[RGR] /tg/ Tuftbeards & Anon playing O&O


                                            Original Poster: Frostybox (http://pastebin.com/u/frostybox)

                                            Reason this is posted here is because it's not binned in Frosty's bin.


                                            >"Anon?" calls a voice from the study room upstairs.

                                            "Yeah?" you call back.

                                            >Moondancer walks down to the dusty living room that you're temporarily bumming from her.

                                            >"Oh there you are."

                                            >She's got saddlebags on that are full of books and a bunch of snacks.

                                            "Heading out to your "crystal thing"?"

                                            >"No, I mean yes! I mean..."

                                            >She bites her lip and looks at you as though she can't find the right words to say.

                                            >You were hired to do some contract work for the Princesses that required being in Canterlot for a bit, Twilight asked a favor of you to check in on Moondancer now and again.

                                            >Pretty chill pony if you say so yourself, but you can see why Twilight was worried.

                                            "You mean...?"

                                            >Sometimes she needs a little push to keep going.

                                            >Moondancer sighs and looks down, her glasses slide down her muzzle a little.

                                            >"Well, it's actually a game I'm going to, w-with my friends. I've been trying to do better about friends, s-so I was wondering if maybe... and you don't have to-"

                                            "You want me to come to a game with you?"

                                            >Her head snaps up to look at you, her glasses going crooked as a result.

                                            >"I know it's a dumb mare thing and a colt like you probably wouldn't want t-"

                                            "Sure. Beats sitting in a dusty old building all night."

                                            >You were hoping to go digging for any embarrassing stuff from Twilight's past to blackmail her with later, but you'll be here for a few weeks.

                                            >You can secure leverage for butterfly wings later.

                                            >Then they'll see, then they'll ALL see!

                                            "So, were you just heading out to your- our game then?" you ask as you stride over to the front door.

                                            >Moondancer hasn't moved at all, she's still staring at the spot you were at on the couch.

                                            "Yo, did you hear me?"

                                            >She shakes her head and turns to face you, glasses even more crooked than before, "You seriously want to come?!"

                                            >You chuckle as you walk up to her.

                                            "I'm pretty sure that's why I asked if we're going right now" you respond while fixing her glasses.


                                            >The cream coat on her face gains a pinkish tint to it as she turns towards the door, "O-okay, yeah we're going now then."

                                            >You reach for the door again, but Moondancer has already opened it with her magic.

                                            >Shrugging, you pass through the doorway and wait for her to follow through.

                                            >She shuts the door and locks it before turning to look up at you again, "We're playing at Minuette's house tonight, you remember her right?"

                                            "Of course, she's the one who always has disposable toothbrushes."

                                            >You follow along behind the cream colored mare for a short time before realizing something kind of important.

                                            "Oh hey, what kind of game are we playing? I didn't exactly bring a change of clothes" you remark while tugging at your untucked button up and beltless pants.

                                            >You've seen her play some kind of magical volleyball before with her friends, so its something you should've considered.

                                            >"Uhm... we're playing Oubliettes and Ogres, the fourth edition, because every edition beyond that is just a husk of what it once was so casuals can-"

                                            >She stops mid rant, "Uhm, it's like... like one of those fantasy plays they show at the theater, you've seen one of those right?"

                                            >Only ever went to one play, Big Mac had been raving about the damn thing and demanded you come along with him.

                                            >Definitely not your thing.

                                            "Uh, no. But you said it's fantasy?"

                                            >Kinda silly coming from a world that already has magic and shit in it.

                                            >She sighs, "I guess I probably should've expected you not to watch those kinds of plays. Fantasy is-"

                                            >You cut her off.

                                            "I know what fantasy is, are we doing a role playing game? It's what it sounds like."

                                            >"Y-you know what that is?"

                                            "Do I know- Does everyone have to roll initiative at the start of a battle, y'know ignoring any surprise rounds and stuff."

                                            >Moondancer's jaw drops, "No way... NO WAY!"

                                            >She's as giddy as can be as you both discuss the finer points of tabletop gaming.


                                            >Most things are pretty much the same, surprisingly enough they don't have as much in the way of variety as Earth.

