Prologue: Welcome to the Party Islands!
On a starry lit night, illuminated further by the moon's light, a group of little ponies gazed up into the beautiful sky. The skies were clear and the stars twinkled softly. Even Luna and Celestia would approve of such a breathtaking view. These ponies was actually FlameStar and his friends, Midnight Animes, Jayhawk Windrise, Lumber Earth, Lumine Amythest and FlameStar's pet Phoenix, Pyra. The friends enjoyed each other and loved the sight of the stars. Truly remarkable. Suddenly, out of the corner of the sky, a vortex appeared out of nowhere. Everyone stared at the mysterious celestial body swirling in the sky.
"What is that?" FlameStar asked.
"Some kind of... portal?" Lumine answered.
Just before the ponies could ponder some more on what the vortex was, the vortex suddenly went in reverse and began to suck up the landscape and even a few ponies!
"RUN!!"
The ponies quickly galloped away from the fields and ran from the inhaling threat. Then a tree flew by and knocked Lumber off his hooves.
"FlameStar! Help!"
"Lumber!" FlameStar grabbed Lumber just in time and held onto him for dear life. Then Midnight flew across the air after he was hit by oncoming debris. Lumber was able to catch her and pull her in. Soon all the ponies and Pyra were hanging on as they couldn't outrun the vortex. FlameStar did everything his could to keep his friends safe. Then a large branch flew at FlameStar and knocked him off the ground, sending all the ponies into the sky and into the vortex! Then... it all goes black...
"Hey... hey kid wake up..."
...
"Wake up..."
Zzzzzz.....
"Oh come on... WAKE UP!!"
FlameStar woke up from his daze. "Oh... what in Equestria? Where am i?" FlameStar asked... then he came face to face with a old looking pony.
"You're in the Party Islands! The most fun-tastic, entertaining group of islands ever to be found in Equestria!!"
"I can't stay here. I need to find my friends and get back to Ponyville. How do I leave these islands?
"You can't leave by a boat; the waves will chastise you before you can make it a quarter of the way."
"So how do I leave?"
"It won't be easy, kid, but there's a group of gems you need to find. They're called..." Just before the pony could explain, a shadowy hand grabbed him and he disappeared in an instant! FlameStar was alone again and now he was lost...
"Ok... this island is weird... I need to get out of here and find my friends." FlameStar had to stop and think for a moment... then he heard something out toward the trees nearby.
"Somepony! Help!" FlameStar rushed over to the scene and saw a Phoenix in the trees surrounded by monsters.
"Pyra?! I'll get you down!" Flaring up his power, FlameStar's cutie mark animated and FlameStar burned off the monsters surrounding the tree. Then FlameStar cut the branch and caught Pyra in his hooves.
"You ok, Pyra?"
"Thanks, FlameStar..." Pyra said. FlameStar was so alarmed, he dropped Pyra on the ground and backed up.
"Y-you... Pyra! You just spoke..."
"Well. Yeah. I always speak." Pyra said.
"No! Like... You're speaking words and I can understand you... how are you doing that?!"
"I don't know. All I remember was getting sucked into that vortex. Now we've been separated from our friends..."
"Apparently we're somewhere called the Party Islands... I'm not sure how to leave this place... we can't just use a boat; we won't make it..."
"Well... let's look around the island. Surely someone can help us off the land."
After walking for a little while, FlameStar and Pyra come across a village of ponies. These ponies look like they were native to the islands. However, looking at the ponies, they didn't seem like ponies who could help them escape the island...
"Hmm... This is a quaint village, but we still need to find our friends and escape the islands..." FlameStar said.
"Let's try talking to some of the villagers... maybe someone has seen something." Pyra said.
FlameStar went up to one of the villagers. "Excuse me. Have you seen this Unicorn, Pegasus and Earth Pony?" The villager shook his head. So FlameStar tried another one. And another one and another one. Eventually, FlameStar and Pyra gave up. None of the ponies knew where their friends were... The pair just decided to walk around for any clues they can find themselves. That was when they found a map of the Party Islands. Some points on different islands were marked. Seemed like there was something important in those spots. "Looks to me like these points might hold our ticket of here."
"Hold on a moment. This looks like the town's map. We'd better copy this down." Pyra said. FlameStar took some paper nearby and used a spell to copy the map.
"Ok. Now that we have a map. Let's get to exploring the islands!"
"Yeah!"
With that resolve, FlameStar and Pyra set off to explore the Party Islands. However, the two of them didn't notice dark figures watching them from the dim light...
Chapter 1: Shireland - Where the Adventures Begin
FlameStar and Pyra arrived in an area called Shireland. As they approached the area, they noticed what the place looks like.
"This land is shaped like a... board game?"
"It does seem a little odd." Then Pyra looked up and saw a blank spot. "Maybe that's how we get through?" FlameStar went up and stood in the blank spot.
