The party assembles. Again. Luna, Twilight and Spike receive their guests without much fanfare and everypony is directed to their seats where their dice, sheets and notes are stacked nice and tidy.

Twilight has a momentary panic attack when she overhears Rarity mention a local crisis. Rarity waves it off as nothing. "Oh no, not like our 'normal' ones we are used to, darling. This is simply scandalous! Imagine perfectly well-to-do citizens of society traipsing around in furs and burlap. Honestly, they would be better featured as extras in a Daring Do production." Twilight shrugs and puts it out of her mind, leaving it to the fashion diva to worry about.

Before they begin, Luna sits Slicer across the table from Twilight. The younger alicorn stares daggers at the the thestral while her opposite looks around with the air of utter innocence. Luna notes the interaction and clears her throat when she sits down at her DM position. "Now then, new house rules first. Nopony touches any other pony's dice. Nopony borrows, trades, or even BREATHES on another's dice for good luck. Make your own luck, that is my philosophy." Luna glances at Slicer, "And absolutely, positively, NO carving of 3's in a d20-" Slicer can't help but snort as she watches Twilight's face darken, "or the rest of Twilight's dice because you feel she has to work extra hard on non-d20 rolls as well." Slicer's head snaps over to Luna.

"What!?!" Slicer had only messed with the d20. Who had carved up all the others?

Luna's eyes ever-so-slightly flick in Pinkie Pie's direction. Slicer stares at the pink pony and gets a small wink from her as she continues to play with her own set of candy colored dice. Slicer works her jaw as it settles in that she can't out the slick pony without openly implicating herself, meaning she has to eat the full blame. Luna smiles shrewdly and continues, "Also, we will have set breaks between modules, so today is going to progress at a proper pace. As excruciating as the previous session was, you needed to experience the basics before truly getting into the game. Let's begin."

Queue Music: Battle Without Honor Or Pony. After the commercial, of course.
Queue Gratuitous Action Sequence:

Lightning crackles across the clear blue sky in the middle of the day. The ensemble of adventurous ponies walks toward you in slow motion, Twilight Sparkle front and center while the rest of her compatriots follow in wedge formation. Silvery light flashes off Rainbow Dash's highly polished armor, lance and cavalry sabre. Light glints off of Applejack's jagged battlehammer 'Saucemaker' in contrast to the dark shadow her hat casts over her face, eyes burning for justice and truth. Rarity's gossomer gown flows in the wind behind her as wisps of mysterious power surround her and her even more mysterious beauty. Fluttershy strides forth in her druid robes, all manner of small creatures surround her in an aura of pure nature, her visage the very mask of Gaia's Liege. Slicer....is moving from shadow to shadow somewhere in the woods ("Screw that slow motion crap!"). Pinkie Pie o/~ prances along, singing a song, side...by....side o/~. Strike that, Pinkie Pie is hopping along with her lute singing o/~ I. would. walk. ten. thou. sand. miles. and. I. would. walk. ten. thou. sand. more. <SMACK> Pinkie Pie strides forth, golden brown wood grains and silver fittings reflecting sunlight off the lute at the ready to bash anypony over the head who doesn't like her music.

They are walking.

They are walking....

They are walking.....................for a long time. End music.

"Hey!" Rainbow exclaims, "What the heck are we supposed to be doing anyway?!"

Luna comes out of her reverie with a start, "Huh? Oh, my apologies. I was actually enjoying your descriptions for a change. Even Twilight was succinct." Twilight twitches. Luna tosses around some papers, looking for something. Then she finds it and looks up. "Ahem, the party arrives at a castle...."

The party arrives at a castle, a very tall and ominously dark castle. In the middle of the day.

Rainbow looks up and grins, "Now this is more like it!"

Applejack widens her stance, ready for action. Rarity coos about the possibility of gems and treasure so she can augment her magical accessories and spell book. Pinkie strums a series of chords similar to the beginning of a bull fight. Twilight is ecstatic, wondering what magical scrolls and artifacts she will be able to dig up in the many dark and haunted chambers throughout the massive structure. Fluttershy stares up, and up, and up. "Um....it is very tall...and um...ominously dark. Do we have to go in there?"

Twilight wrinkles her brow and smirks, "Of course we do, silly. This is the obstacle that is before us. The road has led to this grand challenge. Plus, don't you want to find out what is in there?"

"...um...no...."