                                            >You chat about the characters everyone else has and what kind of character you should play as.

                                            Before you know it, you're both at Minuette's place and you have to put away your player's book for a bit to do the meet and greet.


                                            >Be Moondancer.

                                            >"You sly bastard!" Lemon Hearts squeaks as she slugs your foreleg, "I don't need friends, I'm not very good with others" she says in a mocking tone.

                                            >"I know right? You actually managed to bring a guy to one of our games?!" Twinkleshine chirps.

                                            >You rub one foreleg with the other.

                                            "Well... It's not that big a deal."

                                            >"It is totally a big deal! If we get Anon into the game then maybe he can talk his coltfriends into it too" Minuette retorts.

                                            >"Yeah! Then everypony can see how cool we are!" Lemon Hearts cheers.

                                            >You all look at each other for a moment.

                                            >"Well, whatever. At least we have one guy in our group. That's better than Lyra's group can say right?" Lemon mumbles.

                                            >"So we know what we gotta do, at the very least we have to make sure he has a good time. I don't like putting on the foal mittens as GM, but I think we all understand how big a deal this is." Minuette muses.

                                            "Oh, actually Anon knows ho-"

                                            >"Yup."

                                            >"It's gotta be done."

                                            >Your friends have already walked out to the holotable room before you could explain that he already knows how to play.

                                            >You follow them out there only to bump them with the door as they're standing just beyond it.

                                            >Snickering and whispers about how cute Anon looks come from them.

                                            >You slip around to the side and see what they're looking at.

                                            >Anon's eyes are as wide as dinner plates as he watches his character stand proudly on the holotable.

                                            >He notices you all standing at the door and calls out to you, "Girls! Holy- this is amazing! Does the table do more?! Will I see the fights happening?!"


                                            >Anon sounded so confident about this when you were talking on the way, how could he not know what a holotable does?

                                            >Was he pretending and only listing things he quickly looked up earlier in the day?

                                            >You'd heard jokes about "fake geek colts" but you didn't think Anon was one of them.

                                            >Your friends aren't even questioning it as they inform him about the table and what it can do.

                                            >"So did you fill out your character sheet okay? Do you need me to look over it?" Lemon Hearts says with a forced marely voice.

                                            >"No no, I think I got it all written down right. I changed this minotaur a little to look like a human, but the stats will be the same to make things easy."

                                            >You can see the he gave the minotaur a very lithe build and the smallest horns possible.

                                            >Such a frail and dainty build, of course a guy would choose something like that.

                                            >He's even given the guy accessories like big glasses, a useless cape, and bracelets... made of cloth?

                                            >He has an intricate blue design running through the tan fur on his body.

                                            >Oh my... rather than go nude, his character has a big flashy belt and pants on.

                                            >Sexy as can be, maybe you were wrong about Anon after all, he couldn't have made such a silly build if he actually knew what he was doing.

                                            >"Ladies, let me introduce you to my bard, who specializes in speeches, Kamina!"

                                            >Looks like you're in for a pretty dull game...


                                            >You have clenched absolutely everything.

                                            >Anonymous looks cool and confident as he stares at the holodie on the screen.

                                            >It all comes down to this.

                                            >”Moondancer, I want you to know something.”

                                            >You look over to his face, he’s smiling at you, “This has been a ton of fun.”

                                            >He presses the die to cast it forward.


                                            >Things started out slowly, more so than they often do.

                                            >Minuette made “extra sure” that Anon would be able to follow along.

                                            >Well not only was he completely unable to follow along, he derailed everything as soon as it happened.

                                            >Minuette was the only one who loved it at first, the rest of you got swept up in the enjoyment as the game went on.

                                            >She giggled and played along rather than putting a stop to it then and there, all because he’s a guy.

                                            >There was the Manticore you all had to kill that Minuette had, thankfully, started out in a magic sleep.

                                            >”Hey hey hey hey! Wake up you dirty fuzzball! I gotta take you on alive and well if I’m gonna kill ya!” Kamina belted while lightly whacking the beast with his sheath.

                                            >Yeah, things went out of hand there.

                                            >But somehow, with Kamina’s speeches and a little bit of luck everypony managed to scrape by that fight without anybody wiping.

