A Story And A Game

Chapters

The Yellow Devil
The Story, part 1: Meddlesome Mission
The Story, part 2: Into The White
The Story, part 3: Despair And Hope
The Story, part 4: Adventures In The Dark
The Game

The Yellow Devil

Sitting back on my new second-hand couch and a self-made hay smoothie in my right hoof I let out a relaxed sigh. I was ready. The house was ready.

Well, not entirely ready. The bedroom door still needed a second layer of paint, and the kitchen wasn't complete yet. Ponies use less cutlery than humans, but all of them have more than the pathetically few pieces of second-hand silverware in my drawer.
And the garden was still a mess of weeds and last year's leaves. And I still needed a better lamp for the bathroom.

But still, I was ready for tonight's house warming party.

I lifted my hind legs and rested them on the low, banana yellow table. It *snik* shifted under my feet and I immediately lifted them off again. Crap. Time to adjust the leg again.

In my mind I had dubbed it "the Table from Tartarus". "Yellow Devil" for short.

The table had been free, so I had been instantly interested. The pastel blue unicorn wanted to get rid of the ugly brown thing because it "wobbled a bit." No problem, I thought, give me a bit of wood, some nails and a hammer and I can fix it. A lick of black or anthracite paint and it'd be good as new. Better even, because it was free.

That was before I had to drag the thing all the way across Ponyville, yesterday morning. The thing was a solid, heavy wood and weighed a ton. No Ikea here, I grimaced.
Now, if Celestia had given me an earth pony's body it would have been easy. Or as a unicorn I could at least use magic to make it lighter or something. But no, I wanted to be able to fly.

And so my pegasus legs almost buckled under me while my still useless wings tried to keep it steady on my back. Apparently the weather was cooler than usual - Rainbow Dash had told me that autumn would be starting soon - but by the time I was home I had lost at least three buckets of sweat.
I had also dropped the table five or six times - I was lightheaded and lost count - but that didn't even dent the blasted thing.

And that's when things got really frustrating.

One leg had a crack that almost split it off in a wedge shape. That made the leg more wobbly and a bit shorter than the others.

It took me two hours struggling with my hooves, a hammer and some nails to realize that I couldn't repair it that way. And the leg had now completely split off. And my left hoof hurt where the hammer had just failed to miss it.

Also, I had forgotten to buy paint. Crap.

At the shop, five minutes after closing time, I bought glue - didn't ask, didn't want to upset anyone - and a bucket of paint. Under the kind but impatient eye of the light green shopkeeper I first selected the cheapest brand of dark grey I could find, but then grabbed a different bucket when I noticed the "100% scratch-proof" written on its label. Quite a bit more expensive, but I wanted to be able to put my hooves on the table without having to worry about scratches.

Back at home I applied the glue liberally on the split-off wedge, placed it back where it belonged and wrapped a few meters of twine around it to keep it in its place while the glue dried. I took extra care to position the wedge so the table wouldn't wobble.
When I checked it later that evening the twine refused to come off, being saturated with the already hardened glue. Crap.

I decided to just paint over it. I had spent enough time on just this bit of furniture. I had much more to do. And I was tired. So I grabbed a brush and opened the bucket of expensive, 100% scratch-proof paint.
Which was banana yellow.

Crap crap crappity crap.

In the bucket the paint merely looked yellow. However impossible it may sound, while applying it to the large surface of the table the paint somehow managed to become more yellow. By the time I was done the yellowness was almost overwhelming.

That could also have been a combination of paint fumes and exhaustion, though.

This morning, when the paint had dried, I placed the table back on its legs, in front of the couch. With a *crack* the glue let go. Although the twine held the leg in place, the table now wobbled more than it had ever done.

Crap crap, you know the drill.

And so here I was, pushing the leg back again. I had already found that if you did it just right, the leg would *click* back into how it was glued, exactly the right position to not wobble. And it would stay there until you moved the table. Or placed anything heavy on it.

I now had a very yellow, very heavy, definitely not free table that would *snik* automatically start to wobble under anything heavier than a glass of water. Yay.

Of course, in this colorful land chances were that Rarity would just call it a Bold Fashion Statement. I didn't care anymore.

I checked the box next to the couch one last time. Everything was still in there, and I marveled again how Heartwood had been able to craft the things I had requested so easily and quickly, using just his hooves.
It made me feel like a klutz. At least I had the excuse that I had been a pony for less than three weeks.

And so I was ready for tonight's house warming party. Now all I had to do is wait for Pinkie Pie to -
My thoughts were interrupted by the knocking on my front door. That must be the bright pink pony in question - she had that gift of making coincidences happen way more often than they should.

Even though I had been a brony before Twilight's magical mishap zapped me here, Pinkie's blatant abuse of cartoon physics was still shocking to actually witness in person. And that smile... It felt to me like there was something behind it that wasn't natural. That wasn't pony-shaped.

I opened the door to let the bouncing pink pony in. The next ten minutes were a blur. I had warned her that I wasn't the balloons-and-streamers kind of guy, but she still insisted that she had to decorate the place. And I must admit, she was good at it. She had even remembered to use less screamingly loud colors.

It made me smile to see her in her element again; she had been thoughtful and subdued around me ever since I told her she could throw me a party when she could create not the party she wanted but the party I needed.
I was afraid I had offended her with that, but apparently she had taken it as a challenge.