Rainbow pats Fluttershy on the back, who in turn jumps at the touch, "Ah, this is nothing! Let's just get in there, kick some flank and take some treasure! Just think of it! There could be skeletons! Or gelatinous cubes! Or skeletons IN gelatinous cubes!"

"...um...no...."

Twilight steps up to Fluttershy's other side, "Well, what would you rather do, Fluttershy?"

The yellow pony slowly brushes her hair away from her face with an unusual air of bravery, then starts up in a singsong voice, "o/~ We can walk, all day in the sun....we can cook s'mores, when we're nice and done...o/~"

Rainbow joins in on beat, "We can avoid a bunch of fighting, practically! o/~"
Fluttershy countersings, "That was just what I was thinking, exactically! o/~"

Rainbow phshaws and stops singing. "Whatever. Let's Do This!"

A gout of flame explodes from atop the highest tower a hundred feet above them in a horizontal geyser, the heat of it so intense the ponies down on the ground level can feel it, followed by a distinctly dragonish roar that continues to reverberate in echoes across the land for a solid minute later.

They are walking.

They are walking....

"Now wait just a minute! That is several hours of adventuring back there you just decided to skip!" Luna growls. "You sure you want to keep walking?"

They are walking.

They are walking....

Luna's right eye twitches. "Fine. You can all pull my chariot around for the next month and a half. I have had a hankering to go on a world tour since my long sabbatical on the moon."

Rainbow Dash bangs repeatedly on the iron doors. "Hey, let us in! We're adventurers!" She continues banging while ignoring Twilight's advice to try stealth. At length Rainbow gives up and kicks the door.

Slicer Jen steps up and eyes the key hole, unrolling a cloth scrip filled with small metal implements. "Rudimentary internal mechanism, standard tumblers." She takes a few picks out and begins working on it. "Hm, surprisingly well-oiled, doesn't need much tension.... Some fell creature cares about their work....hah!" She moves her hoof away just as a spring loaded needle pops out, sizzling drops of acid coming off the tip. Fluttershy nearly faints. Slicer bangs the needle with the butt of her dagger that came out of nowhere, then gets back to work once the needle is properly bent safely away, "I don't think so, Mr. Lock. You are no match for the deft skill and steady hooves of a sly surgeon..." She notices Pinkie's face hovering two inches next to hers, staring at the lock.

"I find this Pinkily Dinkily FASCINATING!!!"

Slicer leans away and squiggles her ringing eardrum, "Yelling in my ear breaks my concentration."

Pinkie whispers as Slicer returns to her work, "...oh....sorry......like i was saying i find this pinkily dinkily fascinating you have all these little needle type thingies and you have to be just so careful as you apply slight pressure with the torsion wrench to hold each tumbler in place while you test the loosest keys first and one by one press on each one until you hear a click, unless none of them move then you have to ease off the wrench but sometimes that just won't work so you have to start ALL over and i'm like wow this is taking longer than i thought and there's simply no way i can get inside in time to put itch powder in rarity's luxurious new dress she is supposed to show off at the gala when she returns from the spa-"

"OH MY SWEET DISGUSTINGLY BORING MOON PRISON, ROLL THE DAMN LOCKPICK SKILL ALREADY!!!" Luna booms with her royal voice.

Pinkie is caught in a gale of wind and spit, flying away. Twilight rocks back with wide eyes and says quietly, "she swore on the moon." She smiles sweetly and stares at Slicer across the table. "Sly...roll the die already."

Slicer noddles from below the table and climbs back onto her seat.

There is a nice satisfying click. Score. The doors swing open, light spilling forth into the expansive foyer. The adventurers step inside, weapons and spells at the ready. They slowly make their way to the center of the large room, hallways stretching away from them in all directions.

Applejack rests her hammer on the stone floor with a resounding crunch. "Okay, fearless leader, which way you wantin tah 'splore?"

Twilight closes her eyes and holds up her staff. The crystal atop it glows in a silver light, then focuses into a beam that stretches off into one particular hallway. "That way."

Rarity frowns and takes a few steps forward, eyeing the tunnel. "Pray tell, dear. Why that way?"

"I sense magical objects of importance, naturally."

Rarity sighs and replies in a rough low voice, "Naturally."

Without further ado, the group tightens up their formation and moves forward, taking out torches to illuminate the way. Fluttershy follows behind, keeping her staff sling close to her. As the darkness presses in against their torches and lit magic staff, Fluttershy can't help herself and poses a question. "I know this might be um....a bit late to ask.....hm...and we are meant to come here.....but....um...well, I was just thinking......um.......why?"

