I’m going to regret this, Garnet thought as she took the single empty chair and put her ‘complimentary’ cider on the scarred wooden table. Per the note’s instructions, she lifted the mug with the blue cloth and mimed taking a sip. She’d learned long ago not to drink anything before performing a basic identification spell. After she put down the mug, the three others stared at her silently for a few heartbeats.

Yes, I am definitely going to regret this. But beggars can’t be choosers…

“I thought you’d be taller,” the batpony opposite from her growled. Garnet looked her over, since it had been a few years since she had met a member of the Outcasts. She had a dusky coat and a gloomy teal mane with deep blue leathery wings that fluttered slightly when Garnet’s eyes wandered over them. The batpony wore dark gray and green armor crafted of reinforced supplecloth. Glowing orange draconic eyes stared back at Garnet over a mug of cider two sizes larger than anypony else's at the table. That gaze sent a shiver down Garnet’s spine, though she made sure to not show it. She couldn’t tell if the batpony was sizing her up as an opponent or a meal.

Garnet lowered her hood with a casual application of magic and shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint.”

The Outcast huffed. “I was disappointed the second I heard you were coming.”

She hadn’t been expecting that one. “What do you mean ‘heard I was coming?’”

“We received information as to the identity of the fourth member of our party,” said the small slip of a deer to Garnet’s right. She kept most of her body wrapped in soft shimmering silverglass, but there was no missing the two antlers, each carved with holy runes Garnet had only seen a few times in her life. She could see a dappled coat of tan and brown from under the moon-like armor. A white mane framed deep green eyes that glowed like distant stars as she studied Garnet with little more than curiosity. “A trustworthy source, to be sure. Yet I fear our companion doubts your intentions. And your stature as well, though I do not know why such things matter.”

“They don’t,” said the final individual at the table. Thankfully, this one was a rather humble-looking pale yellow pegasus with a long, flowing gray mane. As did most traveling pegasi, she wore only her saddlebags, though on closer inspection, she also wore some sort of mechanical or arcane contraption Garnet couldn’t quite figure out from this angle. “All that matters is that she’s the one we’re waiting for.”

“Wizards aren’t good for anything but parlor tricks,” the batpony hissed with a dismissive wave. “Be rid of her and let’s find somepony competent instead of a Marewinter charity case.”

Garnet bristled, but forced herself to remain calm. She couldn’t afford to destroy what could very well be her last chance.

The pegasus rolled her eyes. “Forgive my companion, miss. And Nightblossom? She’s a sorceress. You can tell by the runes on the collar of her robes.”

“One who would very much prefer not to be called a ‘charity case.’”

“You are far from it,” the pegasus replied. “In fact, you came highly recommended.”

Garnet blinked. “How was I recommended for anything?”

“By the information sent in this letter.”

The pegasus slid a letter with a broken familiar-looking seal. Garnet’s heart froze when she saw it… only to have it take a little leap of joy a moment later.

Minuette’s smile was nearly inequine as she finished her opening story. Lemon Hearts’s sighs whenever Sunset spoke were annoying to say the least, but at least Twinkleshine seemed to be enjoying the tale, despite the length of the starting narration. Sunset was fairly sure most openings for O&O games didn’t go for almost twenty minutes.

She was also pretty damn sure they weren’t entirely told from a single character’s perspective, even if Sunset had been ‘allowed’ to make a few rolls.

“How did you know all of that?” Sunset demanded. “How could you possibly know Garnet’s whole backstory?”

With a flourish of magic, Minuette produced a familiar sheet of paper. “Through the magic of friendship!”

“No way,” Sunset murmured. “She wouldn’t.”

Minuette nodded, her eyebrows dancing a little jig.

“I trusted her!” Sunset cried. “How could she?”

“Would somepony clue the rest of us into this little joke?” Twinkleshine asked.

“That’s my character sheet for Garnet!” Sunset growled as she stared down at the page. “You even have the full backstory I wrote last year! She copied the entire thing? And gave it to you?”

“Moon Dancer’s the one who suggested an O&O game, actually,” the blue unicorn chirped. “She even suggested using Bards of the Badlands as the adventure!”

“But… I only showed this to her once!”

“Come on, Sunny!” Twitch. “Everypony at school knows Spirit’s Parchment Duplication Charm!”

“But… she can’t be that fast!”

“I’ve never seen anypony manipulate parchment and books like Moon Dancer,” Twinkleshine admitted. “Well, except Twilight Sparkle. I think Moon Dancer’s destined to run the Royal Canterlot Archives one day.”

