A Hearth's Warming Game

A Hearth's Warming Game
By Wanderer D
Chapter 1: Training

Cadance sat frozen at the table, with a fake smile on her face. In front of her, three stapled pages of numbers and words that made no sense rested next to a cup containing different sided dice. A soda can waited a little bit further in, within reach but away from the edge of the table. Between her, her husband, and her daughter was a map with figurines and toy buildings all over it.

"Oh. Wow," Cadance managed to mumble out. "I can't believe you both did all of this… um, for me?"

Flurry Heart trotted around the table and threw her foreleg across her mother's shoulders, gesturing with her free hoof at the Ogres and Oubliettes spread in front of them, a wide smile on her face. "Isn't it awesome, mom? I didn't know you used to play! I think it would be wicked to do it as a whole family!"

"I—I did play, didn't I?" Cadance forced herself to say, her eyes wandering around the entire setup wide and panicky. Her wide smile didn't diminish as she stood up suddenly. "Ahaha. I did, right? Um… I'm sorry you two, but I really don't feel the best right now…"

"Mom?" Flurry asked, deflating a little. "Really?"

"Sorry honey, I- I really can't right now, but…" She glanced at the calendar. "W-why don't we try again on uh, Hearth's Warming?"

"Ooh, a Hearth's Warming session!" Flurry squeaked, eyes brightening. She cantered to her dad. "Let's do it, daddy!"

Shining chuckled. "Of course." He glanced, unsure at Cadance. "How bad is it, honey? It's been a while, but you know this isn't that demanding…"

"No, no," I just don't want to be a wet blanker, feeling ill and all…" she said, forcing a couple of fake coughs. "I um, already booked a checkup in uh, Canterlot! So, I'll be heading out soon and I'll get better."

"Can't you go to a doctor here?" Flurry asked.

"I… I just, um, no offense but I remember being able to see through the doctor here and it just gives me anxiety."

Shining narrowed his eyes. "Right."

"A-anyway!" Cadance stepped back, smile still plastered on her face. "I'll be gone for a few weeks. Have fun!"

Then she turned around and ran out of the room.

"Ahahahaha!"

Cadance pretended not to be offended at Chrysalis rolling on the floor laughing at her expense, instead choosing to drink a sip of her coffee and appreciating the interior of the cabin she had acquired for her visit to Canterlot.

"That's priceless!" Chrysalis crooned.

"When you asked me for more details I didn't anticipate you mocking me over it," Cadance finally muttered.

"First rule of O&O, Princess. Always check for traps."

"And so, it starts," Cadance groaned as Chrysalis pushed herself up and started unboxing all of the things Cadance had secretly ordered for her lessons at the Changeling's behest.

"And so it starts," Chrysalis agreed, nodding as she pulled out books, more books, maps, miniatures, cards, dice, a thing called a dice tower, a folding a thing Shining had once called a DM Screen, and even notebooks.

"Is… all of that necessary?" Cadance asked, levitating one of the books over and wincing as she remembered how expensive it was.

"If you want to play at my level and convince Shining?" Chrysalis asked. "Yes." She paused. "I get to keep all of this right?"

Cadance sighed, dropping the book flat on the table. "As we agreed, yes."

"Perfect," Chrysalis purred. "Well then, let's get started." She levitated a bunch of vaguely familiar papers over to Cadance, who noticed—alarmingly—that they were essentially forms to be filled out. These were accompanied by a pencil, a few dice, an eraser and a book.

"There's several ways of creating a character," Chrysalis said, taking a seat across from Cadance. "But we'll start by choosing a species."

Cadance blinked. "A species?"

"Of course! It's part of the appeal," Chrysalis said, grinning as she magically flipped the book open. "Let's see, you can be a pony of course (boooring), but also a dragon or…"

"I'll be a pony!" Cadance said. "I don't want to complicate things!"

"As I said. Boring." Chrysalis sighed. "Just so you know, I never played ponies while I was you."