The group stops and turns to her. Each pony starts to think about it. Rainbow laughs. "Actually, she's right! Why are we breaking into this castle anyway?" A scroll smacks her in the face and falls into her waiting hoof. "Of course." She breaks Luna's seal on it ("Really, you had to seal it and then hit me with it??") and reads. The rest of the ponies crowd around.

Brave bold adventurers. The land cries out for your help as our princess has been spirited away to a very tall and ominously dark castle. Therein you shall find a way to free our princess and restore safety and prosperity to the land. Save her. Save us. We are counting on you. Ganbatte ne!

The People

Applejack smirks, "Welp, there's yer generic 'save me' hook. Solves that question."

Twilight steps forth, pointing her staff forward. "We accept that challenge. And not just because there are magic items ahead. Panzer vor!" The other ponies roll their eyes as Twilight and Luna share a hidden joke.

"Roll for initiative."

The whole group swears in unison, "Dammit!"
While Fluttershy whispers, "...darn..."

Squelching sounds can be heard a distance away in front of them. Rarity tries her hand at interior lighting by sending up a glowing orb. The light reflects off flat moving surfaces as a translucent and large object glorps its way forward along the hallway floor, squeezing past side doors as it takes up the full breath of the hallway. A giant gelatinous cube suddenly appears!

Rainbow Dash sits back and shakes her head. "Figures." She squints in the low lighting and peers at the distant object slowly closing distance to them. It is so transparent it is barely perceptible, but luckily all of the ponies manage to spot it. "Oh hey! There IS a skeleton in there."

Luna says quietly, "That used to be the last adventurer that roamed these halls."

Rainbow reels back, "Ew....yeah I think we are going to have to fight this thing."

Twilight looks left and right, "You heard her, ponies, fighting formation!" She suddenly finds Slicer standing next to her. "Wait, you aren't sneaking around for a backstab now?"

Slicer shakes her head, "Not this time. No room to get around it. And no back."

Twilight looks back at the cube and quirks her mouth in acknowledgement. "Right. Here we go." She intones a series of arcane words and a lightning bolt leaps from her staff, impacting the cube. Nothing happens. "WHAT?!?"

Luna grins and leans forward, "Cubes only have a few immunities. You just discovered one of them."

Rainbow lowers her lance and charges. The point slips right into the cube center of mass and she has to dig her heels in to stop just short of touching the cubes surface. "Whew, that was close!"

The cube flips forward one face, completely absorbing Rainbow who is now floating next to the skeleton. The cerulean pony looks at the skeleton and screams, forming an air pocket around her head inside. The other ponies respond with such ferocity, the cube is no match as it gets chopped, burned, stabbed, frozen, and smashed apart. Finally the cube dies and loses cohesion, melting down to a flowing mass.

Rainbow quickly strips out of her armor, flinging off the last vestiges of the gooey stuff. Some of it had started to digest her fur and skin, leaving small pit marks here and there. "Ugh, this crud is nasty! It's going to take a week to clean my armor!"

Their resident cleric looks her over and pulls out a blessed skin cream jar. "Tsk tsk. Everypony has room for jello." Rainbow gives an overly sarcastic 'har har'.

Once Rainbow is treated and her armor mostly wiped down and adorned, the group continues moving down the hallway. Several doors along the passage lead to empty rooms. Applejack opens one door and slams it shut just before sharp black claws punch through the door, but the iron-strap bound door holds. "Yeah...ya'll best move long, nuttin see here!" She hustles down the hallway, the rest of the party edging around the door as cautiously as possible.

The beam from Twilight's staff finally settles on a nondescript door near the end of the hall prior to a spiraling stone stairwell. Twilight grins and puts her hoof on the door latch. Slicer ahems quite loudly and says, "Not so fast, Highroller. We should probably prepare for undead."

Twilight stares at her. "Just like that, you know there is undead in there?"

Fluttershy starts to shake, "UM....i mean...un...dead? The antithesis of life, abomination of nature?" She looks around in fear. "How do we fight such things?" Rainbow and Rarity try to soothe her, actually glaring at Slicer.

Applejack and Twilight stand together looking between the door and the thestral. Pinkie starts up a rendition of 'Living Dead Girl,' acoustic style. Slicer sighs and flips a folded note in Twilight's direction. She picks it up and reads:

prepare for undead

Twilight looks at Luna with a hurt expression, "How come you only tell her these things? Am I not supposed to be leading them? I need to know this in order to make the right decisions." Applejack nods, feeling that withheld information is almost as bad as not telling the truth. Luna merely smiles sagely and raises an eyebrow at Slicer.

