Absent Friends

by TotallyNotAnyone

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Main 6, Princess Luna, Trixie, Comedy, Queen Chrysalis
Length: 5129

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash go missing under sinister circumstances...

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash abscond from Ponyville with no warning or explanation for their friends. Worried, the remainder of the Mane Six strike out to find where they've gone to, and why. Could it be a new crisis brewing? The return of a known villain? Something worse?

Published 2012-12-02 17:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-02 17:00:01 UTC

The Greatest Threat Ever

Introduction

"These rules are stupid!" Dash complained to Applejack, in the sunny field behind the Sweet Apple Acres barn.

Applejack shrugged, "Ah din't make 'em up, sugar. 's how y'all play hoofball. Y'kick th' darn thing, y'don't jus' grab it an' fly t' th' goal. Y'wanna give it 'nother trah?"

Rainbow Dash eyed the ball suspiciously, so far their game had come to a grinding halt because Applejack insisted on playing by the rules while Dash insisted on breaking them to make things go faster.

"Mayb-" was as far as she got before a dark blue flash of flame in front of her nose deposited a scroll on top of the ball. It was quickly grabbed, the seal broken, and the letter read, as Applejack ambled over behind her.

"Wha's that, Dash? Y'all got a lett'r?" She craned her neck to have a look.

"What?!" Dash literally jumped into the air, wings keeping her aloft and, not-quite-coincidentally, the letter out of Applejack's reach. "Oh! You mean this!" Not pausing to think of a plausible explanation, she plowed on regardless, "It's junk mail. Yep! All junk. It's about wing extensions."

"Wing exten-"

"Who'd need a thing like that, right?!" With remarkable speed, Dash shredded the letter, some fragments raining down on Applejack, others blown away on the wind, "Welp! Gotta dash!"

"...now what'n tarnation could've sent 'er off in such a rush?" Applejack pondered, as she saw her friend racing across the sky towards Ponyville. Unable to contain her curiosity, she gathered what fragments of the letter had remained in the field, and several words caught her eye: 'great danger,' 'important' and 'only chance.'

The Element of Honesty looked back to the sky, where Dash's trail was fading away, "Wing 'stensions, huh?" She said to herself, "Ah think Twahlaht needs t' see this."

Twilight was busy reading a horror novel on her bed when Applejack knocked on the door, and it took her a few minutes to remember that it was a bright and sunny day outside, that there shouldn't be any thunderous booms, before she headed down to let her friend in.

"Oh! Hi Applejack!" Twilight looked around for any prismatic pegasi lurking outside and waiting to prank her, "Come on in, where's Rainbow Dash? Weren't you two hanging out today?"

"Tha's the thing," Applejack took off her hat and upended its contents on the floor, dropping the letter fragments she'd managed to rescue on to it, "She got this lett'r an' all of a sudden she's off! Tried t' hide it, too! An' look at this..." she pointed out the more worrying letter fragments to her unicorn friend.

Twilight furrowed her brow and used her magic to re-assemble a bit more of the mangled letter. "Come immediately," she read aloud, "great danger... important mission... our only chance before... something!" She turned to Applejack, "This really sounds important, but... why would Dash head off without the rest of us if it was so vital?"

Applejack rubbed her chin with a hoof, "Well, she's th' el'ment of loy'lty. Maybe she figured we'd be 'n danger if we came? An' if it's that bad, Ah don't like th' idea 'f leavin' 'er t' face it all on 'er lones'me."

Twilight nodded, "Whatever's going on, we have to find her and help her! Or we wouldn't be very good friends! Applejack, you get Rarity and Pinkie Pie, I'll find Fluttershy."

Applejack nodded in return, and they were off to gather their friends.

Half an hour later, four ponies were assembled back at the library. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity.

"You couldn't find Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked Applejack, exasperated, "We might need her help!"

"'s worse'n 'at, you tell 'er," Applejack gestured to Rarity.