She probably didn't hear the *snik* when she placed the cake box on the table, and I *click* pushed the leg back when she turned away to grab the plates. Surprisingly it held under the weight of the cake - for now. I avoided touching the table, just in case.

Pinkie was just lighting the last lantern - a surprisingly tasteful dark blue with yellow swirls - in the corner of the room when the other guests started arriving.

Fluttershy was first. She was still a bit quiet around me, so I offered to help her feed her animals tomorrow morning. I'd have to rise very early, but it would be worth it to see her in her comfort zone, among her animals. People always get more chatty when their special talent is the subject. Even humans, even though they don't need a cutie mark to tell them what that talent is.
And I love talking to her. She's a good listener. Maybe I can return the favor tomorrow morning.

Fifteen minutes later all of the Mane Six had arrived. Spike was in Canterlot, studying under Celestia just like Twilight had done for years of her life, so tonight it would just be the six ponies that I thought I knew so well before I arrived here.
In real life they - and the world they lived in - proved to be a lot more complex than you could show in a 22 minute kids' cartoon. Everything here was so much more real.

When everyone had a slice of cake and hot chocolate milk or tea, it was Rarity - she had raised her eyebrow at the Yellow Devil but hadn't said anything - who smilingly asked for a speech. And so I stood, looked around at these alien but so familiar faces, and cleared my throat.

"Speeches are not my forte but yes, I do have a few things I would like to say. Mostly it's a big thank you. You have all been so wonderful for me these past few weeks. It was quite a shock to find myself in Equestria, and to become a pony myself. It is thanks to all of you that I could accept living here, and you helped me adjust enough that no-one... nopony here in Ponyville even realizes I'm not a pony.

"I would like to thank each of you. Twilight, for spending so much energy and time in researching a way back for me. That pesky magic cycle that means I'll have to stay for thirty moons is not your fault. Also thank you for helping me with all the papers and documents."
Twilight smiled but looked down. She was still feeling guilty over the accident. I'd have to talk to her about that again.

"Applejack, thank you for being there for me to talk to, and for helping me repair this house. Please also pass on my thanks to your sister - she did a wonderful job fixing the fence."
"Ah'm just glad we could help."

"Rainbow Dash, thank you for offering to teach me to fly. Now the house is - mostly - finished I'll have time and energy to train. Just remember that I'd like to walk before I can gallop. No loopings on the first day, please."
"I don't promise anything," she responded with a grin.

"Fluttershy, thank you for kindly listening to me every time I’m homesick for my world, my family, my friends."
She smiled warmly. I could see why she was chosen to be a model. She's effortlessly beautiful.

"Rarity, thank you for generously offering time and materials to decorate the house, the curtains and rugs... And I'm sorry about the table."
A round of chuckles confirmed that everyone had a similar opinion on the Yellow Devil. I wondered how many layers of paint would be necessary to fully get rid of that yellow? Would the paint be worth it?

"And Pinkie Pie, thank you for successfully throwing me the party that I needed."
Her smile couldn't be much wider without the top of her head falling off. I quickly continued before she had the chance to start talking.

"All of you, thank you for being here for me. For being the friends that I needed so much these weeks."

I looked around again. They smiled back. I suddenly realized that I had always more or less glossed over the friendship lessons in the show; just judging them on an analytical level. But here there were six ponies who lived these lessons, who were the embodiment of real friendship. Who had shown it to me. And yes, it felt like actual magic.

No way I could express that in words though, so I struggled a bit until Rarity raised her tea cup and said, "To friendship!"

I was quite sure that the sound of the mugs and cups hitting the table after the toast covered up the *snik*, and I used the sound of Pinkie talking a mile a minute to sneakily *click* reset the table leg again.
She was still talking when I had refilled everyone's mugs and cups.
"... learn about human parties. And tonight's going to be great too! He promised me he'd do a story or a game from his world!"

All of those big eyes looked at me. I had thought about this ever since I first discussed human games with Pinkie, a few weeks ago. No Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Pony for me. There were better games than that, and I planned to introduce some to Pinkie.

"Yes, Pinkie, I'm going to teach all of you a game from my world. I've adapted the theme a bit to fit Equestria, and it even comes with a story. In fact, it's quite a substantial story that I need to tell first, or the game would be very hard to explain."
"Oooooh! A story AND a game! What kind of story is it? Is it silly? Or scary? Or maybe -"
I cut her off; she could continue for ten minutes if I didn't.

"Pinkie? Pinkie, the story is one of mystery, and a long journey into danger, and a struggle against overwhelming odds. And it's about the six of you. And if you give me the chance I'll start it right now."

Every pony sat back, ready for the story. I saw Pinkie was almost vibrating in her seat.

"It may start off a little weird, but stick with me for a bit, and you'll understand."

I looked around at my friends one more time, cleared my throat and began.

The Story, part 1: Meddlesome Mission

In the silence you could have heard a pin drop. In fact, you could probably have heard it echo around the cave a couple of times. You see everypony's eyes widen with the realization that Rarity is right. Your eyes dart from pony to pony, from friend to friend. Each of these so familiar faces could be hiding a terrible secret.

Everything has gone wrong! Some of your friends are in danger, Shining Armor and Cadance have been missing for days - maybe even weeks - and the Crystal Empire is doomed if you don't get this right. But here you are, cold and hungry. And there are only one, two, three, four... five blood crystals left, and there is nopony you can trust.
Not Rarity. Not Twilight. Not even Applejack.