                                            >Lemon’s character, a pegasus warrior named Sunstreaker, was bragging about how great she and Kamina were in the fight.

                                            >Kamila joined along in the merriment for a time, but eventually he came over to help bandage Ikol, your character's, wounds.

                                            >”You did great out there.”

                                            “Me? No, I didn’t really do much…”

                                            >”You kiddin’ me? If it weren’t for you we’d be toast. That spell you used was just the thing we needed when that beast had the two of us cornered.”

                                            “I was only able to pull it off because of your speeches, bard.”

                                            >”Bard? C’mon, we’ve bleed together, there’s few bonds that are tighter. Just call me Kamina.”

                                            >Seeing the looks of jealousy on Lemon and Twinkle’s face was priceless.

                                            >Hearing Anon say those words, even if it was in character, made your heart skip a beat too.

                                            >Then came the part with the slavers.

                                            >Minuette saw that Anon played a more passive role during the first fight so she tried making something so he could be the hero.

                                            >Maybe it was the subject matter, having foal and stallion slaves probably didn’t make him feel comfortable.

                                            >Either way, Kamina didn’t take kindly to the slaver.

                                            >But he didn’t fight her even though he could’ve won easily.

                                            >Instead, Kamina convinced her that, not only was she wrong to enslave others, but even got him to join your party in a fight with a pack of timberwolves that were attracted by all of Kamina’s yelling.

                                            >Minuette “totally considered that happening” and "didn’t make up the slaver’s ally stats on the spot at all.”

                                            >You’re not sure if it was Kamina’s bonuses or Minuette accidentally making him OP as an ally, but the slaver almost dealt with things singlehoofedly.

                                            >Your loudmouthed Mino friend was really sore with the slaver after you all had been kicked out so he could “think about things” and not “Minuette not knowing how to actually end things.”

                                            >He went on about how much a of a waste of potential the slaver was to live his life in comfort rather than making the most of it.

                                            >Twinkleshine’s character, a rogue earthpony named Umbra, really resonated with that.

                                            >She’s always reading fiction books and that desire to adventure comes through in all her characters.

                                            >Until she tries camping for one day and remembers how much she hates it anyway.

                                            >Nothing was really going according to plan, but thanks to Minuette’s happy and adaptive attitude it wasn’t that bad as the campaign went on.

                                            >That mare just loves games, doesn't matter what goes on in them.


                                            >You all took a break to recharge, the others simply couldn’t leave Anon alone, and he didn’t turn them away either.

                                            >”I have this book you HAVE to read!” Twinkle chirped.

                                            >”Sorry my rolls have been kinda bad, I was at the gym all day and my arms are a little tired” Lemon said while sucking in her belly.

                                            >”Oh boy Anon, you’re really pushing me for all i’ve got tonight… oh! listen to me” she says with a bout of nervous laughter.

                                            >Anon pats her head gently, “I know you are, and I’m really sorry. I promise next time I’ll be better.”

                                            >The moment Anon steps out for the bathroom they all gang up on you.

                                            >”Did you hear him?! Next time! He wants to play next time!”

                                            >You’re taken aback a little by their almost rabid excitement, but you gotta admit that it has been fun, a lot more fun that you thought at the start.

                                            “i heard I heard, stop shaking me! You’re going to knock off my glasses.”

                                            >When you got back, Minuette took you all on the path towards the final encounter.

                                            >It was a pretty standard path despite Anon’s insistence to skirt the most of what a free action can do.

                                            >Normally you hated that, but it was pretty fun to see Kamina boast and brag.

                                            >Lemon’s character loved butting heads with Anon’s.

                                            >You’d never seen anypony take things to the level that Anon has though, it was…

                                            >”Go! You girls take control of the magical core! I’ll handle things here.”

                                            “What?! That’s crazy, you’ll get yourself killed!”

                                            >Kamlna lets out a knowing chuckle, “Dummy, a true mino never dies, even when he’s killed! Now go!”

                                            >Being the only unicorn in the group, you were the only one who could do anything with the core.

                                            >Umbra and Sunstreaker had to stick close because of how many turns this could take.