"Well, Pinkie and I were meeting earlier, I had some FABULOUS ideas for her next party and-"

Applejack interrupted Rarity with a nudge, "Get t' th' import'nt part!"

Rarity glared at Applejack, "I suppose if you're going to be so unmannered, I have no choice. As I was saying! We were talking when all of a sudden Pinkie received a letter! It arrived in a flash of dark blue, very stylish-"

"Dark blue? Th's th' same colour 's with Rahnbow!"

"-AHEM. Pinkie read her letter and when I asked her what it was all about, she ate it! And then ran off! I didn't figure it was anything important, after all. We know Pinkie."

The other three ponies nodded, they knew Pinkie.

"Both Pinkie 'n' Dash're gone, 'n' we have no idea where they're off t'!"

"Um," Fluttershy shyly interrupted, "I saw Pinkie earlier, getting on the train to Canterlot."

There was a moment of silence, and then the door to the library was swinging wildly on its hinges as the four friends dashed for the train station, intent on catching up with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

Rarity's Search

As soon as the train pulled in at Canterlot station, Twilight put her plan into action. "Alright, girls! We don't know what's going on, so the first order of business is to find out!"

"Rarity," she pointed out the white unicorn first, "Head into Canterlot and see if anyone's seen or heard Pinkie or Dash, they're not exactly subtle."

"Applejack, Fluttershy, you two head to the royal gardens... the last time someone tried to split us apart, it was Discord. See if the statue's still there!"

"An' what'll y'all be doin'?"

"I'm heading up to the castle, if something serious is happening, Princess Celestia will know!"

No one argued with Twilight's plan, it made sense, they'd be covering as much of Canterlot as possible in as short a time as possible.

Rarity made a beeline for Canterlot's fabulous shopping district, full of spiraling minarets and shiny white storefronts, it was absolutely the high-class part of town that she was most well-acquainted with. But where to go first? She stopped at the entrance to a busy square and considered it. Some of her fancy friends might have seen Dash... but she could also try to stake out one of the bakeries and hope that Pinkie's sweet tooth drew her there.

It was while she was mulling over her options that she saw a glimpse of blue out of the corner of her eye. Could it be? Could she have been so lucky? "Oh! Dash! Darl-" Then she got a proper look at the blue pony that had just appeared from a bakery. Instead of a prismatic mane, there was a purple, star-speckled hat and a familiar cape.

Trixie practically leapt into the air at the unexpected greeting, spinning to face Rarity. "Oh," Trixie said sullenly, "Trixie should have known she could not have been rid of Twiloser and her friends for good. Why do you harass her? Do you have nothing better to do? Are you hoping for an autograph? Well, Trixie won't let you have one!"

"Now darling!" Rarity tried to sound conciliatory, "I merely mistook you for another blue and much more stylish pony... say, you haven't by any chance seen her around, have you? Blue, fast, loud and chaotic? Rainbow Dash?"

The other unicorn paled, at least as much as it was possible to while remaining blue, "D-don't be ridiculous! Trixie would never associate with Rainbow Dash! Or Pinkie Pie! Now if you will excuse Trixie, she has great and powerful things to do!"

"Darling... I never mentioned Pinkie," Rarity took a step forward, menacingly, and spotted something under Trixie's cape, "Why Trixie, what lovely PINK saddlebags you've got there! And balloons on them? Such style! You should absolutely tell me where you got those!"

This left Trixie with her eyes darting left and right, looking for an escape. Suddenly she took a deep breath and pointed at something behind Rarity, "Behold! A three-headed zebra which is most certainly not a lie!"

Despite herself, Rarity took her eyes off of Trixie for a second, and that was all the cue that Trixie needed to make a run for it, soon with Rarity in hot pursuit.

Across the square and through the crowds the chase went, scattering fancy ponies left and right. Down a busy side street, Trixie diving under carts and stalls, Rarity leaping gracefully over them(because going under would leave her unacceptably at risk of getting dirty), neither able to outpace the other. But then Trixie made a mistake, hoping to lose Rarity, she dashed into an alley that Rarity knew was a dead end!