I saw them looking at one another, confused.
I smiled - they would find out where this was going.

How could things have gone so wrong so fast? It was only yesterday morning that the six of you were walking in the Whitetail Woods. Even though the sun made the yellow and red leaves glow against the clear blue sky, the chill in the air revealed that winter would be coming soon.

Up front walked Fluttershy, totally in her element, excitedly talking about the inhabitants of every nest and burrow you passed. Next to her walked Twilight, listening and smiling, and quietly enjoying the views.

Behind them followed Applejack and Rainbow Dash, discussing their plans for the Running of the Leaves, which would be held in a few days. Then came Rarity, carefully avoiding all of the muddy puddles in the road. So far she had managed to keep her always impeccable fur completely smudge-free.

And finally came Pinkie Pie, bouncing as always and absolutely not avoiding the puddles. Somehow she too had kept her fur free of any mud.

They laughed. These ponies might have proven to be more complex than the show had portrayed them but I still send a silent thanks to Lauren Faust for creating a very good approximation.

Suddenly you hear the flap of mighty pegasus wings overhead. A shadow passes, and then you see - it's a royal chariot landing on the path in front of you. You are surprised to see it actually carries princess Celestia herself.

You all run up to her and greet her. "Hello, friends," she greets you back. "It is good to see you enjoying yourselves on a beautiful autumn day such as this."

Twilight knows Celestia well enough to notice she looks slightly worried, and says "Princess, is everything okay? Why are you here? You look worried."

"Yes, Twilight, there is something I am somewhat worried about. It might be nothing, in fact it probably is, but I'd still feel a lot better if you checked it out for me."

My audience sat up a little straighter. A mission from the princess - this they could understand.

"You see, I receive letters not just from you but from several ponies throughout Equestria, and even beyond. I maintain a regular correspondence with your sister-in-law, princess Cadance, in which we exchange not just personal things but also advice in matters of state. She sends me at least one letter a week."

A couple of birds fly over, loudly twittering. Celestia watches them land in a tree further down the road, then sighs.

"Her last letter was almost three weeks ago. Now, I know nothing terrible has happened in the Crystal Empire. Every day three trains go there and return. My... diplomats report nothing unusual either.
Of course, there could be a very simple, reasonable explanation. Maybe she has been too busy, or she may have had nothing special to write about. But still, I would like the six of you to go and visit the Crystal Empire. You could take this afternoon's train, and return with the first train tomorrow. I will make sure everything has been paid for."

You all nod, indicating that of course you do not mind doing this for her.

"You know Cadance and Shining Armor personally and can much better discover if something is amiss. It is not necessary to mention my worries, though; I do not like to be seen as... meddlesome."
She smiles. "I would also advise you to bring a scarf. I hear it is already quite cold up in the north."

A few hours later the train has departed, carrying all six of you away to adventure. Or, as Twilight points out, probably just a nice visit to good friends.

An hour passes, and the scenery outside the windows has already changed quite a bit. Trees here have shed their leaves, and in shadowed areas you can see frost on the ground. It is a good thing the train is comfortably warm.

When the train has passed Mareburg you all find yourselves looking outside, where the slowly falling snowflakes have already dusted the landscape with a delicate white layer. The dark gray clouds make this almost monochromatic scene that much more depressing.

The discussions about what might have happened in the Crystal Empire have long died down, and with so few other travellers the train has grown quiet except for the endless rhythmic sound of the wheels on the tracks.

Then, finally, the train approaches Stalliongrad, the final stop before the 40 minute stretch through the plains to your, and the train's, destination. Outside a white haze prevents you from seeing very far, but you can still see many snowflakes continually adding to the already fetlock-deep layer on the ground.

My descriptions seem to have worked. The ponies have actually huddled together somewhat, even though I notice with a bit of pride it is actually quite warm and cozy in my house.

At the Stalliongrad station, the train seems to take a long time to depart again. After about ten minutes the light gray train conductor arrives.

"I'm very sorry, ladies, but this train will not be continuing its journey to the Crystal Empire."

The Story, part 2: Into The White

"Why not?" Twilight asks. "Is there something wrong?"

"Two trains have already left for the Crystal Empire today, and neither has come back. It's only single track to the Empire, so we need to wait for at least one of them to return."

"The trains haven't returned? Why not?"

"We're still trying to find that out. This evil cold fog and the early snow have made things a lot harder. The Courageous Three haven't reported back yet either, but they probably will soon. They left two hours ago."
He notices your confused looks.

"You haven't heard of The Courageous Three? Strongtail, Shadefeather and Blue Moon? They're heroes! They must have saved this town at least seven times now, and even the whole of Equestria a couple of times. The Deep Quake? The Army of Shadows? No?"
He looks disappointed. Ponies these days. Not interested at all in the effort it takes to keep Equestria safe.

"If anyone can get there, it's them. Also, Blue Moon has a spell that allows him to sending messages back to the mayor, instantly. But no message had arrived yet fifteen minutes ago. You might ask the mayor if anything has arrived since then."

"Wait," Rainbow says, "You said 'evil fog'? This fog isn't usual around here?"

"Oh no, never seen anything like it. It started yesterday. Apparently it gets even thicker if you head north. I hope The Courageous Three packed warm boots."