“Anyway, Sunny!” Minuette grinned as Sunset twitched again. “The evidence is right before your eyes! Moon Dancer even helped me put together the opening just for you.”

“Yes, tragic backstory, on the run, et cetera, et cetera,” Lemon Hearts huffed. “All the signs point to a wonderfully interesting and totally original character.”

Sunset ignored the jab and focused instead on the only part that actually mattered to her. In fact, it mattered a lot more than it should.

“Moon Dancer really set all of this up?” Sunset asked in a quiet voice.

Minuette nodded vigorously. “She wanted it to be a surprise. And from your expression, I’d definitely say it was a surprise!”

“Yeah… a surprise,” Sunset muttered as she looked down at her sheet.

“Now, you don’t have to use Garnet. Moon Dancer said you had made her up one night when you couldn’t sleep. I’m sure we could quickly come up with another character together.”

“Ooh!” Lemon Hearts’s perked up. “Can I help? How about a bard-barian?”

“That’s just cruel,” Twinkleshine said, setting a small crate of fizzy apple cider under the table.

“Uh… no,” Sunset interjected. “Garnet’s fine.”

Lemon Hearts went back to sullen in five seconds flat.

“I think Garnet’s great,” Minuette replied as she floated a small figurine to Sunset. “Everything looks about right. At least you’re not rolling some crazy overpowered red and black alicorn… or yet another batpony.”

“Hey!” Lemon Hearts cried. “I love my batpony!”

“We know,” Minuette and Twinkleshine said together.

Lemon Hearts huffed again and poked at the small figurine of a batpony rogue standing on the table.

“This letter…” Garnet whispered, still not touching the thick parchment. “It cannot be from who it appears to be.”

“The Mistress of Tomes at Marewinter Hold,” the pegasus confirmed with a nod.

“How?” Garnet demanded. “I found this note at some backwater town twenty miles north of here! It was just sitting on a bounty board!”

The batpony—Nightblossom, Garnet thought her name was—rolled her strange, glowing eyes.

“Seriously?” she scoffed. “Do you have any idea how much power the Mistress of Tomes holds? She’s had agents shadowing you since before you left. Don’t know why they bothered. Don’t know why she bothered, especially for somepony like you.”

“She was concerned about your well-being,” the pegasus said with a sidelong glare at Nightblossom. “Especially after your hasty departure. So, she arranged for you to join us.”

“No,” Garnet said, moving to stand. “I came out here to get away from all of this. She shouldn’t need to look after me.”

The deer cocked her head. “Why do you protest your need for succor, when the need is obviously so dire? We’ve agreed to assist you in this matter.”

“I’m not some ‘charity case!’” Garnet snapped.

“Only Nightblossom called you that,” the pegasus said in a quiet voice. “We didn’t. And the Mistress of Tomes promised to assist the Imperial Guard by sighting a particular unicorn sorceress in the northern passes above the city, so long as you agree to help us in our quest.”

Garnet facehoofed. “Of course she did. I hate librarians.”

“We’re going to go with this?” Sunset groaned. “You really want to do this?”

“Art imitates life!” Minuette chirped. “And O&O imitates it, too!”

“Can we please not do this?” Sunset asked Twinkleshine, knowing she’d get no help from Lemon Hearts. “The whole ‘you meet in a tavern’ thing is so played out…”

However, she did not beg. There was no universe where the words Sunset had said could be construed as begging. Saying such a thing would be slander.

“She’s the GM,” Twinkleshine said with a tiny shrug. “And there’s an old saying: ‘When the GM smiles, it’s already too late.’”

“Minuette is always smiling,” Sunset said.

“We know,” Twinkleshine said with a resigned sigh.

Sunset bopped her horn on the table.

“So, care to fill us in on Garnet a little bit more before we start properly?” Twinkleshine shot a glance at Minuette, who just beamed at her.

Sunset felt her cheeks burn as she stared at the little figurine in front of her. “Just a sorceress with the sage background. I haven’t thought about her in a while.”

“Why not?” Minuette asked.

Sunset shot her a look, but Minuette looked honest. Annoyingly so.

Sunset huffed in exasperation. Another smile tugged gently at Minuette’s lips.

“Because I never thought I’d have anypony to play with.”

Lemon Hearts stopped poking her figurine, and glared at Sunset. “If you hadn’t been so busy destroying the school, you—”

“Stop!” Minuette shouted. “Doughnut time!”

Lemon Hearts froze, and Twinkleshine lifted up the edge of the tablecloth.

Sunset cocked her head at Minuette. “What?”