With a smug smile, Rarity slowed down and took her time reaching the alley's entrance which looked quite as she remembered it. Just a few barrels and trash cans and, on the left some store she'd never bothered to examine. No sign of Trixie, so obviously she'd taken refuge inside the store.

Rarity entered and surveyed the place quickly, sweeping her gaze over the owner and the patrons, looking for a blue unicorn in a gaudy hat. No sign of her, just a stubbly shopkeeper, a lot of cases full of pewter figurines, books, a pony in a full suit of armor(even a full-faced helmet) and some young colts playing card games in the back. "Has anyone seen an arrogant blue unicorn?" Rarity demanded, "She must have come through here!"

The armoured unicorn pointed towards the back entrance, saying something that was muffled by her helmet. "Oh, blast," Rarity muttered, she hadn't expected that, and now Trixie had gotten away. This was definitely something to tell Twilight and the others, though, if Trixie was involved, there might be trouble. Well, whatever trouble one incompetent magician could cook up, anyway.

As Rarity thought about all of this, she slowly became aware that all of the store's patrons were looking at her. They were certainly an odd lot: The stubbly, overweight stallion behind the counter. A number of stallions emerging from a side room wearing capes and fake fangs. The colts playing card games. Where had she seen ponies like this before? Wait a moment. The books: "Ponies & Pegasi, 5th Edition." "Griffon: the Bullying." A box full of dice by the counter.

And not a single mare or filly in the store.

Oh no.

Slowly, the nerds approached Rarity.

Applejack and Fluttershy in the Maze

"A-are you sure this is safe?"

"'course it is, sugarplum, we beat 'im, 'member?"

Applejack and Fluttershy were headed into the royal gardens to find the statue that they'd turned Discord into with the Elements of Harmony the last time he got out. It was a nice afternoon, with the sun out and few ponies around except for some guardsponies who didn't seem to mind the pair of them.

"Jus' look, 's right there!" Applejack sauntered up to the statue at the entrance to the garden hedge maze, tapping a stone knee with one of her hooves, "Yup, where we left 'im."

"Um."

"Hawh! Din't stand a chance once th' six o' us got started!" Applejack bucked in the statue's direction, "Kick'd 'im over like an ol' appl' tree!"

"Applejack."

"If he dared show 'is face 'round here 'gain, he'd get th' same!"

"Applejack!"

"-sorry sugar, wha's goin' on?"

Fluttershy pointed to a small brass plaque at the statue's base, prompting Applejack to lean in, squint and read the small engraved message. "Replica statuh, on 'ccount of we ain't bein' quaht tha' stupid twice inna row. Sign'd, th' princesses." Applejack straightened up, "Well, shoot. The 'ay could th' real one be?"

She considered this for a moment, and then both she and Fluttershy looked towards the ominous hedge maze...

"Ah think we maybe should've brought some breadcrumbs." Applejack declared, several hours later, as the two of them were hopelessly lost between the hedges. Whoever had made the maze couldn't have been right in the head, they were exactly tall enough to make any pony feel like they were at the bottom of a canyon, exposing only a little of the darkening blue sky above, were as dense as stone walls and seemed to twist and wind with no pattern.

Every now and then, Applejack and Fluttershy would pass through open gardens, sometimes full of fruit trees, stone furniture or little ornamental ponds.

"Didya ever wonder what poor pony 'as t' keep all this neat?" Applejack asked Fluttershy, while they rounded another corner. The earth pony kept her chatter up as they continued deeper into the maze, because otherwise the silence just got downright creepy.

"Mus' be th' wors' job in all o-" Applejack stopped suddenly, Fluttershy bumping into her from behind. "...didya hear that?" Both ponies perked up their ears and listened hard...

"Oooooh! Ooooh! Do her! Do HER!" The voice drifted to them from a few hedges up ahead, quickly followed by a rapidfire chatter of uncontrollable giggling.