                                            >You watched the display as Kamina unsheathed his sword, you remember thinking to yourself “Is that how long it was? Wasn’t it shorter?”


                                            >”Anon, you know you could probably run and hide from this" Minuette whisper screamed across the table.

                                            >Anon smirked as he rolled to intimidate, “Let me tell you shmucks somethin’ important, and I’m only gonna say this once so you better dig the wax out of your big ears and listen! This team behind me is full of some of the toughest bozos around-”

                                            >Your characters hear him shout from all the way out by the core.

                                            >”-And you should know that I’m their leader, so I’ll give you all a second to think about that, figured it out? No? Then let me fill you in, when there's talk about our badass leader, a mino of indomitable spirit and total masculinity, they’re talking about me! The mighty Kamina!”

                                            >The minotauress soldier was phased, enough to put Kamina on par with him in a fight despite being only a bard.

                                            >With how much skill you had in magic the only way you were going to take control is by rolling a nat 20.

                                            >Seven.

                                            >”C’mon, hurry it up! Kamina’s holding out, but he can’t do it for long!” Suntreaker grunts while deflecting an attack aimed at you.

                                            "I’m trying!” you growl back.

                                            >Twelve.

                                            >Kamina drew the ire of the dragoness captain, he took a glancing strike to the chest, but her strength was enough to throw him several tiles across the field with just that glance

                                            >”Kamina! Damn it Ikol, get this thing over to us!” Umbra shouts as she tosses a dagger in the Captain’s direction.

                                            >”Where’s your bravado now, small horn!” the soldier belts out as she heaves Kamina into the air with her horns.

                                            >Anon’s face was unreadable, Minuette looked a little sick having to play this role.

                                            >You reached out to roll.

                                            >”Wait, my turn isn’t done yet”

                                            >Kamina rises up to his hands and knees.

                                            >He coughs up blood for a moment before speaking, “Ikol! You’re better than this!”

                                            >You glanced over to see him looking you in the eyes.

                                            >Kamina slowly rises to his feet, one hand shakily held high above his head, he points one finger up to the sky.

                                            >”Who the he- in Tartarus do you think you are!? Where’s the unicorn mage who saved our haycon during the first encounter?! We’ve done it already, you’ve overcome the hardest part, everything after this is easy, you’ve just got to do it Ikol!”

                                            >HIs voice, his confidence, it enough to make you feel…

                                            >You pressed the holodie and cast it forward.

                                            >It tumbled once, twice

                                            >Hit the barrier and bounced back again.

                                            >It comes to a slow roll before stopping.

                                            >Eighteen.

                                            >”That’s it, you take the core” Minuette cuts through the air of silence between all of you.

                                            “I did?”

                                            >”You get a confidence bonus thanks to Kamina, it’s not going to be stable for very long though.”

                                            >The three of you sprinted to Kamina’s side after taking control.

                                            >The Dragoness’ power has been significantly lowered now, or you’ve all been powered up, it didn’t matter since now you were going to win.

                                            >You knew that for a fact.

                                            >Umbra and Sunstreaker had gotten pulled aside leaving you the only who could actually reach Kamina.

                                            “Hold on, let me heal you!”

                                            >”No, this isn’t the time for that.”

                                            >Anon rolls a will save to keep from passing out from the blood loss.

                                            >He’s right, you all have to get out of there and fast.

                                            >”Hold your turn Moony, I have something planned” Anon said smugly.

                                            >Minuette looked both afraid and curious.

                                            >The others looked about the same, except you’d probably have replaced curious with another word, the pervs.

                                            >”Are you ready Ikol?” Kamina asks as he places a hand firmly on your shoulder.

                                            “Ready for what?”

                                            >”For what else?” he asks as he grunts to hop over you, “I’m gonna ride you!”


                                            >Your tail goes flat against your rear immediately, no way you're going to let anyone find out about what THAT did to you.

                                            >Lemon spits out her drink and Twinkle turns to Minuette, “C-Can he do that?!”

                                            >Minute frantically looks through her books, “Uhm… I guess you’ll- you can each do checks and… yeah! You totally can!”

                                            >You and Anon press your holodie at the same time.

                                            >They pass, barely, but they pass.