Twinkleshine’s horn came to life, and a small paper bag with Pony Joe’s logo on it floated from one of her saddlebags over to Sunset. Sunset blinked, confusion slipping toward suspicion. However, her stomach rumbled softly before she managed to voice a protest.

“Why?” she asked.

Minuette cocked her head. “Why not?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Yes it is!” Minuette replied. “It’s an answer in the classical Questionianic tradition!”

“You can’t answer a question with a question. Even Ponderous Question didn’t—”

“Yowza, Sunny!” Minuette laughed as Sunset twitched. “Do you want to debate this further, or eat that doughnut? Because if you don’t, I will. Or maybe I’ll give it to Lemon Hearts. She didn’t get her daily dose of sugar this morning so she’s being a bit cranky-wanky.”

“I am not cranky-wanky!” Lemon Hearts snapped.

“See? Totally cranky-wanky.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, and floated out a single circular pastry. A hard glaze of pink coated the top, festooned with scattered sprinkles. Somehow, Minuette had gotten Pony Joe’s classic—and in Sunset’s opinion, only—cake doughnut.

Those new ones made by Crispy Cream were just air and sugar. Complete abominations, unfit for pony consumption.

She stopped herself before she could go on another mental rant at Cream’s horrible fake doughnuts. Instead, she took a bite, leaned back, and sighed. A bit of tension finally left her.

“I think that’s everything!” Minuette declared. “Now, Sunny—”

“Quit it.”

“I promised Moon Dancer, Sunny.” Twitch. “Said I had to call you that no matter what!”

“You’re impossible.”

Lemon Hearts groaned. “Let’s just go, girls. She clearly doesn’t want us here, and I don’t want to waste her d—”

“Oh, did you want to donate to Sunset’s swear jar fund?” Minuette asked cheerfully. “I’m sure the Princess won’t mind.”

Lemon Hearts just stared at her friend as Sunset suppressed a snicker.

“Lemon Hearts, if you’re gonna yell at Sunset, at least do it in character.” Minuette adjusted a few things and straightened her Game Master’s screen. “You’ve already established that Nightblossom hates her. I’m pretty sure you’ll come up with more reasons too! Now sush, unless you’re feeling generous.”

The yellow unicorn glared daggers at Minuette. They were no match for Minuette’s cheerful smile.

“Now usually my brother’s friend Gaffer GMs for us, but he’s busy today. Something about a big game where Shining Armor was going to introduce Princess Mi Amoré Cadenza of all ponies to O&O.”

Twitch. Twitch twitch. Grimace. Twitch. Teeth grind. Twitch.

“That’s… nice,” Sunset said, taking a savage bite of her doughnut.

Minuette didn’t appear to have noticed Sunset’s little fit. “This means that I’m going to be GMing, as you’ve probably guessed. I’ve done it a few times, but I’m not nearly as good as Gaffer. So, you’ll have to bear with me. I’m also going to cheat a little and put my character in there since Moon Dancer, Lyra and Twilight aren’t here.”

“Really? You’re going to GM and play?” Lemon Hearts protested. “Gaffer said that was one of the worst things you can do!”

“He said it was one of the worst things you could do if you do it wrong!” Minuette replied with a little smile. “And I don’t plan on doing it wrong. Now, we all know what Lemon’s playing.”

“Obviously, since Nightblossom’s amazing!” Lemon Hearts said, dragging her sheets out of her binders and onto the table in one swift motion. The figurines jostled.

Sunset snatched up her own figurine and studied it for a moment. It was one of those classic female unicorn wizard models. The little mare even had a pointed hat and a cape, though she hadn’t been painted.

The addition of a wand was weird though.

Seriously? Why would a unicorn need a wand?

“Okay, Twinkleshine!” Minuette chirped, bringing Sunset back into the real world. “Who’s coming from your side?”

Twinkleshine blinked. “Didn’t you just introduce her in that rather detailed opening?”

Minuette shrugged. “I didn’t know which character you’d want for sure, so I picked one of them randomly.”

Twinkleshine watched her friend for a moment and finally shrugged.

“Well, you picked right.”

“Seriously?” Lemon Hearts groaned. “You want to bring out your cleric again?”

“I like her!” Twinkleshine pouted. “Deer are cute, and she’s saved your flanks more times than you can count!” She took a deep breath, and straightened her sheets with her magic. “Anyway, it’s a new campaign.”

“She’s got you there, Lemon Hearts,” Minuette said with a smirk. “A few months ago, your precious little Crit’Blossom would have been just an itty-bitty little pile of ash without that critical healing spell.”