"Is that... Pinkie?"

"Sugar, y'know anyone but Pinkie wit' a laugh like that?"

Cautiously, the two of them snuck forwards and pulled apart the branches of the bushes to get a good view. Looked like another one of the stone furniture gardens and, right there in the middle of it, was the REAL statue of Discord!

"Well th'nk C'lestia," Applejack wiped her brow, "W'ain't gotta deal with tha' again."

"Um," Fluttershy tugged at her elbow and pointed at something else on the other side of the hedge wall.

Applejack followed the indicating hoof, "Well darn me! S' Pinkie!" And so it was! The pink pony was bouncing up and down on one of the stone benches.

"Um, not her." Another tug, just a few inches to the left. Applejack redirected her sight just in time to catch a flare of green flame, and as the fires settled, Princess Celestia herself was lounging on another one of the benches.

"Ooooooh!" Pinkie exclaimed, "You're good!"

Gracefully and majestically, Princess Celestia stood and took a deep breath before making a declaration, "I, Princess Celestia, am the biggest butt in all of Equestria!" Which prompted Pinkie into another torrent of giggles while Celestia was once more enveloped in green flames, becoming...

"Chrysalis!" Applejack and Fluttershy gasped in unison, "Chrysalis an' Pinkie?! This ain't good. We gotta tell Twahlaht!"

Just then, Chrysalis looked at the sky, where the stars were just starting to be visible in the dark blue, "It's time. We must go!" She spread her wings and bent down, letting Pinkie climb on to her back, "It's going to be a real party! We can't be late!" And then the two of them took off into the sky.

Applejack and Fluttershy looked around. "...now how 'n th' hay're we gonna get outta here?"

"Oh dear."

Twilight's Discovery

Twilight was not having a good day. Princess Celestia was away from Canterlot on business, and Princess Luna was shut away in her room working on something her guards could only say was "important." Since Twilight still had no idea what was going on or where her friends were, she could hardly say her business was MORE important and demand to see the princess. Despondent, she spent most of the day wandering the castle grounds, hoping for a glimpse of Dash or Pinkie, or that one of her other friends would return with news.

Caught up in her own worries, it wasn't until the sun was already descending below the horizon that inspiration struck her as she was looking at the royal library. Why bother looking for her friends all over Canterlot, when she could just use MAGIC to find them? And if there was any place she could find the right spell for finding her friends, or finding out what was going on, it'd be in the Canterlot royal library. With a smile on her face, she trotted across the green lawns of Canterlot towards the library buildings, humming a pleasant tune to herself. The day, or evening, was looking up.

She was almost there when she saw a blue streak reach the doors ahead of her and disappear inside with a rattle of hinges. There was only one pony she knew who was that fast, blue and who would be quite that noisy in Canterlot of all places.

Twilight almost called out to her friend, but now she was curious. She knew Dash liked to read, even if the pegasus didn't tell many ponies about her love of Daring Do, but she couldn't possibly have come all the way to Canterlot just to plunge into the royal libraries...

A purple glow emanated from Twilight's horn as she approached the doors which Dash had just, well, dashed through. The glow spread across her body and then disappeared, and when it was Twilight's turn to open the doors, they didn't make a sound. She'd originally learned the silence spell so she could read late at night without waking Spike(or for casting on Spike so his snoring wouldn't keep her up), but it was turning out to have more uses than just that.

All was dark inside the building, no patrons were expected at this time of night, and no guards were there at the moment. The only sound was an ill-mannered pegasus flinging books off the shelves in a room adjoining the hallway as she looked for the one she wanted. Twilight winced every time she heard a hard cover striking the floor. It took all of her self-control to flatten herself against the wall and wait outside the library section dash was searching rather than charging in and putting books back in their place, but for now, FOR NOW, curiosity was defeating her need for order.