                                            >”Yes” you hear Anon whisper to himself, his grin has never been wider.

                                            >”Alright Ikol, let’s finish this in one strike!” Kamina says with a pained growl.

                                            >Your horn glowed a brilliant green, the Magic Armor spell you had was finally getting used.

                                            >The attacks from smaller enemies bounced off harmlessly

                                            >”We adventurers are sustained by willpower!”

                                            >You can feel your heart racing, as you watch the scene unfold.

                                            “With friends at our sides there’s nothing we can’t accomplish!”

                                            >Anon glances down at you and smiles proudly.

                                            >"Combined together by unbreakable bonds to become an unstoppable force!”

                                            "Combined together by unbreakable bonds to become an unstoppable force!”

                                            >”Just who-”

                                            >The tauress soldier was slammed aside like she was a parasprite.

                                            “In Tartarus!-“

                                            >Your legs ache as you speed up the hill.

                                            >”DO YOU THINK WE ARE!?”

                                            “DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!”

                                            >The Dragoness bellows out a torrent of flame.

                                            >Your armor holds and you both cut through it like it was nothing, “You’re gonna have to do much better than that!” Kamina bellows.

                                            >Your horn ignited a bright green once more and Kamina’s sword gains a magical aura emanating from the tip.


                                            >Kamina roars and the aura expands to a massive glowing green lance that extends even further beyond his sword.

                                            >”Magical!”

                                            >You’ve reached the end of the hill.

                                            >”Lance!”

                                            >You leap into the air, charging directly for the dragoness.

                                            >”STRRRRRRRIKE!”

                                            >Anon's hand pauses just before the holodie.

                                            >”Hey, Moondancer? I want you to know something, this has been a lot of fun.”

                                            >Anon rolls.

                                            >Natural twenty.

                                            >Minuette is frantically looking around for how many damage die to roll.

                                            >The magical lance penetrates deep into the Dragoness’ chest with enough force to literally blow a "minotaur riding a pony" sized hole through her chest.

                                            >Everyone at the table cheers, including yourself, tartarus, you probably cheer the loudest.

                                            >Anon chuckles as he leans back in his chair.

                                            >There’s a one face up on the display.

                                            >”Thanks for the ride… sisters in arms...” Kamina says, barely a whisper.

                                            >He failed the landing roll, it was just enough to be fatal damage.

                                            >Everypony stares at the screen, mouths agape.

                                            >None of you seem to be unable to react.

                                            >Everyone's wiped at the start before bu-

                                            *SHRR-*

                                            >"NO! Th-th-that damn holotable just messes up like that sometimes! It rolls on its own, just go ahead and roll agai-"

                                            >"No, I rolled that. While everyone got pulled into the hype" Anon says cutting off Lemon Hearts.

                                            >He holds his character sheet in each hand, a tear runs a quarter of the way through it.

                                            >"Uh... lemme see..." Minuette mumbles while browsing through one book to the other.

                                            >She won't find anything, you've memorized these books backwards and forwards.

                                            >There's nothing any of you could access at your levels that can save him.

                                            >"Don't bother Minuette, there's no point trying to do something. I literally rolled him up today, not a big loss right?"

                                            >"Well no but..."

                                            >"But we don't want your first night with us to end so badly" Twinkle continues Minuette's thought.

                                            >Anon chuckles warmly, "Badly? You think this ended badly? I'm having a blast! And if I recall, it's not over yet right?" he asks as he rips the sheet in half.


                                            "KAMINA!"

                                            >He lays limply on the ground, the pool of blood underneath him spreads further and further out.

                                            >His face looks serene, you could almost convince yourself he's asleep were it not for the warm liquid soaking into your fur.

                                            >"Get off the ground you bums! We've gotta go!" Sunstreaker shouts as she glances back to the rapidly destabilizing magical core.

                                            >You turn to face your companion, tears streaming from your eyes, "Sun he's..."

                                            >Her eyes widen as she glances to the fallen form behind you, "No... we..." she drops down over top of him and pulls him close.

                                            >With a grunt she heaves Kamina onto her shoulder, "We have to go." she says with a choked voice.