“It was a one-time thing!” Lemon Hearts snapped back. “Stupid dice betrayed me.”

“Right. Always blame the dice, and not the filly who insulted the Lich Princess of Coltdon.” Minuette grinned. “That had nothing to do with it.”

Sunset stared at the three of them. Some part of her knew her jaw hung open, but she couldn’t get enough willpower to close it.

Minuette glanced up and stopped scribbling notes when she saw Sunset’s expression.

“Sunny?” Twitch. “Are you okay?”

Sunset managed to get her jaw back under control. “You three… you’re all… you’re just so comfortable about all of this!”

“Why shouldn’t we be?” Twinkleshine asked. “We’ve been playing for years. Moon Dancer joined up with one of Shining Armor’s groups for a little bit—that’s Twilight Sparkle’s brother—and after they were done with that campaign, she got us to try it out. We all just sort of fell into it.”

Minuette shrugged. “Yeah! It’s fun, we get to go on great adventures, meeting interesting ponies—”

“—whom we usually end up killing—” Twinkleshine sighed.

“—and taking all their stuff!” Lemon Hearts finished with a wicked grin.

“Also that,” Minuette said. “It’s like living a story! Plus, there’s all the extras, like getting into character, choosing the right dice, finding neat treasures, but the best part is we get to have fun with our friends!”

Minuette turned to the map to hide her smile. “You know…” she said, as she started sketching what Sunset assumed to be the village with a small quill on a large sheet of parchment in the center of the table. She kept her strokes neat and even to represent the thin walls of the poor hovels. “You never did say why you had all those books.”

“What books?” Sunset squeaked, shooting bolt upright and cursing herself for the crack in her voice.

Minuette couldn’t hide her grin as she met Sunset’s gaze. “Why, the entire collection of the Fifth Edition Dungeon Guides on your bookshelf by the stairs. I saw them when you went into the bathroom to yell at yourself.”

Sunset coughed as the doughnut tried to strangle her from the inside. “I did… I do not! Yell at myself, or own a complete set of Ogres and Oubliettes books!”

“But… you had a character sheet…” Twinkleshine said, scratching her head.

“I was bored. Copied one out of the school’s library.”

Minuette grinned again, trotted over to the offending bookshelf, yanked all fifteen books off of the bookshelf and floated them over to Sunset.

“What was that again?”

Sunset glowered at the unicorn. “Put. Those. Back.”

“Looks like you have the Fourth Edition too. Ooh! A Ogre magazine variant Depths of the Umbrum cover! And look, there’s the Third Edition! Though there’s a lot of dust on that…”

“Ack!” Sunset yelped. “Just put them back!”

Minuette’s smile never faltered as she calmly put the books back snugly in their shelf. The only sounds as she trotted back to her seat was the ticking of the clock. Sunset’s glare never left her.

“You were saying?” Minuette said, as she continued sketching her map.

“You’re evil. And no, I wasn’t.” Sunset glowered, but it still had no effect.

“Aren’t you going to?”

“You don’t know when to take a hint, do you?”

“Oh, she actually does.” Twinkleshine shook her head. “It means she has to press harder.”

“Ponies have reasons for doing what they do.” Minuette smiled, but didn’t look up from her sketching. “Figuring out their reason is important to understanding that reason.”

“Why do you care?”

Apparently satisfied with the drawing of the small town, Minuette leaned back behind her screen and peeked up at Sunset.

“Special talents are one thing, but knowing what to do is another. It’s a lot easier when I know why ponies do what they do. That’s the best way to help somepony else be happy!”

“I’m still not telling you.”

“Aw.”

“You both realize if we turned her in to the local constable, we’ll get a huge reward from the Queen’s Guard, right?”

“I, for one, do not wish to disgrace the Mistress of Tomes by betraying her trust,” the deer said softly. “’Twould be a stain on our honor and a sin before the Sun. I am with Wind Speaker on this matter. Our pegasus companion has much wisdom, especially regarding the character of others.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Garnet muttered. “I think.”

“She’s a sorceress!” Nightblossom hissed. “They cannot be trusted! Her magic flows from Chaos itself!”

“After everything that happened in Junetrack, you’re one to talk, Nightblossom,” the pegasus—Wind Speaker—snapped. “Do I need to remind you what happened? With the High Constable, the griffon spy and those sixteen ciders after midnight?”

Nightblossom waved away the comment. “That has nothing to do with this!”

“Just because my magic is occasionally… wild… doesn’t mean anything!” Garnet shouted. “It’s just my nature!”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a true Agent of Chaos.” Nightblossom sneered. “For all we know, she could be a Grey!”

