One Of Those Weird Days...
One Of Those Weird Days...
Twilight Sparkle was normally a careful pony. One who would research extensively about things before she involved herself too much in them. She was normally very studious, and had a vast library of information inside her mind. Normally, she wouldn't dive headfirst into something.
Normally.
Her weakness: Books. Around books, she was not normal. In fact, you could go as far as to say that she was abnormal when presented with a book that she hadn't read.
And she knew next to nothing about dragons. There were no books in Equestria about dragons, and if there were, they were kept under wraps. Under very thick and impenetrable wraps. All that was known was that they were normally aggressive and protective of their hordes, with little to no culture, normally.
Normally.
Twilight Sparkle knew that there was more to them than that, though. Judging by her assistant dragon Spike, dragons could be very intelligent if need be.
In short, Twilight Sparkle would immediately dive into books and/or information about dragons with no prudence.
So when she heard that the dragons had a book going around, she flipped.
And then she talked to Princess Celestia about getting one.
And somehow, the princess got her one.
Little did Twilight know that there was more to 'Oberin' than met the eye.
___________________________________________
"It's finally here!" screamed Twilight, eagerly shredding the cardboard box the princess had sent her. "I can't believe I actually have one!"
Her assistant, Spike the dragon, walked out of the kitchen with a stack of pancakes balanced precariously on a plate.
"What's here, Twilight?" he asked, setting the pancakes on the table and going into the kitchen again. "Whatever it is, you can stand to calm down a bit, don't you think?"
Spike came out again, this time carrying two plates and some silverware. After setting these on the table, he was immediately swept into a body-crushing hug from Twilight.
"I can't help it, Spike!" she said, twirling around with the unfortunate 'Kiss The Cook' apron-wearing reptile. "This new book that Princess Celestia sent me, 'Oberin', is a book written by the dragons. Think of what we can learn about the culture!"
"A dragon book! Really!?" exclaimed Spike. "I didn't know dragons wrote books!"
"There's a lot we don't know about dragons, my number one assistant." Twilight said, finally putting the dragon down. She examined the back of the book. It said:
Be prepared to enter a magical world, dear reader, where heroes fight against monsters in a never-ending clash of forces. Where crafters sell their wares, and harvesters take materials from nature. This book cannot be put down until it is finished!
Twilight let out a girlish giggle and began to open the book. Then she stopped.
"I just had a great idea! We should invite over the other girls so we can read this together!"
"I'm not sure we should do that, Twi. It could get a little boring to some, especially Rainbow Dash."
But Twilight was long gone. She continued hopping about gleefully. Spike sighed.
"Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only sane one in this town."
_________________________________
Twilight walked into the giant gingerbread house that was Sugarcube Corner and was immediately greeted by a pink pony with a poofy mane.
"Hey, Twilight! How are you today? You want some cupcakes, or some pie, or some muffins, or some cupcakes? Oops, I said cupcakes twice, didn't I? They're so sweet and creamy and sweet... I just said sweet twice too! It doesn't really matter, because cupcakes can be sweety sweet! You want so-"
A cyan hoof made it's way into Pinkie's mouth(A rather common occurence).
"Pinkie Pie, stop talking so much, you're giving Twilight a headache!" reprimanded Rainbow Dash in her scratchy voice.
"It's all right." responded Twilight. "And I don't really need something to eat, I just came to invite Pinkie over to read this new book with me! And since you're here too, Rainbow, I guess I can tell you too!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" began Dash. "A book? Twilight, we're not eggheads! Why would we all read a book together?"
Twilight gave a sly smile.
"You mean you're not an egghead, miss Daring Do fanatic?"
"Daring Do is not an egghead book, it is an adventure novel."
Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Well, according to my sources, which are newspapers from the Dragon Lands, this book is the number one best-seller adventure book that's been read by over 93% of the dragon population."
Pinkie gasped.
"Wowee! A dragon book! I bet it's got a lot of parties in there!" she yelled.
"Why would an adventure novel have parties?" asked Rainbow.
"Because parties go well with everything!"
Rainbow Dash facehooved.
"Whatever, Pinkie. We'll give it a try, Twilight."
"Great! Come by the library at about 7!"
