Prologue
It was a normal afternoon for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The sun sat high in the sky and a soft breeze made the temperature almost perfect. Everybody in Equestria was gladly enjoying this beautiful day, everybody except three young ponies in the village of Ponyville. After failing to achieve a cutie mark in standing around, thinking about how to get a cutie mark and, lastly, holding breath, which led to some really odd looks from the Ponyville inhabitants and a lot of coughing, the Crusaders, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, were laying on a field of grass in the outskirts of Ponyville.
"Ugh, come on," Scootaloo sighed out for the third time of the day, "there has to be something we can do, ANYTHING!" and she proceeded to close her eyes and rub the sides of her head in dispair. A large tree threw a shadow on top of all three foals, protecting them from the hot sun and making it comfortable to lay in the grass.
"Well, aren't we kinda doing something by thinking about doing something?" Sweetie Belle said in her typical cracking voice. "I mean, are we ever not doing anything? What if—"
"Sweetie, you are not helping and I will go insane if I have to lay around for five minutes longer!"
Apple Bloom couldn't help but snicker at her impatience. "I guess there goes ya cutie mark in patience, Scoots," the farmpony pointed out and smirked widely.
"Ughh, that's it. I'm going to Twilight's. She has a castle. There has to be something to do".
"You know what? That's actually a good idea! Twilight knows so much stuff, she can help us!"
"Yea, let's go then".
The three foals were happy to finally having some kind of plan, and a visit of Twilights castle was always an adventure of some sorts. Even though the Crusaders have examined and explored nearly every inch of the castle in the first few months after the attack fo Tirak, they till somehow found new things or hidden passages to play with frequently, besides that, Twilight always helped them if they needed help for something and even though she was a giant egghead, spending time with her or working on their skills with her supervision was something the Crusaders enjoyed throughout.
It was a short trot to the Rainbow Kingdom castle and soon the Crusaders faced the tall half crystal tree, half castle like structure in its full glory and sparkling in the sunlight. The beauty never failed to amaze the three ponies and they slowly made their way to the entrance. Once arrived they knocked on the big wooden door and every fiber of their bodies hoped that Twilight was home.
A minute passed and Scootaloo already began to loose hope when suddenly the door opened and Princess Twilight Sparkle greeted their sight.
"Hello? Oh hi there it's you, I thought we wouldn't have lessons until next week," she said in a happy tone and smiled genuinely. "Or are you here to play in the castle again?".
The Crusaders greeted back and began explaining their more than miserable situation.
"...and then we came here, and knocked, and ooooh I'm so booooooored Twilight please help us!!" Scootaloo begged and hugged her leg tightly to show the importance of the matter.
Twilight could only chuckle at the little Pegasus hugging her leg, and after a bit of wiggling Scootaloo stood up again.
"Bored huh? I thought you would still search for things to get your cutie mark with at this time of the day".
"We were," Sweetie explained, "but do you realize that at some point it is actually harder to think about things to do to get a cutie mark than getting it in the first place? ...today we stood around a tree for two hours to see if there is a cutie mark related to it, for two hours!"
"Mah hooves still hurt by the way...." Apple Bloom remarked and Twilight began to think. Things like boredom did rarely exist in her younger times, since there was never a shortage of books, but feeling smug or telling them to do something they didn't like in the first place was definitely not a good thing to do right now. She took a step aside and nodded with a smile, inviting them inside. She knew how much the Crusaders liked the castle and maybe she would be able to help them without having to think about something to do herself.
The foals entered and soon all four ponies walked down the richly decorated and colourfully arranged halls of the castle.
"Twilight," Scootaloo began while admiring the decorations "what did you do when you were bored? When you were younger I mean"
Here was the question Twilight hoped she wouldn't have to answer. She knew that telling them to read some books or go and learn for school would just lead to them laughing and telling her to "propose something normal ponies would enjoy as well".
"Uhm, you know...I....played outside, and....met friends to...uhm," she tried her best but knew there was no way she would come up with anything these foals would like and didn't actually try yet...or wasn't a lie.
"No, what did you really do when you were bored? I mean, except learning and reading books...there had to be something, right?"
Twilight looked down to the foals and three pairs of eyes met hers. They were looking at her, expecting an answer to all their problems and the almost begging gaze actually made Twilight sad for knowing so much but not being able to help three foals in something simple as having something to do.
They eventually reached the recreational area of the castle. The term "recreational" was a bit wrong though as it was more of a comfortable giant library with some Desks, tables, comfortable cushions, a big warm fire and, of course, a lot of books. As soon as the Crusaders entered the room, they began their search for something to entertain themselves. To Twilights surprise they even inspected some of the books.
"Wow, they really are bored", Twilight thought and doubled her efforts to come up with an idea. As she got comfortable on one of the cushions and watched the Crusaders look for some entertainment, her mind drifted and she felt her own burnout coming. She never really realized how lucky she was for being entertained by things others would, mildly said, consider a chore, but right now she felt every bit of despair these foals felt in the room and thinking became harder and harder.
"I wish we could have an adventure like that, it has been so boring around here lately...", Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes and looked at the book in her hooves.
"Yea Twilight", Sweetie Belle squeaked from the corner of the room, "when are you going to have another adventure again? It's been a long while!"
"Wha-? Tirek attacking us was not an adventure. Neither was Nightmare Moon coming back or Discord ravaging through Equestria, these were dangerous incidents or serious attacks. A real adventure has to come from a deep inner urge to experience something epic, to risk your life for the good just because you can, to save the world without even flinching and to gain treasures!"