Garnet felt her hackles rise as she ground her teeth together. It was one thing to be called unpredictable. Her magic was unpredictable.

But being accused of being part of that group of Chaos-worshipping lunatics calling themselves the Grey was another thing entirely.

“How dare you?” Garnet growled. “You think I would side with those cultists who worship the antithesis of Harmony itself—”

“Enough,” Wind Speaker interrupted as she dropped her mug of cider on the table with a clank. “The Mistress of Tomes gave her recommendation. That is enough for me. I believe it is enough for Forest Whisper as well, is it not?”

The deer nodded quietly. “For now. The Sun shall reveal her true nature in time.”

“You and your precious Sun,” Nightblossom snapped. “Where was your precious Sun ten years ago when our lands were being overrun by the Shifting Horde?”

“You and your kind forsook the Sun,” Forest replied serenely. “What you reaped is what you sowed. You cannot slap the hoof away, and then cry betrayal a moment later when the hoof refuses to perform on command.”

“You dare insult my people, cleric?” Garnet was a little disturbed to see the batpony’s eyes glow even brighter. “You’d best watch that tongue of yours, or I’ll remove it.”

Forest didn’t look even slightly perturbed by the threat. She simply raised an eyebrow. “I speak the truth of the Sun. It destroys all shadows before it. You need not fear my words unless you have much to hide.”

“I hide nothing.”

“So glad to hear it,” the pegasus interrupted. “Now, if you don’t mind… we do have a job to—”

“Wind Speaker, this is madness. She’s not ready for something like this! She won’t last a day. I’d wager she won’t last the night.”

“I am right here, you know.” Garnet crossed her forelegs, glowering at the batpony.

“Yes, and your odor sickens me.” Nightblossom didn’t even look her way. “We’re heading into hostile territory with a pony we can’t trust. You’ve heard the rumors. You saw what happened in Bridledale. You have to know it was her doing. The town was all but destroyed! Ponies nearly lost their minds!”

“It was an accident,” Garnet snapped.

“Oh really? Yet, the bounty the Noble’s Alliance placed on her is still active. As I said earlier, we would make double what we were promised for the Badlands job if we turned her in!”

“We will not be doing that,” Wind Speaker said with a smile at Garnet that did nothing to help Garnet’s rapidly fraying temper.

“Well, I will not journey with a monster such as—”

“Enough!”

It was Garnet’s turn to shout the word, so loudly a few patrons looked in their direction.

Wind Speaker’s wings flared, but she kept her glower focused on Nightblossom. Forest Whisper had a similar expression for the batpony, who appeared entirely unrepentant for her words.

Garnet pushed herself to her hooves and glowered at the three foals.

“I am not welcome here,” Garnet said coldly. “This was clearly a mistake.”

With that, Garnet whirled, storming out of the tavern and into the cloying mist of Elderfields.

Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo

Presenting... Doughnut Time by Ebon Quill (Copyright Novel Idea Records)

Can't eat that.

Your-your-your-your breakfast fills you so bad,
Makes me say, "You've been had!"
Hold up there, can't you see
There's plenty of other pastries?

And they're good!
You want that icing!
And that fresh-baked smell is so enticing!
Our bakery is neat!
But that is a meal-uh
You can't eat.

I told everypony!
You can't eat that!

Yeah, that's how we make fresh for you!
But you can't eat that!

Look at that bun, friends!
You can't eat that!

Yo, lemme bust all these stupid myths:
You can't eat that!

Crispy flakes and milk
Just ditch all that, you're gonna feel better than silk.
So get outta the fridge, and down to the shop that's over the bridge!
Better hurry!

Hold on!
Stop for a bit and let them all know where you're going.

Down here! Down here!

Hot out of the oven so come on down!
Let 'em know you're going to treat
And this is a meal
They can't beat!

Yo, I told you
You can't eat that.

Don't just stand there, girls!
You can't eat that!

Yo, hear the bells?
Oven's on, friends!
You can't eat that.

Gimme some dough or frosting
Make 'em a cake,
While verbally riposting!

Now you all know
You talk about Pinkie Pie,
You're talking about about a show
That's clean and sweet.
Bakers are sweating, they're feeling the heat.
So help them to see
What it's gonna take in Ponyville to be the best
Legit, either work hard or you might as well quit.

That's the truth because you know
You can't eat that!
You can't eat that!

Eat 'em up!

Stop! Doughnut time!

---

If you come across any errors, please let me know by PM!