The thestral steps forward past the two ponies and puts a hoof up against the door. "Clerics can sense undead nearby." Twilight irks in realization and mutters an apology. Applejack scratches a foreleg in embarrassment. Slicer stares down Rarity. "Nopony ever wants to be the healer, yet we bust our flanks whether you win or lose...." Rarity can't bring herself to look at her. Pinkie slides by on her knees, playing her lute across the back of her neck.

Fluttershy, on the other hoof, is relieved. "Wait....clerics, they can turn undead, yes?"

Slicer grins and eyes the yellow pony. "You just voiced my next move. How do you know about that?"

Fluttershy hides behind her hair, "...sometimes...you just have to study....um...the things you are afraid of...from a distance, of course."

Slicer nods, then looks at the door. "Of course."

Rainbow pulls out her sabre. "All I know is chopping things up works on just about anything! Open that door and let's get busy." Slicer nods and looks to the others. She waits as the magic-users half cast some spells for alacrity and the warrior types prepare their weapons. Fluttershy whips up a neat green leaf shield in front of Slicer, who thanks her in kind.

Twilight waits a few seconds, then lightly taps Slicer's shoulder from behind. "Go." The door is kicked open by Slicer.

"Break time!"

"Oh, come on!!!" several ponies yell at the same time.

Luna holds up her hooves apologetically, "I know I know, it was going so well. But this next phase really does need preparation, for all involved. Go get restroom visits in, get hydrated, Pinkie has the snack run handled. Be back in ten." The ponies grumble and head out of the living room in different directions.

During the break, Slicer slides up next to Pinkie as she is piling snacks onto a tray in the kitchen. "Soooooo....ALL the dice. I was sitting next to her the whole time and never saw you get near them."

For her part, Pinkie wears a huge smile with twinkling eyes while turning to and from the pantry to the tray. "I have no idea what you are talking about. ^,^ Pokie sticks and fruit for you, right?"

Slicer's eyes narrow and she replies, "...riiiight...." She spends the next several minutes trying to stare the pink pony down, difficult when your opponent zips around the kitchen with simply no time to match wills. The thestral gives up and turns away to leave, only to find her nose bumping into Pinkies nose as she appears directly in front of her.

"A good prank is when you prep it without being seen. A better prank is when it works. The BESTEST prank is when nopony ever knows you were there."

Slicer finally gives in and bows her head. "That was the bestest. I think I can learn a few things from you." Pinkie squees and glomps onto Slicer, making her eyeballs bulge.

"Then it's a deal! You won't regret it, and I dare say I will show you a few things even your dragon stories can't top!" Pinkie practically drops the now weak thestral on the floor, grabs the tray and bounces out of the kitchen.

Slicer picks herself up and follows at a slower pace, muttering, "Noooo, can't shut your mouth, Slicer, have to work your verbal judo against THE master of disaster, Slicer. Surviving Pinkie Pie is going to appear on my list of new skills, assuming I survive...."

When the ponies return to the table, they find a large architecture style map with small miniatures of the party just inside the doorway depicted on the table. The room beyond is huge, and obscured by a blue glowing mist hovering over the map. Twilight glances at Luna.
"Princess...DM, I thought all the details were to be spoken aloud."

Their DM nods. "True, but on rare occasions a visual aid is required when words cannot do it justice." Twilight gets a bad feeling and skims through her list of spells. Luna waits for everypony to get settled in....

The group enters a chamber so large, the walls and ceiling are lost in darkness. Twilight nudges Slicer. Hard. "I don't like this, start turning!"

The thestral scowls as she holds a small silver crescent moon symbol in one hoof ahead of her. Her head whips around back and forth. "I need to see what I'm dealing with. I can turn them with my eyes closed, but we need to see what we are dealing with. It's not like I can toss some spices up in the air and magic them away. By the goddess above, this is a big resonance." Twilight makes a face at the thestral. Slicer in turn quips, "How about...by tossing some spices up in the air and making things brighter. Thestral nightvision cannot pierce this magical miasma." Twilight mutters in frustration as she pulls out a pouch and tosses some shiny dust in the air, swirls her staff in the suspended twinkling cloud and ignites her staff crystal.

The chamber is bathed in light, casting hundreds of shadows behind rank upon rank of armored figures. They line the walls in rows. Their heads begin to face the group, sounds of creaking metal, rotten leather and dry bones emanating all around. Twilight begins her incantation for an offensive spell, the group backing up to the doorway. Slicer finishes her prayer.