When you leave the train and step on the platform the cold hits you like a wall to the face. The fog isn't merely very cold; it actually seems to draw the heat right out of your bodies.
You're relieved to step into the warm mayor's office a few minutes later.

The mayor is a weathered older stallion. He informs you that he's still waiting for a message from Blue Moon. And no, he will not allow any trains or new search parties to leave until he gets that message, or at least until tomorrow. Even a stagecoach would probably not be able to travel the winding and snow-covered road to the Empire before sunset, an hour from now. And being caught out there in this fog and snow and cold /and/ dark would be very, very bad.
Besides, you'd definitely wouldn't find ponies who could pull it without getting hypothermia before you'd reach the Empire.

Walking out of the office and back into the biting cold you discuss your options.

"Twilight, " Applejack begins, "How 'bout that teleport spell of yours? Could that zap us to the Empire?"

"I'm sorry, Applejack. Across such a distance is just not possible. Not for me at least. And even if I could, it would be way too dangerous - we don't know what to expect over there."

Rarity looks at Rainbow Dash. "Maybe you and Fluttershy could pull a stagecoach above this fog?"

"Yeah, not in this weather, Rarity. Our wings would be covered in ice in minutes, even if we could get it above the fog. Besides, where are we going to get a stagecoach anyway?"

Twilight suddenly looks at Rarity. "If we could find one, I might have an idea. I just hope I will not regret this."

Three quarters of an hour later Twilight is seriously regretting her decision to do this. Magically pulling the heavy stagecoach along an uneven snow-covered track demands a lot of concentration, and she's getting a severe headache. At least using the old path that runs beside the railroad tracks means you're not going to get lost. And while the path is quite bumpy, it should run quite straight towards the Empire.

Worse is that in the ever thickening fog it's impossible to determine how much progress you're making. It's hard to tell under this thick blanket of grey clouds, but the light already seems to be fading a bit; and you might still be a long way from your destination.

Suddenly, a dark shadow looms up in the fog. Immediately, Twilight stops the stage coach, making it skid a bit and throwing all of you into a tumble. After a few seconds you realize it actually is the tail end of a train, motionless standing on the tracks.

Twilight brings you forward until you're right next to it.

You all feel a shudder. There's no light, no movement. The train looks... "Dead" is the word that unbiddingly rises in your minds.

Because none of you want to leave the warmth for very long, you decide to each check one of the wagons, then quickly meet back in the warmth of the stagecoach.

A few minutes later the last back in is Rainbow Dash, who not only checked the engine but also flew around the train to check for ponies, clues, anything.
While she's shaking the ice and snow off her wings you compare your findings, quickly discovering that everyone has the same to report.

The train is cold and empty. No ponies were found, but there are lots of signs of fighting - broken windows, torn curtains, luggage strewn everywhere. Rainbow reports that the engine was completely cold; the train must have been sitting here for hours. Meanwhile the light but consistently falling snow has covered up any tracks that might have lead to or from the train.

Rarity adds that she thought she smelled something. All of your noses are running a bit in this cold, so it is impossible to tell what it was. But it had a familiar edge, something she had smelled before; she just can't remember what it was.

You all sit silently, slowly feeling the warmth creep back into your cold hooves. It's Applejack who breaks the silence.
"Ah reckon we should press on. It can't be far to the Empire, but we needs to be there afore sundown. There ain't nothin' we can do for these ponies but hope they're alright, wherever they are."

While Twilight lights up her horn and starts the cart moving again, the rest of you cannot suppress gloomy thoughts.

The Story, part 3: Despair And Hope

I refilled the mugs and cups and brought out a plate of cookies. The ponies were awfully quiet. Maybe I was making the story too gloomy?
It doesn't matter, I thought. Soon the mystery will be revealed and the tone of the story should shift a bit.

Some fifteen minutes later you suddenly find the Crystal Empire's station appearing out of the fog, where you find the other missing train. Even in this fog and rapidly fading light it quickly becomes obvious that whatever happened to that first train also happened here.

Everything is dark and quiet. Windows are broken, open and closed bags and suitcases are everywhere. A thin layer of snow has covered everything out on the platform.
Meanwhile there is no pony to be seen. No guard, no crystal pony, nopony. If there weren't a cold breeze whistling through the broken windows it would have been completely silent.

You decide not to stay too long here, and set out for the city itself. Hopefully someone at the palace can make sense of all of this.

Assuming there still is somepony at the palace.

You soon see the first house along the road. It too is dark, although the windows are unbroken.

Suddenly the fog lights up in brilliant yellow. For a second you fear the worst, but then realization dawns. The setting sun must have found a break in the clouds, casting its last rays on the layer of fog.

This gives Rainbow an idea, and she immediately sets off, straight up.

The layer of fog is surprisingly thin; only thirty meters up Rainbow breaks through into the clear air beyond. She gasps as she takes in this strange landscape, with numerous roofs and crystal spires poking out of the swirling fog below. A few faraway breaks in the thick cloud layer overhead create a spectacular backdrop of golden rays pointing to the amber setting sun.

Central to all of this is the tall palace, but it is not its usual brilliant light blue. It is covered in a sickly green goo.

And everywhere, perched on roofs, crawling all over the palace and flying in small flocks through the air, are thousands, many thousands of... changelings!

Yeah, I know, not the most original adversaries. But I didn't have all that much time to prepare this story, fixing up my house and all. And they fit perfectly with the game.

