. Before she could even attempt to jump away, a powerful grip latched itself onto her head and she could feel it pulling her towards the book. Desperately she struggled, trying to fight against the books grasp, but it was too strong.

“No, no! Stop it!” was all she could cry out before the book had forced her face onto the pages. She could feel the magic flowing around her and lifting up her body.

There was nothing she could do. The book had her in its grasp and she was powerless to stop it. Despair twisted her insides as she felt herself drop, the magic of the book blinding her and spinning her about. What had happened to her she didn’t know, but at the moment it didn’t matter. She could feel the magic forcing her into unconsciousness, and there was no point in resisting.

Slowly, as though she had been laying on her own cloud bed, Rainbow drifted off to sleep.