The silver symbol flares brilliantly and rays of holy light lash out. Whole lines of skeletons are blasted away, their armor collapsing as the bones become windblown dust. Other bones crack or split, but the majority of the horde is left standing. Slicer drops the symbol back inside her shirt and motions the party back, yelling, "Get out, go! We are outnumbered!"

Their purple leader steps up, surrounded by a magical aura. "Not without my contribution. Firalis Sphericalis!" An orb of fire leaps from her hoof to the nearest skeleton and-

"Are you sure that is the one you want targeted?" Luna peers at Twilight. The younger alicorn goes into an in-depth analysis of the expansion and proximity of the resultant explosion that should erradicate the nearest group of undead while pushing the rest away, giving them a buffer to prepare for the next onslaught. Luna nods as she listens, and then rolls some dice as she replies, "And thus you accounted for the fact that fireballs double in size indoors. Okie dokes. Roll save vs spell."

"...huh?"

As one, the party is blasted back into the hallway, their clothing smoking. Rarity exclaims, "Two scorchings in one day is not my idea of a good time!"

Applejack nods, propping herself up by her hammer, "Ain't no argument here, sugar." Twilight urges everypony to brace the door. She slams it shut while apologizing profusely, glimpsing a good portion of the horde still standing and marching forward to the doorway. All the ponies find themselves pressed up against the door desperately trying to keep the skeleton horde contained. The door shudders at regular intervals as the undead throw themselves at it repeatedly.

Rarity yells, "Can't we do something?! Lock it maybe?!"

Slicer growls, "Nope. Stupid me kicked it in. The latch and lock are destroyed." Another weight slams against the door and the thestral grits her teeth.

Twilight frowns and straightens up a little. "Kicked it.....in?" She and Slicer look at each other, then step back from the door. The other ponies hesitate, then follow suit and watch the door. It continues to receive blows from the other side, but remains closed due to the way it sits in the frame.

Rainbow chuckles and says, "Not very bright, are they?"

Slicer pats Rainbow's shoulder and puts her head near hers, saying softly, "They may not have brains, but they want to eat yours." Rainbow turns white.

Fluttershy stands on the other side of Rainbow and says as softly, "...ah...not that I am an expert....per se...um...well, zombies eat brains. Skeletons....mm....they take your bones....to replace theirs.....mostly...." Rainbow turns even whiter.

Slicer frowns. "Okay even I don't know that one. Where are you getting all of this?"

Fluttershy half hides behind the now stiffly afraid Rainbow. "...novels......with....um....vam....vamp...." Slicer raises an eyebrow. "....vampire po......<gulp>...ponies...." Slicer raises her lip, revealing one of her sharp fangs. Fluttershy eeps and hides completely.

Twilight lightly pushes Slicer aside, "Oh stop that. Fluttershy, get out from behind there. Reading those books, no wonder you are so scared " The door takes another hit and starts to splinter. "Well then, we need a plan, and fast. That door won't last very long."

Applejack hefts her warhammer, eyeing the crumbling door. "Well, none ya'll call me a gene-yus, but Ahm guessin this is where we pool heads togetha and pull ideas outa our you know wheres."

Twilight nods, "Group effort, right! We are in a long tunnel. They are mindless, we are not, so we have strategy and options on our side. I can lightning bolt all of them, but I need them in place, lined up. Slicer, Fluttershy, you two seem to know about these creatures. What can you do?"

Slicer watches the door warily and sighs. "I can definitely turn them a few more times. They won't be destroyed though, only driven away from me." Twilight nods and looks at Fluttershy.

The druid wraps herself in her hooded robes. She squeaks out, "Um....vines....."

Twilight nods again. "Perfect. That should slow them down and cause them to bunch up for maximum effect. Rainbow, your lance is an excellent lightning rod. You and Applejack set up a grounding point. Use your hammer to smash through the stone to the earth, maybe set up three doors down that way. Pinkie-"

The pink pony brandishes her lute and yells, "Three Doors Down coming right up!" and starts jamming away on Not My Time. Twilight stands there with her mouth open. Her hoof starts to tap to the song as Pinkie weaves in motivational magic, invigorating everypony and speeding along their tasks. Rainbow and Applejack set off down the hallway to get to work. Twilight turns to Rarity.