Cadance grimaced. "What did you choose?"

In front of her, Chrysalis turned into a pony-like seductress with the lower body of a snake. "Shiny really liked my lamia character."

Cadance closed her eyes and counted to ten. Then when that failed, she took a deep breath and performed her breathing exercise twice. "Fine, let's make a lamia."

Chrysalis nodded enthusiastically. "Alright, now we go over Ability Score increases, Alignment, size…"

As Chrysalis continued Cadance softly bumped her head against the table. "I should have just owned up to it."

"But you didn't, so now you have to pay attention!"

"...standard array, point buy, but honestly, rolling for stats is more fun."

Cadance grimaced. "Why does my background have to be 'exotic dancer'?"

"Well, you're a lamia living in Canter-Hall Fort," Chrysalis said as if it was obvious. "What else would you do there?"

"Help ponies?" Cadance said. "Besides, I don't want to explain to Flurry what an exotic dancer is!"

"How old is she again?"

"Sixteen."

"Oh, she knows."

"If I'm a dancer, why do I need so many weapons?" Cadance asked, peering down at the list of suggested equipment for her character class.

"This is a medieval world ruled by creatures of absolute power!" Chrysalis said, rising up on her seat dramatically. "A Chaotic-Good emotion manipulator such as a lamia exotic dancer would do well to be able to defend herself, don't you think?"

Cadance sighed.

"I honestly do not understand how this is a quintessential O&O scenario," Cadance said, looking up from the map straight at Chrysalis, who was at that moment shapeshifted into Shining Armor.

'Shining' looked up from the screen. "Trust me. It is."

"It's just a gazebo."

"I guess it is."

"..." Cadance stared at the miniature. Her little lamia figurine took one square. The gazebo was four times her size. "I think I'll walk around it."

Chrysalis/Shining grinned.

"...dammit." Cadance muttered, then pulled out her bow and arrows.

"Come on, don't be a spoilsport," Chrysalis said. She poked Cadance, who was sitting down with her forelegs crossed and an extremely annoyed look on her face.

"Why would a gazebo do that?!" She motioned at the table accusingly. "Why would you do that?! How is that fair?"

"As I said, it's a classic scenario."

"I don't like this game." Cadance muttered, then blinked and looked up when a slithering sound reached her ears. She found herself staring at her own character, brought to life by Chrysalis.

"Come on, my dear," the lamia said in Cadance's voice, "dance with your favorite lamia."

Cadance's mouth twitched.

"And with a final, dry gasp, the lich collapses onto the altar, its skin flaking into dust as an unseen wind blows away its decrepit remains." Chrysalis/Shining said, rising to their hooves dramatically.

"Woo!" Spike hollered.

"Yesssss!" Cadance agreed, high-hoofing Big Mac, who nodded and joined the celebrations with a firm and happy, "Eeeyup!"

"And, so, all gazebos turned back into inanimate objects across the kingdom, and our heroes would grow into legends told around campfires and in gatherings of all sorts for centuries to come." 'Shining' put down his DM screen with a satisfied look as the group gave him a round of applause.

"You are ready," Chrysalis said, placing an encouraging hoof on Cadance's shoulder.

The Princess looked nodded with a smile, which faded as she looked down at her stamped O&O t-shirt. "Can I take this off now?"

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Sure."

Nodding gratefully, Cadance did just that, folding the t-shirt carefully before passing it off to Chrysalis, who smirked and held it against her cheek.

"Still warm," the Changeling Queen said, then took a deep sniff of it. "Oh, I'll have to wear it to think of you, Princess."

"Right. Well, come on, pack up."

Chrysalis started doing just that. "Well? Aren't you going to get going?"

"Oh, I am," Cadance said. "You are coming with me."

This gave Chrysalis pause. "I'm whatnow?"

"Coming with me," Cadance repeated. "I need you on standby in case things don't work out."

Chrysalis slumped. "Joy."