Meanwhile, the reactions of the Mane Six varied from an excited Rainbow Dash to a more concerned look on Rarity's face.
"I can't see why you're so happy, Rainbow darling. We can't fight such an overwhelming force, you know that. I'm very curious to see how we're going to get out of this without the help of Shining Armor and princess Cadance."

Fluttershy looked at me with those beautiful big blue eyes. "This story does have a happy end, right? ... Please?"

I wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I can't tell you that. Not only do I not want to give spoilers, at this point even I don't know if this story will have a happy end. Just trust me."

Rainbow immediately spins around and flies back down again; into the fog, to her friends.
No time to explain. "We have to hide, now!"

She drags the five of you to that house, throws open the front door, pushes all of you inside, all the while muttering about how they might have seen her.

The living room is a mess. The couch, a table and some chairs are lying haphazardly near the corner of the room. Everything has been pulled from the closets, loose paper and broken earthenware cover the ground.

"What did you see, Rainbow?" asks Twilight.
"Changelings! Thousands of them! They're everywhere, and the palace is completely covered in green goo!"

Then Rainbow remembers something, a glint she had seen just before she flipped over to dive back down.
"Completely covered except for the Crystal Heart, that is. I could see it rotating in its usual spot. Around there was no goo at all."

"That's because they're scared of it. They don't like to go near it," a rough voice says.

You look around and discover an earth pony stallion has stepped out from behind the couch.
"It's good to see ponies I can trust," he continues. "Today was chaos. For example, this morning almost the entire family next door turned out to be changelings. I'm Laminary Quartz by the way. Just call me Quartz."

He calls the rest of his family from their hiding spot behind the piled up furniture. A scared looking mare with a young foal joins you, before he tells about what happened here.

"The past few weeks have been weird, in hindsight. Everypony was a bit more jittery than usual. There were rumors of ponies going mad, or suffering from amnesia. But it was always a neighbor of a friend of a nephew, or something. I just worked in the mine. A month ago we have discovered a new vein, and we are still looking for any branches we might have missed.
Anyway, all was relatively well until yesterday afternoon, when this fog just appeared out of nowhere. It didn't seem to be dangerous, so we just, well, waited. Usually when something weird or dangerous is happening we just leave it to the Prince and Princess to do something about it. And they always do."

"We haven't seen them for weeks, you know," his wife suddenly cuts in. "They're always around town, chatting with ponies, or training the guard. But not since, I don't know... Even Citrine was talking about it."

"Then, this morning, the changelings were suddenly everywhere," Quartz continues. "A lot of them flew in, but they must have replaced quite a number of ponies over the past few weeks. Anypony could be a changeling, including many of the guards. There was no way we could defend or fight back. It was over before we knew it."

You share a look with your friends. You saw it happen in Canterlot. Here in the Empire there had been no advance warning.

"Have you seen their queen, Chrysalis?" Twilight asks.

"If there is a queen she's probably up in the palace. We didn't see much; we've stayed in today as we were too scared to go out. Especially after they searched our house. Every house. They were looking for blood crystals. They must have found out about the Shining Spires."

Seeing your confusion Quartz starts to explain. "The Prince and Princess cannot always be around to protect the Empire. So Shining Armor build a defense system - the Crystal Heart can emit a growing bubble or shield that can throw any invaders out."

I've drawn a small heart from the box, carved from wood and painted like the real thing. I place it on the table, then add three equally well-crafted and painted miniature crystal-like spires around it.

"It's powered by both their magics; I don't really understand that stuff. I'm a miner. I know about rocks." he adds with an apologetic shrug.
"But they made sure everypony knew that it's activated by the three spires around the Heart. Just insert one blood crystal into each of them, and voom! Easy as cake. And blood crystals are everywhere. Everypony has them."

"What are blood crystals? They sound... intriguing," Rarity asks.

I drew a few blood crystals from Heartwood's box. His wife had made them, and he was especially proud of them. I could see why. Apparently they were made from some sort of inedible rock candy. They were a translucent dark red and actually had subtle golden glow within. I just had to make sure they wouldn't get wet.

"They're only found in the mine Quartz works in," his wife explains. "They're dark red, like blood, and they have this magic in them that gives them a warm glow. They're always at body temperature. We use them a lot, as night lights and bed warmers. Many ponies swear they're good for your health if you have them near or on you; I don't know, but I always have one in my saddle bags, just in case."

Quartz continues. "Like I said, everypony has them. Most have several. Until today, that is. These changelings could sniff them out somehow, and any blood crystal they found they simply ate. Gobbled them up. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself."

I dramatically scooped up the crystals and place them back into the box.

Twilight sighs. There had been a spot of hope, and then it had been thoroughly dashed again. "They ate all of them? There aren't any left in some hidden or hard to reach place?"

Quartz shakes his head. "I'm sorry. They were very thorough. They even dug up the ones in the garden that were warming the roots of my sunberry bush."

The Story, part 4: Adventures In The Dark

"What about the mine?" Applejack asks.

"They must have been to the mine. We always have... had crates full of blood crystals ready for shipping. And it's not exactly hidden either. I can't imagine them not sniffing it out."

"We could still try," Twilight says. "With so many crystals there it would be easy to miss a few. And we only need three."

You all agree. Besides, it feels very dangerous to stay in town with all these changelings flying around.