"We need a convincing wall infront of us with Slicer in front of it. We cannot give them any incentive to come our direction." Rarity nods, steps over to the stairwell and makes ready. Within a minute, Applejack as broken through and removed a few flagstones to the dirt down below. Applejack uses pieces of her armor and sabre to create a base to hold the lance, pointing back at the rest of the group.

Rainbow calls out, "READY!" Applejack stands behind the setup, hammer ready in case any make it near her.

Twilight steps behind Rarity, "Alright, you're up. A convincing wall." Rarity flourishes her hands and hums. The air between them and Slicer solidifies into what appears to be stone. Slicer swallows and continues watching the door.

Twilight whispers, "When I say duck.......duck, Sly." Slicer snorts.

Crunch.

CRACK. The boards on the iron-strapped door break apart, the metal bands falling away and clanging on the flagstone floor. Several skeletons spill into the hallway. Slicer holds up her glowing symbol again. This time the skeletons are only repelled down the hallway. Once they have cleared the door area, Fluttershy reaches out to the plants and roots that have long struggled to resist the stonework that was placed above them. Vines break up through the stone, grasping at the legs of the skeletons and slowing them down. The other ponies cheer her on with encouraging words. A second wave pushes out into the hallway, with similar results. Then a third wave. Then a fourth. Fifth.

Slicer says out loud, "I'm just about out of faith juice here. Fluttershy, how you holding up?" The yellow pony is sweating. She can feel the strain of the plants. Several of them are starting to snap and give up due to the strain. The front wave is starting to make headway and has almost reached the lance. Slicer turns her head backward, "It's now or never, Eggplant!" She hears a choked gasp from behind the wall and grins, ducking anyway.

A lightning bolt blasts through the wall, dispelling the illusion. Blue and white energy crackles down the hallway with a life of its own, leaping between skeleton to skeleton, the armor helping it speed along and maintain momentum. When the lightning reaches the tip of the lance, all the skeletons in contact with it explode, bones and pieces of armor flying everywhere. The sound is deafening.

Slicer looks up from the floor and surveys the destruction. One skeleton is left standing near the lance setup. Pinkie Pie walks up to it and smashes its skull with her lute, a nice 'bong' ringing out. Slicer then crawls to the doorway and peers inside. Nothing but remnants of her previous turning. Rarity and a somewhat miffed Twilight step forward to stand over her and look in as well. Rarity exclaims, "Well that wasn't such a chore, now was it?" Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie join the group, and as one they all step into the chamber. They see a chest glowing with a soft light blue aura at the other end of the chamber.

Twilight says, "And there is our treasure, team!" She strides forth, set on being the first to peer in the chest. As they approach the chest that appears to be on a raised pedestal, Applejack blocks Twilight with her hammer.

"I know ya'll is set on gettin into that. I just caint shake this feelin that it's trapped or somethin." They look around at the moldy corpses of past adventurers that had once died in the throes of agony surrounding the pedestal.

Slicer mutters, "Wonder what gave you that idea. I can't go near it with that aura. Twilight?"

"Oh, you remembered my name? Thankyou." Their leader strides up to the chest and waves her staff. The chest flares blue and the aura dissipates. She shudders. "That was a nasty spell...essentially it is a time warp spell. It causes random areas of your body to progress in different streams of time...ugh...you can imagine what that must feel like, blood slowing down here, speeding up there. Sweet Celestia."

Twilight looks at Luna with concern, "Princess, that is disturbing."

Luna shrugs. "Again, I did not script it. This game was created long before I was born, during darker times I suppose. Many of the modules were pre-made. In any case, are you done with the chest?"

The group stares at the chest. Then at each other, wondering who is going to go touch it. Slowly they start to focus on Slicer. She frowns and chews on the corner of her mouth. "Yes, I know...my turn." Tentatively, she steps closer, studying the stone pillar holding up the chest, then eyeing the lock. Muttering to herself, she unrolls her tools and is about to touch the lock.

"Break time!"

The ponies gasp as their tension releases. Slicer slumps back in her seat, her die still clutched in her hoof. Luna chuckles. "When you get back, we shall find out what is so valuable. Use the restroom. You will not want to miss a minute in this next session."

Author's Notes:

As I am writing this I find that trying to describe how each pony would hold and work a given weapon or implement robs the reader of imagination. Obviously the magic users may use telekinesis, while the more earth-bound will use teeth or walk with three legs. So be my guest and envision how they would normally get around, you probably have a better idea than even I do on it!

Pokie sticks is spelled that way on purpose.

I know, 500 and not 1000. Pinkies version is more extreme because she is.