                                            >"Here! I scouted ahead!" Umbra waves you both from the treeline.

                                            >A wrenching sensation passes through you as you all leave the field sustained by the magical core behind.


                                            >A weakness unlike any you've ever felt before overcomes you, and seemingly your two comrades judging by their huffing.

                                            >"Close one wasn't it?" Umbra says with exhausted breath.

                                            >Neither you nor Sunstreaker can respond.

                                            >"What? What happen-"

                                            >Her sentence catches in her throat as it's replaced by a gasp.

                                            >"No... no this can't!"

                                            >She holds a shaky hoof to her mouth, "But he said-"

                                            >All three of you lower your heads, the others may not be crying your vision is too blurry to tell.

                                            >You don't care if it's just you.

                                            >Kamina meant so much to you in just the short time you've known each other.

                                            >He made you believe.

                                            >Believe that a simple scholar could become so much more.

                                            >Believe that you could have companions to rely on.

                                            >Believe that your companions could rely on you.

                                            >Believe in...

                                            >You steal a glance at Anon, who's bearing a warm smile as he watches you all play the rest out.

                                            >Believe in yourself.

                                            "A real Mino never dies, even when he's killed."

                                            >Umbra and Sunstreaker look up at you, as you rise to your hooves.

                                            >You hear soft chuckles come from Umbra, "That idiotic babble he spouted always bugged me, but I think, I think I just wasn't really listening."

                                            >She rises to stand next to you.

                                            >Sunstreaker trots up to your otherside, small sniffles escape her lips, "You bastard! Where do you get off dying on me!? We were... we..."

                                            >Her tears flow freely now and she leans on your for support.

                                            >"I'll show you Kamina. I'm gonna do so much more than anything you talked big about! Then you'll be so damn jealous when I finally bite it you little colt!"

                                            >You find yourself smiling somewhat, you can almost hear Kamina arguing back.

                                            >The three of you work until sunset, no more words need to be spoken.

                                            >The inkeep looks the three of you over, almost ready to throw you all out on account of how dirty you all look.

                                            >He changes his tune when he sees your faces, the coin you all had probably didn't hurt either.


                                            >After a hot bath and a filling meal you find yourself sitting outside.

                                            >This is a vast change from the school's archives room you'd normally find yourself in this time of night.

                                            >The sun has just about fallen behind the horizon.

                                            >A cool breeze blows through your mane.

                                            >You close your eyes and envision the dirt mound near the trees.

                                            >The breeze passes through again, the bright red cape flaps lazily atop the sword embedded into the freshly turned earth.


                                            >"So... pretty good place to stop for the ni- early morning eh?" Minuette asks everyone.

                                            >You all glance at each other and nod.

                                            >Juices are passed around.

                                            >The remaining snacks are poured into bowls.

                                            >"-I'm serious! I though Moondancer was going to slap a colt when Anon decided kicking the Manticore was a good idea."

                                            "Wha?! I would never!"

                                            >All three of your "so called" friends shoot you a look.

                                            >Anon can't stop laughing, which only adds to the heat coming from your cheeks.

                                            >"Seriously Moony?" Twinkleshine asks before turning to Anon, "You should see her when we normally play, she's always about the "most optimal" move."

                                            >Minuette giggles before adding on, "Yeah! Remember the time we made her ad-lib through a bluff? "I rolled high enough girls, we don't have to actually do the talking you know"" she says in a tone similar to yours.

                                            "Oh yeah! W-well remember the time that... that Lemon scheduled the wedding and the duel on the same day?"

                                            >Now the heat turns to her, "I was busy that day! I told you girls that!"

                                            >"Yeah, busy with all that "scheduling". How many issues of Power Ponies did you "schedule" away?"

                                            >Everyone joins on the laughter, even Lemon.

                                            >"Wait... I thought I recognized you! You're one of the IT mares aren't you?" Anon says while snapping his fingers.

                                            >Internal Tablekeeping, it's a necessary, but often overlooked job.

                                            >"Y-you work at the castle too?"

                                            >"Yeah, I've got some contract work for the Princesses, I've still got a few more weeks left."


                                            >The morning passes on as sugary drinks and sanity passes through as well.