Laminary Quartz gives you directions to the mine. It isn't far. The mine is in the foothills of the mountains behind the station, up one of the valleys a bit. The road is marked with posts and should still be visible, even under a layer of snow.
The stallion also apologizes for wanting to stay home; he wants to protect his family.

It was here that I looked at the clock. The time had passed more quickly than I expected. The ponies were still captivated by the story, but it would probably be a good idea to cut out a part. Especially if I wanted to have sufficient time for the game.

Crisps and snacks had somehow appeared on the table. Pinkie must have put them there, even though I didn't see her do it.

I shrugged. Pinkie.

It is fully dark when you arrive at the mine. You find it as you expected - cold and abandoned. Broken crates and randomly dropped pickaxes indicate that the changelings have been here as well.

You all hurry inside the main shaft, and light a fire with scrap wood and broken crates. It feels good to warm your hooves again. Even though the mine is in the foothills quite a way above the fog, the night air is still freezing up here. Inside the mine it is a bit warmer.

It takes almost an hour walking through cramped mine shafts, ascending ladders and carefully descending creaking rope lifts, to confirm that the mines seem completely devoid of any blood crystals. Not even Rarity's horn can detect any.

Two shafts have collapsed; you can't tell if that happened today. There could be blood crystals behind the collapses, but there's no way to find out. It would take days to clear the rubble, all the while risking more falling rocks.

It is Pinkie who discovers a shaft that you haven't checked yet, on one of the deeper levels of the mine. After only a few meters it has been completely boarded off, and there are many old and faded but still readable signs indicating some danger that must lie beyond the barrier. It has not been disturbed, so the changelings haven't searched beyond it. But what danger could there be?

You decide to press on, to break through the barrier, to search beyond. It is your only hope.

I pause to finish off my drink. It has been a long time since I talked so much.

"I will skip here all the adventures you find behind that barrier - that's a story for a different night."

Even Rarity managed to look a bit disappointed.

"I might even make it an interactive story. Just know that you find cave systems, and an ancient underground stronghold. You encounter dark twisty corridors, and giant spiders, and difficult riddles."

During these adventures you actually manage to find blood crystals. You have an entire chest of them, so full you can only just close its lid. Maybe you only need three, but as Applejack reasoned it can't hurt to have spares.

Finally you emerge into daylight again from a ventilation shaft that ends just inside the mouth of a cave. You find yourselves a bit higher up in the mountains, with a nice view on the Crystal Empire. The goo covered palace isn't even all that far from here.

The sky is a lot more clear than it was yesterday, although you can see the fog still covering the Empire.
The angle of the sun tells you it is mid-morning, and the six of you are exhausted from climbing, walking and struggling all through the night.

You decide to take shelter for now, and sleep until night has fallen. Then you can each take three blood crystals, and try to reach the spires under cover of both the fog and the dark.
Of course, you don't know if you'll be safe in this cave, so you take turns to guard for an hour, then wake the next pony.

After an uneventful and restful day you all gather at the mouth of the cave. Guarding the cave wasn't necessary. None of you reports seeing or hearing anything suspicious.

You all feel quite well rested, though cold and hungry.
You're ready for this, even if there are a few thousand changelings between you and the Crystal Heart. You know you have to do this, because if you fail, if you cannot activate the shield, the only other option left to free the Empire is probably an all-out war between the Equestrian army and the changelings. The army would win, probably, but at what cost?

My audience visibly relaxed. If the choice was between an all-out war or the Mane Six saving the day again, they could see where this story was going to go.

I grinned. No, they couldn't.

Twilight uses her magic to lift the chest from its safe location at the back of the cave.

The chest feels suspiciously light.

Ah, that got a reaction. Rainbow just said "Wait, what?", but I could see Twilight and Rarity both thinking hard. They loved mysteries and solving puzzles.

Before I could continue the story, Twilight spoke up. "I don't get it. The chest is full when we arrive in the cave, we keep guard the entire day, and now the chest is empty?"

"Almost empty," I corrected her. "There are still a few crystals left on the bottom of the chest."

I gave them a few seconds to think on this twist, then continued.

You talk about the missing blood crystals, and look around confused. In the middle of your discussion you suddenly hear Rarity say: "Oh, dear."

They all turned to look at Rarity, who looked at me, confused, thinking hard. Then it hit her.

"Some of us must be changelings..."

They all fell silent.

Yes! My faith in Rarity was well placed. I could not have scripted this better if she had been in on it.

Of course I grabbed this opportunity, and continued...

In the silence you could have heard a pin drop. In fact, you could probably have heard it echo around the cave a couple of times.
You see everypony's eyes widen with the realization that Rarity is right. Your eyes dart from pony to pony, from friend to friend. Each of these so familiar faces could be hiding a changeling.

They all immediately recognized this bit. Rarity throws a look my way that, if I had a bit more self esteem, I would classify as "admiration."

Everything has gone wrong! Some of your friends have been kidnapped and replaced by changelings, Shining Armor and Cadance have been missing for days - maybe even weeks - and the Crystal Empire is doomed if you don't get this right.
But here you are, cold and hungry. And there are only one, two, three, four... five blood crystals left, and there is nopony you can trust.
Not Rarity. Not Twilight. Not even Applejack.

When I was counting I placed the five blood crystals from the box back on the table again.

And this, my friends, this is where the story ends...

"What?" Rainbow asks. "You can't end a story like that! I want to know how we're going to save the Empire!"