______________________________
"One second there, darling. Almost finished."
"YOWCH!"
"I do beg your pardon, Twilight. This pin has a mind of its own!"
"Rarity, I don't see why you're fitting me for a dress when I came by to tell you about this book."
"Hush, dear, I'm in 'The Zone'."
Twilight winced as a pin came uncomfortably close to her neck.
"Rarity, I know that you're a dressmaker, but you don't have to do this to every pony who comes through your doors."
Rarity merely nodded.
"So Rarity, what do you think about this new book?"
She nodded again.
"Fine... fine..." she muttered absentmindedly.
"So... do you want to come over at 7 to read it?"
Again, she nodded.
"Yes, yes, that'll work..." she said without thinking.
"Great!" smiled Twilight.
Then she teleported out of the Carousel Boutique.
Rarity came out of her trance-like state with a start.
"Good heavens, what happened?!"
"I think you dressed her to death." giggled a filly nearby.
"Oh, hush, Sweetie Belle, unless you want a turn. In fact, I think it would be for- Well I never!"
The place where Sweetie was was now absolutely vacant, and a window was swinging conspicuously.
___________________________
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was busy carting baskets of apples into the barn. Twilight followed behind.
"-And so, I asked the Princess if she could get me that book, and she did!"
"Well that's mighty kind of her." responded Applejack. "I still don't see why you've come all the way out here to tell it to me, though."
"I came out to tell you that the girls are all coming to the library at 7 to read it with me. Do you want to come too?"
"I suppose I might be able to make some time for ya, Twi. As long as I work myself hard this mornin'."
"Thanks Applejack. See you at seven!"
Twilight teleported away, leaving Applejack with her work.
____________________________
Twilight carefully approached Fluttershy's cottage and knocked quietly on the door. It opened slightly, revealing the yellow pegasus' face and pink hair.
"Hello, Twilight. Would you like to come in?"
"Sure, Fluttershy, thanks."
The door opened enough to let Twilight in, who gladly stepped inside. The two ponies made their way to the living room, which was filled with birds, squirrels, raccoons, beavers, and Twilight could've sworn she saw a platypus peeking out from a doorway.
"What brings you here today, Twilight? Not that I mind, or anything..."
"I came to invite you over to the library at 7 so that all the girls can read this book together."
She smiled and levitated the book in front of Fluttershy.
"Oh, well, I'd love to. What's it about? Not that you have to answer me if you don't want to..."
"I'm not sure of the exact story, but it's a really popular book in the Dragon Lands..."
Fluttershy was now hidden inside a fortress of pillows, cerulean eyes peeking out of a slot.
"I-in that case, I th-think I'll just stay in here." she stuttered.
"It's perfectly fine, Fluttershy, it's only a book written by dragons. The only dragon that's going to be present is Spike."
"I d-don't know..."
"Well, if you change you're mind, the offer's still open. Seven o'clock at the library." said Twilight, going out the door.
__________________________
At seven o'clock, all of Twilight's friends were present at the library.
"Hello Rarity, thanks for making time, Applejack, thanks for coming, Rainbow. Hi there, Pinkie! Fluttershy, you came!"
The butter-yellow pegasus trotted in.
"I decided that it's not good to be afraid of a book, so I came. I hope it's not too much of a bother..."
"Not at all. Now, everyone, there's snacks over there. Go ahead and have a seat."
The friends all sat down, Twilight with her precious book close behind her.
"So Twilight, what is there about this book for which you have called our little group of friends?" inquired Rarity.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? It's just a book, nothing to get excited over!" added Rainbow.
Twilight wore an amused smirk.
"If that's true about books then let's recall that little episode involving you, a spy suit, 6 feet of bubblegum, a blowtorch and a restraining order from the author of the Daring Do series, shall we?"
Rainbow blushed furiously, embarrased at the memory.
"I thought we all agreed not to talk about that." she accused.
"We only agreed not to talk about the third time." responded Twilight. "Anyways, this book is a prime source of information regarding dragon culture and lore, and supposedly, it's got all sorts of things, from battle techniques to tailoring, all in one big story."
"D'ya think we can learn from that there book?" asked Applejack.