"Ok... now what happens?" FlameStar asked. That's when a young filly came up to FlameStar and Pyra.
"Is this your first time Partying?"
"Uhm... I guess?" FlameStar was unsure.
"I noticed when you came walking by. My name is Dicey Space. I'll be your guide in the Party Islands. So, since this is your first ever party, you gotta learn the basics."
"Lay them on us." FlameStar said.
"So where you’re standing is where you start on the board. It's simple. Roll the dice and go that many spaces. Blue Spaces give you 3 bits and Red Spaces take away 3 bits. White Spaces are blank. They don't do anything if you land on them. Got that so far?" FlameStar and Pyra nodded understandingly. "Good. Now here's where this gets fun. Happening Spaces are green spaces with a question mark. You won't know what a Happening Space does until you land on one because anything can happen!"
"Woah. That's wild." Pyra said. Then FlameStar saw a purple space with Twilight's cutie mark on it.
"Hey Dicey? What does that purple space do?"
"That's a Friendship Space. Land on one and you and a friend will get 5 bits each. Beware though. At a certain point in the Party, the Friendship Spaces will become Challenge Spaces. If you land on one then, you choose someone to battle."
"I see..."
Dicey turned to the fiery pair. "You still with me so far? I know, it's a lot to take in..."
"Still with you."
"Now see that black space over there? That's a Shadow Space. You'll wanna avoid them like the plague. Bad stuff will happen if you land on one. But once someone lands on a Shadow Space, they'll all turn into Rainbow Spaces. In which good things will happen.
"Ok... What else should I know?" FlameStar asked.
"See those Red balloons? They're Minigame Balloons. if someone pops one, then at the end of a turn, everyone plays a minigame. It can be a Free-for-all, a 2-versus-2, 1-versus-3 or on rare occasions a Battle Minigame. It all depends on where everyone landed at the end of the turn. If everyone landed on a Blue Space or Red Space, it’ll be a Free-for-all minigame. If two people land on a blue space and 2 on a red space, it's a 2 v 2 and so on and so forth."
"What if you landed on a Happening Space or a Friendship Space?" Pyra asked.
"If you land on any space besides Red or Blue, the color is chosen at random. If the game is a Free-for-all Minigame, there's a chance it can become a Battle Minigame where everyone chips in a certain number of bits to compete for." Dicey explained.
"Got it!"
"Those are the basics. You've also got the store but I'm sure you can figure that one out." Dicey said.
"Wait wait wait! Hold on a moment." FlameStar said. He pointed to a bright star. "What's that Shiny thing at the top?"
"Oh! Yes! Thanks for reminding me. Those are Stars. You need those to be crowned Victoria. Stars normally cost 20 bits unless spoken otherwise."
"Ok! That seems simple enough..." Pyra said.
"It does look like fun..." FlameStar said. "But I'm on a mission to find my friends. I'm not from here..."
"Really?"
"Yeah! I came here through a portal in the sky. I need to find my friends and a way off this island..."
"Then how's this? This party is a little bit important because whoever is Victoria will battle against this evil changeling and her army who keeps on destroying our way of life. Whoever can do it will get this." Dicey showed FlameStar a gem.
"Wait... FlameStar, didn't that old stallion say something about a Gem to get us home?" Pyra asked.
"He said we needed something... not sure if it was a gem but it may prove useful." FlameStar said. "Ok Dicey. We'll join the party. And we'll become Victoria and stop that evil Changeling! But what if it's Chrysalis?"
"You said you reformed her?"
"I thought I did. Maybe she doubled back... Doesn't matter. Let's win this party!"
"That's the spirit! Good luck, flaming ones!"
A little while later the ponies gathered to watch the Party take place here at Shireland Plains. Dicey was there overseeing the party. The players were FlameStar, Derpy, Thunderlane and Vinyl Scratch. Apparently ponies from all over Ponyville were sucked into the vortex as well.
"Hello, party goers! Welcome to Shireland Plains! Now before we begin, does anyone want to learn a bit about this board?"
"I'll take a listen." FlameStar said.
"Lay it on us" Thunerlane said.
"Shireland Plains is a very simple board with a wide variety of gimmicks and other things to keep things fun and interesting. Keep an eye out for some of the structures littered around the board. They can greatly mix things up. It's an overall solid board for newcomers and veterans alike to learn the ins and outs and sharpen their skills respectively." Dicey explained. Now then, you four, Roll these dice and let's decide the turn order!" The ponies rolled the dice. Dicey inspected the numbers and... " OK! So The turn order is Vinyl, FlameStar, Thunder and Derpy. Now, let's party!!"
Author's Note
Hey guys. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be finishing this story. It's not going anywhere and I'm not motivated anymore. If this gets a lot of support, I might consider revisiting it, but as it stands, I don't think I'll come back to this one...