She didn't have to wait long before she heard a loud "Ah-HAH! Found you!" And seconds later, Dash popped back into the hallway, carrying a slim leather-bound tome, before heading deeper into the library, seeming like she knew where she was going.

Since Dash didn't bother to look behind her, she didn't notice the purple unicorn who was (noiselessly) wheezing and panting trying to keep up with her blue speedster friend. Thankfully Dash stopped soon after she started, making a left turn in between two unremarkable pillars. This puzzled Twilight, she'd been in the Canterlot library several times before, but she didn't remember any doors there... still, Dash didn't seem to be about to re-appear.

With no other option presenting itself, Twilight poked her head between the pillars and soon her jaw was hanging open in surprise. If Dash hadn't been her usual, hotheaded, careless self, Twilight would never have been able to follow her: A door-sized section of the wall had simply swung open on concealed hinges, revealing a dark stone stairwell spiralling downwards. The outside fitted seamlessly with the rest of the wall, and Twilight spent a few moments marvelling at it before realizing she should be giving chase.

Down the stairs went, deeper and deeper, becoming darker with every turn. Old sconces in the walls might have once held torches or lamps, but now they held nothing. After a few minutes of nerve-wracking descent, the floor levelled out and Twilight found herself looking into a chamber she'd never guessed would ever be hiding below Canterlot. It was huge, surrounded by dark pillars, and aside from the staircase she'd just descended, the only other way in was a similar staircase on the other side.

Directly in the center was a rough-hewn stone altar, attended by two ponies, both blue: Rainbow Dash and Trixie.

Twilight was about to rush forward and ask her friend just what the hay was going on, when she heard hooves behind her and dove behind one of the pillars for cover. Her spell had rendered her silent, but not invisible. Peeking out, she watched in horror as none other than Queen Chrysalis herself arrived with, strangely enough, Pinkie Pie riding on her back. Neither Trixie or Rainbow Dash seemed surprised by the arrivals, in fact they looked like they'd been expecting them.

All four contributed to the altar, adding goblets of fizzing liquid, thick leather-bound tomes and piles of sweet things. Chatter continued around the altar: Dash's boasting, Trixie's third-person, Pinkie's giggling and Chrysalis' occasional interjections. Twilight was too far from the altar to hear the words, but she heard when they fell silent. Peeking out again, she saw that all four were looking expectantly towards the far stairway as a hooded shape entered. Tall and regal, Princess Luna strode towards the altar and threw back her hood.

"Tonight!" She declared, "We begin!"

Twilight hid behind the pillar for hours as listened to the horrifying phrases she could pick out of the conversation. "Hundreds of diamond dogs" "Canterlot besieged" "A frontal assault!" "A stealthy approach!" On and on it went, accompanied by the sound of whatever ritual was happening at the altar. A strange, repetitive clattering, often accompanied by hisses of frustration or cries of joy. "Trixie will handle the guards!" "I'll deal with the unicorns!" "It'll be the best thing ever!"

It must have been past morning when the five conspirators finally broke up their ritual, and Twilight clearly heard Luna's booming voice, "We convene again at nightfall! To finish this!"

The five filtered out of the underground chamber as Twilight slumped to the floor, knowing that she only had another twenty-four hours before to stop what was going on. And it was starting to sound serious.

The Final Confrontation

Twilight headed back to her old Canterlot room, it should still be untouched, and right now she needed somewhere safe to recover and try to understand what had been going on: Two of her best friends, seemingly bosom buddies with two of her worst enemies? Sounding like they were planning to overthrow all of Equestria? It just didn't make any sense at all. Lost in her own thoughts as she was, she hardly even noticed that the door to her old room was ajar until she was almost inside. She came to a halt and glanced around nervously.

Could they have noticed her? Planned to ambush her here?

For a moment Twilight considered running, but then she steeled herself and entered. The room was much as she left it. An utter mess of books and study materials, but there was someone in the bathroom, accompanied by the sound of running water and repetitive muttering.