"I'd say most definitely. Now everypony quiet, including you, Rainbow!"
The pegasus in question froze with a hoof carrying 7 nachos with cheese, then taking one at a time.
"Everypony ready? Then I'll begin."
Twilight opened the cover of the book. Suddenly, she gasped.
"Wow, this book has some sort of magic spell on it!" she exclaimed. All of her friends started fidgeting.
"Then wouldn't it be a good idea to be cautious, Twilight dear?" asked Rarity.
But Twilight was already focusing magic.
"It's some sort of magical lock, and I can't get the book open!"
Suddenly, the book started glowing. It shimmered white before 6 tendrils of magic shot out and grabbed each of the ponies present. The friends all shrieked shrilly before falling silent as the book opened itself, dragged them inside its pages and then shutting them.
Spike poked his head out of the kitchen.
"Uh, girls? Where'd you all go?"
Then he noticed the book in the center of the table.
"Well, as long as you're not here, I'll just read your book, Twilight."
Briefly, he wondered about the screams, but then shrugged it off as some sort of beast that the Elements of Harmony had to take care of.
"They'll be all right. They always are." he said, picking up the book.
It opened easily, and Spike could tell that this was a book in great condition. However, as he turned a few more pages, he sighed in disgust.
"Figures. Draconic runes. And I never bothered to learn them."
From personal experience, he knew that there were no books about draconic runes in the Ponyville library. In fact, the only book he ever saw with those runes was in the classified section of the Canterlot archives.
He sighed and went into the kitchen to make himself some hot chocolate and wait.
_____________________________
Twilight woke up on some soft grass. Briefly, she considered lying there longer, but then she remembered the events that had transpired. She stood up with a start, and quickly took in her surroundings. She was lying in the middle of a small town. And she was also dressed in a light blue robe, with a couple saddlebags on her back.
"Where am I... And why am I dressed like this?"
She then took note of the villagers. They were dressed in robes of various colors. Some of them had hats, most of them didn't. And they were all walking around pretty aimlessly in the same spots. She walked up to one of them.
"Hello." she began.
"Greetings!" responded the stallion.
"Can you tell me where I am?"
"The village of Lerilin!"
"Uh-huh... and where is that in Equestria?"
This time, there was no answer. The stallion just smiled.
"Okaaaaaay... thank you."
The stallion continued smiling and began trotting around again.
Twilight was now severely confused. It had something to do with the book, for certain, but what had happened, exactly?
She saw a familiar pink coat through a window, and hurried towards it. Entering the inn(for that is what it was), she was greeted by Pinkie Pie, who was also wearing a light blue robe.
"Twilight! You're here too! I'm so glad, I thought that I was the only one that I knew in this town and I was sad because normally I know everyone but now you're here too an-"
"Pinkie, calm down, and release that chokehold you've got on my neck! Do you know where we are?"
"Kinda sorta." said Pinkie, letting go of Twilight. "I asked around and we're in Lerilin, which is on this peninsula connected to this giant place called Oberin that's full of monsters!"
"Wait... Oberin? That's the name of the book! The magic on the book must've reacted with my magic to send us here. But this is impossible! It violates three of the laws of Moon Breaker the Wise! Ponies aren't supposed to be able to travel to other dimensions by teleportation just like that, it requires extensive spellwork and reagents that weren't even near us. So how did we get here?"
"I don't know, silly filly, I'm not a dragon."
"What would being a dragon matter in this situatio-" She cut herself off. "Of course! Dragon magic! It's supposed to be different from pony magic. So how do we get back?"
"What're you looking at me for?" asked Pinkie, tossing a dagger from hoof to hoof.
"Pinkie, why do you have that dagger?" Twilight asked incredulously.
"Oh, this? It was in my pack."
Twilight decided to open her pack. She activated her telekinesis to open the bags. Only there was a problem. Her horn wasn't working properly. When she used magic, it just sparked.
"Wha-? How is this possible?" she yelled, clearly freaked out. "I can't use my magic!"
It was true. Whatever spell she tried to use, it would just end in her horn emitting a few sparks. She finally slumped to the ground, close to tears.
"Cheer up, Twilight. You're sure to get your magic back soon!"