"Rainbow?" I interrupt her. "Please let me finish. Trust me."

This, my friends, this is where the story ends... and the game begins!

The Game

"This game will determine, you will determine whether the changelings will be thrown out of the Empire by Shining Armor and Cadance's defence system, or the changelings will win and the Empire will be plunged into a nasty war."

I cleared more room on the table, stacking used glasses and empty bowls on the floor next to the couch. The crystal heart was moved towards the center of one end of the table, and the spires were arranged around it again. I placed the five blood crystals side by side in the center of the table, then drew some more game components from the box.

"Meanwhile, consuming the blood crystals has giving the changelings among you enough power to perfectly mimic the ponies they replaced - not even Twilight could detect them with her magic. And even if she could, even if she were to tell you that for instance Applejack was a changeling, would you believe her? She could be one herself!

"The good news is that based on the number of missing crystals, and the fact that they haven't dared to reveal themselves yet, there are probably just two changelings. Which means the ponies still have the majority.
And this gives Twilight an idea, a way to make use of this majority.

"You will take turns selecting a small team. You all vote on it, and only if a majority approves, this team will take one of the blood crystals and sneak off into the night to try to insert it into one of the Shining Spires without alerting any changelings. Meanwhile, the rest of you will stay here in the cave, keeping an eye on the remaining crystals, and each other.

"Of course, you hope they will return in an hour or so, reporting that the crystal has been successfully placed into one of the spires; bringing you one step closer to saving the Empire.
What also might happen is that they return arguing, reporting that one of them has eaten the crystal while the others weren't looking, and they can't agree on who had the crystal last. Since you only have five blood crystals, this will rapidly bring you closer to defeat. Lose three crystals this way and you can no longer activate the defense system, which means the changelings win.

"If after voting there is no majority in favor of the team, it's simply the next pony's turn to select a team. Keep in mind, however, that if this happens five times in a row it's obvious the changelings have caused so many disharmony between you that the ponies automatically lose."

I dealt each of them a card, warning them to never reveal it. This card told them whether they would be a pony or a changeling. I had emphasized that the changelings are in the minority, so their only hope is to act exactly like the pony they have replaced.

I must say, I had underestimated their poker faces. Even I couldn't tell who had received one of the two changeling cards.

We proceeded to do the thing where the changelings reveal their identity to each other by having everybody close their eyes, the changelings open them and make eye contact, then close them again.
As soon as everypony's eyes opened they started looking around suspiciously. Perfect.

"Rarity, for some reason everyone trusts you a fraction more than the others, so you'll start." I ignored the looks I got, indicating that the others didn't necessarily agreed with this.
"This first team you're going to choose will consist of only two ponies. Later teams will be somewhat larger. You can of course also pick yourself as part of this team. So, who will you pick?"

I placed one of the blood crystals in front of her.

She looked around. None of the other ponies looked particularly suspicious - or rather, all of them were. Even Applejack, who returned her stare with an equally piercing one.
"I simply have no idea," Rarity said. "I mean, Pinkie is grinning as if she's a changeling, so I do not trust her. Twilight is way too quiet for my tastes. Rainbow and Applejack are throwing so many suspicious glances around they're either honest or trying very hard to look like it."
She glanced at Fluttershy, sitting to her right. "And about that, girls, maybe you could tone it down a little? I think you're scaring Fluttershy."

Rarity turned to me and asked, "So how do I choose? I have no clue who the changelings could be."

"Well, the first turn is always the toughest. That's why you only have to pick a team of two ponies. As I said, you can just pick yourself. Then just go with your instincts and pick someone to join you. As soon as everyone has voted on that team you'll have more information to base your choices on."

She looked around once more, then indicated Fluttershy. "In that case, my team will be Fluttershy and me."

I gave them ten seconds to determine their votes, then had them all reveal their vote at the same time. Besides Rarity herself only Fluttershy and Applejack had voted for the team. Three votes was not enough for a majority, so I took the crystal and placed it in front of Rainbow Dash.
I also grabbed another game component from the box; one they hadn't seen yet. It was a small crystal heart, like the one standing between the spires; but this one was very obviously broken, with a split right down the center.

"What's that?" Rainbow asked, with her nose only inches away from the broken heart. "Is that supposed to be broken?"

"Yes, it is. It represents your disharmony. I have five of them here in the box, and for every team that doesn't get a majority vote I take another broken heart and place it here on the table. If all five of them stand here, the ponies lose and the changelings win."

Rainbow looked shocked. "Wait, we can only vote against a team five times?"

"Well, if a team gets approved I will place all of them back in the box again, so it isn't as bad as you think. Rainbow, I think it's your turn to choose a two-pony team."

She was just as hesitant to pick someone. "So, I don't trust Twilight. And with Pinkie still grinning like that... No, just... no."

Pinkie's smile didn't budge a millimeter.

"I think you can't trust Applejack or Rarity," Twilight suddenly spoke up. "Applejack approved that team she wasn't even in, so she must have known that Rarity was a changeling; it also means she's a changeling herself, of course. And Rarity picking Fluttershy means that she would have had a scapegoat if the crystal had been eaten."

Rarity looked at Twilight, with a dramatic hoof to the forehead. "Oh, how unfair! You suspect me, and not Fluttershy?"

"Come on, Rarity," Rainbow said."Everypony knows you're a better actor than her. Most of the time. So," she turned to me, " that means the only pony I can trust is Fluttershy. My team is me and her."