She swallowed and edged her way over, then pushed the door open to find Rarity frantically scrubbing herself down and muttering to herself. Twilight watched for a few seconds, then cleared her throat, "Um, Rarity?"

The white unicorn spun around and then, seeing Twilight, flung herself, still soaking wet, into her friend's arms. "Twi-high-igh-igh-liiiiiight," she sobbed, "It was," sniffle, "The worst thing. THE WORST THING. Eh-heh-heheeeeever."

Twilight awkwardly patted her back, ready to deliver her own drama bomb, but for the moment more concerned with her friend, "What happened...?"

"It was awful, just awful!" Rarity levitated a towel over and dried herself off while letting go of Twilight, sniffling as she entered the main room and flung herself into a nearby armchair, "There were..." she shuddered, "Nerds! Greasy ones! Stubbly ones! Ones with face paint! And they recognized me! They demanded that I help them sew their cosplay costumes! It took forever! Also Trixie's in Canterlot and she probably kidnapped Pinkie Pie."

Twilight was almost ready to giggle at the story until Rarity's final line reminded her of what was going on, "Oh! That's right! Rarity," she hurried to her friend's side, "It's worse than that! Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are working with Trixie! And Luna's helping them with what they're doing! Even-"

She was interrupted by a tired, bruised and dirty Applejack opening the door, followed by Fluttershy. Little twigs and leaves were stuck in Applejack's mane. "Chrys'lis! We found'r 'n' th' maze! Plott'n with Pinkie!"

Twilight merely nodded, "I know. I saw them. Pinkie, Dash, Trixie, Chrysalis and Luna! They were in the basements under the library planning something! They were talking about armies, and violence, and sneaking!"

Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack listened wide-eyed as Twilight related her night hiding behind the pillar. "-and then they said that they were going to come back and finish it tonight!"

"Well, only one thing fer it, then." Applejack adjusted her hat, "We gotta go there 'n' face 'em down."

Fluttershy swallowed, "Um, sounds... dangerous? Maybe they're just... hanging out?" She offered a pleading grin at the other three, knowing it wasn't going to get her out of the situation.

Rarity shook her head, "I'm sorry, darling but I can't believe that. If it wasn't for Trixie and Chrysalis, maybe... but everything else says this is serious." She looked at Applejack, "And, dear... what did you DO to your mane?"

"We were'n th' maze, 'n' Fluttershah was shakin' too bad t' fly after she saw Chrys'lis. Couldn' walk out either, y'know how bad that place is. Only one thin' fer it, had t' buck our way through th' bushes."

"Probably left an utter mess in your wake," Rarity commented, shaking her head, then looked over at Twilight who'd dozed off while her friends were talking.

"Ah think we've all had a rough naht," Applejack yawned, "'n' Twah said they ain't makin' their move till t'night. Ah figure we'll get our rest, then sneak down 'n' hear what's goin' on."

No one could find a reason to disagree with Applejack, and so the four ponies turned in for the morning.

They spent the afternoon trying to decide what to do, it seemed like impossible odds, but they were obviously the only ones in Canterlot who knew about the looming threat, and they didn't expect anyone else to believe them.

"Maybe Pinkie and Dash are under some kind of spell," Fluttershy suggested, "Um, it doesn't seem like them to try to destroy Equestria."

Everyone had to agree that seemed wildly out of character, though they could all imagine Dash accidentally knocking over Canterlot while trying to show off.

"Then we need t' snap 'em out 'f it!" Applejack said smacking two hooves together, "With words 'r hooves 'r magic. Least then w' won't be outnumbered."

Dash and Trixie were the first to arrive, chatting animatedly as they entered the chamber.

"Last night was SO. AWESOME!"

"Trixie enjoyed your plans for crushing them all."

The four ponies waiting in ambush shuddered, truly something had really gotten to Dash.

Next came Chrysalis, strutting regally into the chamber, and finally Pinkie. This was their cue, and Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and (quietly after the other three) Fluttershy leapt out from cover.