"I hope so, Pinkie. Now, let's see what's in my bag."
She reached back with her teeth to open her saddlebags. Yet another problem was presented.
"They won't open!"
"That's because you're doing it wrong, Twilight! You have to open your inventory window."
"What are you talking about, Pinkie? Open my inventory window-WAAAAGH!!!" she yelled as a rectangle appeared in front of her.
"There you go, Twilight!" cheered Pinkie.
The rectangle seemed to be a list, which Twilight promptly examined.
"Light Blue Robe, 5 Loaves of Bread, a few different reagents, 5 Night Vision potions... What's all this?"
She turned to Pinkie, whose dagger was now gone.
"What's with this 'inventory window'? How do I use these things?"
"You just gotta roll with it, Twilight! Don't ask how, just do! There's a ton of windows! The map window, the stat window, the character window, the pets window, the calendar window... figure it out! It's real easy!" responded Pinkie.
"Okay... open map window."
A circle appeared in front of her. She saw that it was very simple, merely green for grass, brown for paths and buildings, and a slightly darker green for trees. And the range wasn't very good.
"Open character window."
A diagram of a pony appeared before her, a mere outline, with a small picture of a light blue robe in a square on its torso.
"Open stat, pets and calendar window."
A window with statistics like strength, intelligence, mana, health points and dexterity opened up. She examined this.
"Level 1 wizard... I'm a wizard, then?"
"Wow! That's cool! So you're gonna be able to do magic! I'm a rogue!"
"A rogue! Why would you, of all people, be a ro... Pinkie? Where'd you go?"
Pinkie had disappeared from her previous position and was now nowhere in sight.
"SURPRISE!" she shouted, coming out of Twilight's tail. Twilight facehooved.
"Of course she would be a rogue..."
She then examined the pets window. It had five slots that were quite empty. Next came the calendar window.
"What's this? The year is way off. Like, two thousand years off. And what's up with this 'Growing Moon'? Day number 110? What's up with that?"
"It's a different world, Twilight. I would've thought you'd know that." explained Pinkie, rolling her eyes.
"Oh... right. What other windows are there, Pinkie?"
"Let's see, there's the skill window, for one..."
"Open skill window." said Twilight immediately.
A very full rectangle appeared in front of her. It had various phrases, saying things like: Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Lumberjacking, Mining, Magery/Wizard, Enchanting and Meditation. Then, Twilight's eye caught one that disgusted her.
"Fishing! Why fishing!?"
"I think some of the ponies here actually eat meat!" said Pinkie, quite unperturbed.
"Eat meat!" screamed Twilight, getting green. "That's disgusting! You can't be serious!"
"Yeah, I saw it in the buy window of the restaurant. Cooked steaks and dried trout and trout steaks..."
"Imagine what Fluttershy would think... Wait, if both you and me are here, then the others must be here too! We've got to find them!"
"You're right, Twilight, you can count on me."
"One thing, Pinkie. With all of these windows up, I can't see anything!"
"Silly filly, just drag them out of the way to where you want them, or just close them."
Twilight put her hoof on the windows and somehow dragged them to her sides. Then she noticed something she hadn't before. Above Pinkie's head was a green bar and some white letters stating: Pinkie-Pie. Looking above her head, she had a green bar, a blue bar and the words: Twilight Sparkle. They moved with both their heads.
Suddenly, the door burst open and in floated a gray, transparent pony.
It saw them and immediately said:
"OOOOOoooooOOOOO!!!"
Above it's head were the clear words: 'Ghost of Rainbow Dash'
______________________
Pinkie led the way in front of Twilight and Rainbow to a place that she said would help. So far, the only sounds that had come out of Rainbow Dash's mouth were: 'OOOOOoooooOOOOO!!!', and nothing more. Naturally, Twilight had been worried to death about Rainbow, who had apparently died and been clad in a gray robe.
"Here we are!" said Pinkie cheerfully. "Just step between these pillars, Dashie!"
Dash floated between the pillars. With a loud pop and a bright flash, her color was returned and she stopped floating. Her name was changed to 'Rainbow Dash'.
"Ugh, finally!"