Six pairs of eyes now looked at Twilight who sat there with dreamy eyes, a wicked grin and hooves held high. The Crusaders were baffled and for a moment none of them knew what to say at Twilights sudden outburst.
"Uh...Twahlight?"
"Huh? Oh...", in a matter of milliseconds Twilights gaze turned to embarassment and a slight blush overcame her face "Sorry for that, I just get sucked in by memories sometimes..."
"Memories? Since when do you go on epic adventures risking your life to find treasure?" Scootaloo asked, and all three foals were more confused than ever.
"Well...I do not, and never did...but...I definitely experienced it", Twilight regained her composure and stood up. "I now know what you could do, and it should suit you perfectly", with an nostalgic expression on her face she moved to a big book shelve and opened a drawer on the bottom side of it. Inside were several books, pencils, paper, something that seemed to be a boardgame field and a foldable pice of carton with images of dragons and warriors on it.
She got a hold of the objects with her magic and put everything down on a table. Blew dust off the several components she waved to the foals to join her and explained "How could I forget about this! This my dear Cutie Mark Crusaders, is Dungeons and Dragons".
"Dungeons and Dragons? All I see are a few pieces of cart board, pencils and books....is this some trick to make us study again?"
The Crusaders now all sat at the table, each occupying one side with Twilight at the last end.
"Not at all Scootaloo, its a Pen and Paper game! I used to play it in my youth every Saturday, except the ones when I had to learn of course. We were a group of 5 ponies meeting up every week and experiencing how being a true hero feels, it were good times..."
"Pen an Paper...game? How can there be a game with nothing but," Scootaloo went through some of the components and looked at Twlilight, "books and some pencils?"
"It's easy, you use your imagination. Nothing is stronger and more vivid than your own thoughts Scootaloo"
"Yea, now that you say it, every time I think about taking revenge and humiliating Diamond Tiara in front of the entire class, it feels so real and oooh, soo good!"
"Well, if you want to see it that way, yes, exactly".
"Imagination or not, it alone isn't enough for a game, right?" Apple Bloom asked with curiosity in her voice.
Twilight was now building up the game setup by floating the components to each of the Crusaders, laying the board in the middle of the table and unfolding the sight block.
"Correct Apple Bloom, that's why we have things to help us. We will have a character sheet each", with this she floated a piece of cardboard to each of the foals, the blank side turned upwards, "dice", the according dice found their way to the Crusaders, "and the rule books, but don't worry, you don't have to read them, I know them word for word", with this she set the books aside and smiled at the foals.
"Word..for...word?"
"Indeed. We will use the dice to roll for moves and see how fights and looting turns out and then hopefully defeat the evil and save the world. Sounds awesome, right?" Twilight hoped that the Crusaders would atleast give the game a try. After all the time of isolation before coming to Ponyville, in which she had nobody to play with, her mind craved for experiencing the epic adventures this game had to offer once more.
For a moment nothing but the sound of the crackling fire dominated the room, untill Sweetie Belle answered "this..sounds...awesome!! How did I not know about this game earlier, ooh it's gonna be so good guys!" Her expression was full of joy and anticipation, Apple Bloom who sat on Sweeties right side only smiled and talked in a happy tone, "this sounds fun Twilight, I'm in for tryin' it out".
Everybody was now looking at Scootaloo who was still examining at the several objects on the table with an unsure look on her face, "uhhh....I don't know Twilight....a game with dice, reading and some cardboard...not sure if I want that".
"Oh, c'mon Scoots!" Sweetie's voice basically dripped with hype, "at least give it a try, I'm sure theres a lot to it once you open your mind a bit".
"ugh, maybe, but it just seems to be a game for nerds".
Twilight smiled at her and gave a small wink, before killing all lights except the fireplace's natural shine in the room. "There is a nerd in every single one of us Scootaloo, I am sure you will like it if you try it out".
The little Pegasus looked around and seemed to fight with herself for a moment before sighing loudly and forming a small and weak smile "Okay guys, I'm gonna try it, just for you...but don't tell Rainbow Dash about it!".
Three ponies squee'd in glee and Twilight tapped her hooves together "oooh, this is gonna be fun! I will take the role of Game Master, so don't worry about anything, I have never made a single mistake in this role, you just relax and experience this adventure I'm going to lead you through".
Twilights horn flashed and sounds began playing out of the corner of the room. It were ambient tunes, wind, water, a busy town and several others. This, combined with the fire, set an incredible atmosphere and even Scootaloo had to admit that she began to like it already. Sweetie's neck fur stood up from anticipation and Apple Bloom looked at Twilight with big eyes.
"Our scenario will be Dragonlance. A world in which the power of good, evil and neutral are in a permanent struggle with each other and where you, the heroes, will decide the fate of a small town, or even the entire planet of Krynn!"
The Crusaders listened with great attention, Twilight delivered each line like a old storyteller, or a wizard explaining histories of his travels. With each word Twilight could feel the old times again and soon she was totally in her element, knowing how to pronounce each word, and using high and low pitched voices, aswell as the sound effects to creats perfect harmony between everything at her disposal.
"So, little ones, are you ready to fight mighty dragons, find treasure and travel the lands of Krynn?"
Three heads nodded quickly.
"Then turn around your character sheets and let's begin the adventure..."
A sound of howling wind echoed through the room, and Twilight began talking.
"In a world, unlike any other, heroes fall and rise, but for three of them, things had just begun....."
End of the Prologue
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Author's Note
This is an experimental idea that was floating around in my head and which I wanted to try out.
Tell me what you think about it and if people actually want to see more I will continue with it.
The future of the story would be an Adventure with influences and interruptions by the four ponies playing the game.