"This is an intervention!" Twilight yelled, "Dash! Pinkie! You don't have to do this! We're still your friends!"

"Don't do it, darling!" Rarity joined in, "Think about the good times! I'll even forgive all the damage you've done to my shop!"

All four ponies gathered around the altar turned to look. Pinkie looked delighted, Chrysalis bored, while Trixie and Dash were gripped with terror.

"Oh no!" Dash wailed, "They know!"

"T-Trixie's only here to laugh at them! She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oooooooh! Are you here to join us?" Pinkie was practically bouncing.

Chrysalis non-chalantly stepped backwards and levitated a goblet over to sip at while she watched the confrontation.

Twilight advanced, "No, Pinkie, we're not here to join you. You have to stop this before someone gets hurt!"

Dash threw herself at Twilight's hooves, "Please don't tell anyone!" She begged her unicorn friend, "I'll stop! I'll do anything!" She looked up at her with pleading eyes, "I'd never live it down if Cloudsdale heard about this!"

"YOU live it down?" Twilight was appalled at her friend's selfishness, "What about THEM? Think about the damage you could do!"

"B-but!" Dash pleaded, "It's only roleplaying!"

Everyone paused.

"...say what, sugarcube?"

For the first time, Twilight got an up-close look at the 'altar,' which was indeed covered in tomes and scrolls. But she'd never before seen a forbidden scroll with crossed-out hit point values on it, there was also an awful lot of dice on the table unless this was a ritual to gamble Equestria away to dark gods. She used her magic to flip open the nearest book and found nothing more sanity-wrecking than a saving throw table. A quick sip confirmed that the only thing unholy at the table was that Trixie had insisted they buy Diet soda to fill the goblets.

"Um, why all the secrecy?" Fluttershy had snuck up to the altar.

"Man, Cloudsdale completely lost it just because I got a hooficure, they'd never let me live it down if they knew I roleplayed!"

"Trixie has to keep up appearances," the blue unicorn tossed her mane, "Bad enough she be seen as a nerd, what if people knew she associated with Rainbow Dash?"

"Oh, oh, Dash made me Pinkie-promise not to tell anyone. You'd also have gone totally loopy if you knew we were playing with Chrysalis."

Twilight put a hoof to her face and grimaced, "...this has been the dumbest adventure ever." She suddenly remembered something, "But what about the letters? They said something about 'your only chance'?"

Twilight got an ear-ringing reply as Luna arrived, wearing her hooded dungeonmaster cloak, "WE WILL EXPLAIN!" She looked embarrassed for a moment, and then turned down the volume, "Excuse us, we will explain. We had to take the chance while our sister was away."

"Now why'd that be necessary?" Applejack didn't get it, "Yer sister's a nice enough pony."

"TOO nice," Chrysalis said, "She insists on joining. Last time she required our characters to learn friendship lessons."

Trixie gagged theatrically, "She did not approve of Trixie's chaotic evil character concept, either."

"All her plots have to be neat and orderly!" Pinkie Pie moaned.

"And we have to stick together as a team all the time!" Rainbow Dash complained.

Twilight started to feel exhaustion catch up with her, the stress of the last few days was making her head swim, but there was one last thing she needed to know. "Just, one thing, Dash, what about the book you got from the library?"

"That was just the Daring Do supplement for Ponies & Pegasi!"

"Oh, right," Twilight nodded, "That ties everything up neatly." And then she passed out.

Wrapping Up

"Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight dipped her pen in the ink as she wrote her latest Friendship Report, "This week I learned that I should trust my friends not to destroy Equestria just because they act a bit oddly. I also learned that Rarity will show up to the gaming table in full cosplay regalia, that Fluttershy will break down and cry if you show her the maths in the Generic Universal Rolepony System books, and that you'll get tired of apples really fast if you ask Applejack to bring the snacks for your gaming nights.

Your most min-maxing student,
Twilight Sparkle"

The End