Twilight was horrified at her appearance. Rainbow Dash was bloodied and bruised all over, and her green bar was at a fourth.
"What are you staring at, Twilight?" she asked in her raspy voice.
Twilight didn't have words. Fortunately, the exact opposite could be said for Pinkie.
"DASHIE!!! For a minute there we were both so worried because you were like 'Ooo!' and nobody could understand you but then I remembered this place where they said that if you died you could become alive again and brought you here and now you can talk again!"
Rainbow Dash pried Pinkie off of her.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Pinkie. I don't get why you didn't understand me, though, I was talking fine."
Twilight finally found words.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Rainbow! I was so worried when I saw your ghost! But, all you did say was 'Ooo!'"
"Meh, whatever. So, who wants to help get my body back?"
Twilight turned green once more, while Pinkie raised her hand and jumped in place.
"I thought so."
"But first, Twilight, there's one more window I should tell you about: The party window!" said Pinkie, jubilant.
"Open party window." said both Twilight and Rainbow at the same time.
The window opened for each of them, though they could only see their own.
"Wow, I'm guessing this is to keep track of your friends."
"Yup, Twilight, just say 'Add Pinkie Pie', and I'll be there!"
"Add Pinkie Pie." repeated the two others.
Sure enough, Pinkie's name appeared in red, with a red circle beside it.
"So, I guess we should... get Rainbow's body back?" asked Twilight, still rather queasy.
"I just want to say one more thing to Rainbow, Twilight." said Pinkie. She went up to Rainbow's face. "I TOLD YOU THERE WERE PARTIES IN ADVENTURES!!"
_______________________
The trio walked through the woods. Twilight had found out how to cast her spells, by opening up the window 'Magery/Wizard', which was located as a subdivision in the Skills window.
"So what class are you, Rainbow?" asked Pinkie.
"I'm a fighter." she said proudly. "I get in there with my sword and beat whatever attacks me!"
"So how did that work out for you?" giggled Twilight.
Rainbow Dash hung her head and pouted, trying to ignore the giggles of her two friends.
Suddenly, she looked up.
"There it is!" she yelled.
On the ground, facedown, was a cyan pegasus body, scratched and mauled and bloody. Rainbow began to skip towards it, but stopped when she heard a growl. Ahead was a large dog, even bigger than the ponies, and blood red in color. It snarled at Rainbow. Above it's head was a green bar and the words 'Hell Hound'.
"Hehe, I'm just gonna RUN FOR MY SECOND LIFE!!!" screamed Rainbow, zooming off. The hell hound tore after her in pursuit.
"HEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEE!!!" screamed Rainbow.
"Identify!" yelled Pinkie. "Drat, it's level 7! Twilight, see if you can hit it!" Pinkie then just disappeared.
Twilight nodded and allowed a small smile across her face. "If..." she scoffed. "BUR!"
She had found out that in this world, spells required spell words, reagents and mana points. Bur was Magic Arrow, costing a Piece of Coal and 6 Mana points.
A bright light flew towards the Hell Hound and disappeared into it's hide. The green bar remained unaffected. The hell hound's target, however, did not. It whirled around and stared at Twilight. She saw its name turn to red before it ran towards her.
"Oh dear..."
"HIYA!" screamed a pink pony, burying her dagger into the hind end of the mutt. "Take that!"
The green bar barely dropped. The hell hound turned to Pinkie, who smiled.
"Now you see me, now you don't!"
She disappeared again, right in front of the hell hound's eyes. The dog then turned once more to Twilight, who casat another Magic Arrow at it. It's green bar had already refilled, due to their low damage output and the health regeneration that applied with everything. Pinkie appeared out of nowhere again, stabbed it and disappeared.
"Rainbow Dash, loot your body so that we can get out of here!" screamed Pinkie.
The pegasus quickly darted to her previous body. "Get all!" she yelled. "Alright, I got it all! Let's get out of here!" she said, gray robe changing into light blue.
The trio ran to the Northeast, where they knew Lerilin was at.
_________________________
The three friends walked through the front gates, where they saw a familiar white unicorn, stitching together leather, of all things, though her face betrayed the fact that she didn't like it. When she saw the other three, the materials disappeared.