                                            >"MAGICAL!"

                                            >"LANCE!"

                                            >"STRRRRRRRRRIKE!" Minuette shouts while riding on top of Twinkleshine.

                                            >"No no, you gotta shout from the gut, it's like this... uh, I need a po-"

                                            >"I've gotcha!" Lemon shouts as she sprints over.

                                            >"Alright, it's more like... MAGICA-AAAH" he shouts as they both fall to the ground.

                                            >Everypony bursts out into laughter, either from the sight actually being funny, or all of you being up waaaay too late.

                                            >"Y'know who would love to come to this? Blood, I'll ask him if he wants to tag along next time."

                                            >"Blood? Do you mean?" Minuette asks hesitantly.

                                            >"Prince Blueblood, that dude is all into this nerdy stuff" Anon responds.

                                            >You can see the screaming going on in Minuette's eyes.

                                            >She starts shaking you violently while simultaneously whisper screaming "Blueblood! We could have the prince at our games! I-I have to make so many campaigns!"

                                            >Anon comes back from the bathroom and you quickly push Minuette back, don't need him thinking any false thoughts.

                                            >"So, we heading out Moondancer?"

                                            >You nod back and follow him to the door.

                                            >"We'll let you two know when the next game night is" Minuette calls from the kitchen.

                                            >"Hope you had a ton of fun! I mean, not like you couldn't with me around" Lemon Hearts says smugly.

                                            >"I did, it-"

                                            >"You? I'm pretty sure if he wanted to be near a bunch of hot air that he'd take a balloon ride. I at least had something substantial to contribute."

                                            >"Substantial? What, like all the "substantial" adventures you've had in your backyard."

                                            >"Uh, so maybe I'll see you around the castle Lemon Hearts, and I'll look for that book Twinkleshine" Anon says, only to be drowned out by the bickering mares.

                                            >You feel a light nudge on your shoulder and look up to see Anon tilt his head to the door.


                                            >The cool early morning air feels very refreshing compared to the heat of a room full of sweaty "adventurers."

                                            >You take the opportunity to stretch out any kinks in your arms and legs.

                                            >Note to self, bring your own chair for the next game night.

                                            >"I hope you really did have fun Anon."

                                            >You glance down to the sleepy mare walking next to you.

                                            "Yeah, tons. Sorry about going off the rails a lit- the whole time. From what you were telling me it sounded like you girls needed a little derailing."

                                            >Moondancer blows air through her nose and readjusts her glasses, "Yeah, I guess it's not too bad once in a while."

                                            >"So... are you actually going to invite Prince Blueblood?"

                                            >It almost seems kind of night and day for him, but ever since he got those green colored contacts put in he's been way more receptive to all the dumb shit you like.

                                            "Yeah, I really do think he'd be into this."

                                            >"You know... I think I'll invite the librarian to come too."

                                            >Your eyebrows raise at that.

                                            "Yeah?"

                                            >She has a small smile on her face, but you can see the beaming confidence behind it, "Yes."

                                            >You feel a little giddy yourself.

                                            >From the get go you could tell that she was exactly what her friends told you.

                                            >Someone who plays by going through the motions, not someone who's really feeling it.

                                            >It's a pretty big step up from what Twilight told you about her, but why play the game if you're only going to go by the book?

                                            >Sometimes people need a push in the right direction, and sometimes they need to grit their teeth.

                                            >Before you realize it, you're standing at Twilight's old place/ your current place.

                                            "Oh, I guess I didn't offer to go to your place did I?"

                                            >So tired you didn't even think to offer walking her home.

                                            >"M-my place?! No! You wouldn't want to go to my place... I mean not that I wouldn't want you to I jus-"

                                            >And there she goes again.

                                            >It's pretty funny to hear her exhaustedly panic, but you should probably put an end to this.


                                            "Wanna stay here? It's pretty early, I was planning on sleeping in today anyway."

                                            >Her eyes dart from you to the sliver of sunlight coming over the horizon.

                                            >"Uhm..."

                                            "C'mon, I'm sure Twilight has extra blankets and stuff around here somewhere."

                                            >She takes a moment before stepping into the building and shutting the door behind her with a silent creak.