They all fell silent, trying to follow Twilight and Rainbow's logic.

I couldn't suppress a smile. These discussions and accusations are why playing this game is so awesome with players who really know each other.

There were several glances towards the broken heart while the ponies decided their vote, so I wasn't surprised to see this team did get a majority.

I drew some tokens from a black velvet bag and gave the two ponies on the team two tokens each. One was light blue, the color of the crystal heart, the other had the black and sickly green colors associated with changelings. I explained that they had to choose one token and, without showing it to the others, drop it in a white bag I would pass around. The other they would drop unseen back into the black bag that held all of the tokens.

Ponies could only choose to use the light blue token; changelings could choose either.

Next, I would shake the white bag, so the tokens would be really mixed, then draw them out one at a time. If any of them would be black and green the mission would fail; the crystal had been eaten. Only if all of them were light blue the crystal would be successfully placed in one of the spires.

I was surprised when the outcome of this first mission was revealed. Neither of the ponies had eaten the crystal. Then again, a changeling can choose not to eat the crystal to gain some trust from the other players.

I placed the crystal in one of the spires, then grabbed the next one.

"Congratulations, ponies. You're one step closer to defeating the changelings. Applejack, It's your turn to pick a team. This team will have three ponies, so choose wisely."

Time flies when you're having fun. The next few rounds had flown by, and before I knew it we had arrived at the last crystal.

It was quiet; tension on every pony's face. Even Pinkie had traded her smile for a narrow-eyed concentrated look.

Everybody was looking at Twilight. It was her turn to pick a team. Two crystals had already been placed in the spires, but two had also been eaten. There was only one blood crystal left.
And for this last team I had told her to pick four ponies, so her guess had to be perfect for the ponies to win, to save the Empire.

The two broken hearts on the table didn't help. I could see Twilight was actually sweating while she tried to make sense of all the clues gathered so far.

Everypony already suspected Applejack; she had been in both teams that had its crystal eaten. But who could be the second changeling?

Twilight looked at Rarity, who looked back with a raised eyebrow that seemed to say "You might suspect me, darling, but I'm not sure I trust you either."

Rainbow Dash? No, she had been acting too real, too much into the game. Almost unthinkable to think she could be a changeling.

The same was true for Pinkie Pie. Her accusations towards the other players had been loud and over the top, of course, but that made them no less real.

Besides, both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had been in teams that had actually succeeded.

But who could it be, then?

Twilight suddenly turned to Fluttershy. She hadn't even considered her; the yellow pegasus had been mostly quiet in this very social game. But this could very well be hiding her unease about playing a changeling. It would also explain why Applejack had voted for the team that included Fluttershy but not herself…
And the pegasus must have chosen not to eat the crystal in that first team, just so everypony would trust her.
It all made sense now!

With a triumphant grin Twilight indicated the team; everypony except Applejack and Fluttershy.
Now to get it through the vote...

I leaned back in my couch. It was quiet, even outside, this late at night. I looked around. With the help of Pinkie Pie the party had been cleaned up in another ten minute blur, and it looked like my house again. My house.

I sighed contently and took a sip from my glass of water. The Empire had been saved, and all of the Mane Six had cheered. Even Fluttershy and Applejack.

They had all been smiling when they said their good-nights and left for their own beds. No smile had been as wide as Pinkie's.
She had asked me to do another story and game next week. I already had a few ideas.

I leaned my hind legs on the table.

*snik*

I smiled. Life was good.

Author's Note

As you may have guessed, I'm a great fan of modern board games.

So many new and interesting mechanics have been developed these last few decades.No longer do you have to roll a die, move your pawn, and hope you don't lose. These days you have cooperative games, deck building, story telling, negotiation, push-your-luck... and a lot more.

Also, I have found that face-to-face board games are usually a lot more social and rewarding and fun than video games, even
multiplayer games.

Board games are definitely no longer exclusively for kids either. Due to complexity, required skills or, in a few cases, theme (like the excellent Arkham Horror) some have a quite high minimum age requirement.

The Resistance, the game that was used as a basis for the game in this story, has a modern game mechanic that's a favorite of mine, the Traitor. This is when a game has one or more players who have to thwart the other players, but nobody knows who the traitors are.
When adapting this to ponies it made a lot of sense to use changelings, even though I could also have used more original adversaries.

I don't know whether to consider myself a brony. I have seen and enjoyed the show, and I've been somewhat following the fandom for quite a while now (lurker only).
However, I refuse to obsess over anything as trivial as a TV show. There are more important things in life.

But I want to challenge myself. Bronies make a perfect audience for my first public foray into story writing. And the world of Equestria makes an excellent subject.

This is the third draft of this story. Although the in-game story and game do not fundamentally differ, the circumstances leading up to it and the identity of the story teller certainly do. The first version was way too complicated, with a meta story about Twilight getting accustomed to being a Princess in Ponyville, a wandering salespony, and even a lesson about playing roles. I'm simply not an experienced enough writer to pull that off.

This version should flow better, I think, although I'm still not sure in many places whether I need to add more detail or conversation, to help world building and the readers' connection to characters, or to gloss over details to prevent bogging down the story.
I probably need to learn not to be afraid of writing longer stories. Also, I just need more experience.

It also doesn't help that English is not my first language.

Any constructive criticism would certainly be appreciated.