"You're all here! Thank heavens! I was beginning to get worried! And what's this? Rainbow Dash, why are you torn and hurt? You should really be more careful! Pur!"
A light sparkle covered Rainbow, and her health augmented considerably.
"Hey, thanks Rarity. That would've taken forever to heal by itself."
"Well, not forever, dear, only some minutes. It seems that our health replenishes itself faster than normal here. Speaking of which, do you know where here is?"
"We're in the world of Oberin." responded Twilight. "Some dragon magic that was in the book reacted to mine and brought us here."
"Well I never... you'd better explain that to the other two as well." said Rarity.
"They're here too?!" exclaimed Pinkie. "Great!"
"Yup, we're both here, Applejack and Fluttershy, reporting for duty." said a southern drawl.
The girls looked to the left to see one of the strangest sights they'd ever seen or would ever see. Applejack, covered in shiny plate armor, with a quiver of arrows and a bow over her shoulders, and Fluttershy, covered in leather armor and seemingly horrified at it, yet bearing it without complaint. At Fluttershy's side was a rat, with the words 'Giant Rat' over it's head colored blue.
"H-hi, Twilight. This is my new pet Cheese"
Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow.
"The rat's name is Cheese?" she asked.
"It must be." responded Fluttershy. "He comes whenever I say that."
__________________________
Words were exchanged, and it was discovered that Applejack was a ranger, a warrior that used bows primarily, but could also use swords and daggers, Rarity was a cleric, a healing mage, and Fluttershy, unsurprisingly, was a druid, an animal tamer. Surprisingly, druid Fluttershy could also use magic, a Heal Pet spell and a Reveal spell at her level.
Applejack had laughed her head off upon hearing how Rainbow had died so early.
"Dontcha know that yer not supposed to go out there? The differences in level are incredible! And just with yer Light Blue Robe? That gives almost no Armor Rating at all. Didntcha bother to read yer stats? Get yerself some armor!"
Evidently, Rarity had spent most of her time buying Rolls of Cloth and Leather Hides from the store and turning them into Bandages, Boots and more recently, leather armor to make a profit. Applejack had been mining while Fluttershy had been training her taming.
"It's not very pretty when animals attack me, because then I have to kill them. I'm just glad that they're not like the animals back at home; They don't have any feelings, they just want to destroy. Oh, I hope that the animals back home will be all right without me! I don't really like being here!"
"Cheer up, Fluttershy, we'll find a way back! All we gotta do is find a way, and survive until then. Something that Rainbow hasn't been doing very well..."
"Hey! Will you stop talking about that already!"
The six resolved to level up their skills to be better equipped for the world. For, if they couldn't even handle Lerilin, how were they going to handle Duldrus? What good would a level 4 Paralysis spell do against a level 12 Hell Mage? And Twilight was willing to wager that the way to get back was somewhere else.
________________________
Meanwhile, Spike was sitting comfortably on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa.
"This is nice."
Author's Note
Well, there you have it. A little one-shot about the Mane 6 ending up in Oberin. Will there be a sequel? Maybe. Will we find out what happens next? Bud, that's what the imagination is for. Will someone else continue where I left off? Rather doubtful.
This was just a one-shot to keep me going.
You're probably now wondering what Oberin is now.
It's a very social MMO that only works on Macs, though you can play it on Windows with a program called Sheepshaver(details on the site). I'm pretty sure I'm the only one there who has actually watched MLP, though, so don't be disappointed.
It's a very friendly game, and I sometimes think that if people in the real world would act a little bit more like people in Oberin, the world would be way nicer. Seriously, the people are great.
And the rules are very kid-friendly and nice. No stalking, no blocking, no harassing, you can't attack other players except on PvP island, heck, even swearing is banned!
It's also a very slow leveling game. Really slow. I've had a druid for almost a year and a half, and I'm still trying to get to level 8. Though I don't play that much...
So, if you want, give it a shot. Just remember, don't be a jerk(not looking specifically at anyone, don't mean to cause offense) and have a lot of patience with leveling.
Thanks for reading, and keep your stick on the ice.
PS: Just noticed, exactly 5 thousand words, and I wasn't even watching. I flipped when I saw that.
