The groups of delegates were excited to play this new game. They were playing roles as characters in a contest of strategy and deception. Young and old, ponies, dragons, griffons, humans, guards, nobles, royalty, and plenty of others who had been initially invited all would put their skills to the test.

The goal was to rid themselves of werewolves or use their skills of misdirection to survive as the werewolves.

Certainly a sharp contrast from the many games each species was more accustomed to.

Starting off the game, Starlight stepped forward, playing into her role as well.

"Welcome to the small town of Garden. You all have come a long way on the train to venture off to the Kingdom of Canterlot. Unfortunately, the train needs repairs and you'll have to hold up in Garden, which seems to have been mysteriously abandoned. Feel free to spend time gathering the supplies and food you may need. However, beware of werewolves that are rumored to live in the surrounding area. Also, be sure to show Chris and I your cards as you enter, so we know who is entering and what to expect from you."

Eager to get started, the assumed group of humans and creatures began to walk in, Starlight giving them one last reminder.

"Remember, if you perform a job, return to me or Chris to be paid. Doing your job will help ensure you survive, and whoever survives wins a bottle of your choice from the human delegate’s selection of alcohols. Of course, you can also save up enough money or supplies to buy our emergency hand-slash-hoofcart to return to the last station for only five pieces of gold or equal value. Also, there are special skills that we can perform for you to keep your true identity a secret."

It was going to be more of a surprise, but Chris knew it was going to be confusing. A little more clarification was needed.

“Some skills require us to act out of character and inform you of a change in the game that has occurred. Not all of them will be good, so be careful of who you trust. You can also ask us how much your potions and supplies are worth.”

Thunder, having completed her daily watch, quickly trotted up to Starlight.

"Sorry, I missed some of the instructions. My card says I'm a seamstress and I make clothes for other players to travel outside at night. So I need to do a job to get paid so I can buy the materials, and who has them?"

Chris till the card and examined it with Starlight, verifying the content. Not a daunting task for him, thankfully.

"Ah. Nope. In the garden will be baskets labeled Raw Goods. Grab any card that says cotton, then take it to a general goods store. There will be another basket with cards that say what types of clothes you can make. Make as much as you can, you get paid everyday you make clothes or sell them to others. You can use cotton players bring to you and make clothes for them."

Thunder took her card back, and after a moment of rereading, nodded and grinned.

"Oh, okay. I get it now. Thanks."

Starlight watched the other mare flutter off to catch up with the rest, then gave a happy sigh.

"When you explained this game earlier, it sounded really simple. Why did you change and add so many rules and cards?"

Mulling slightly over the rules Chris turned and started into the garden, a little doubtful of the end product.

"When we played the game, it was only made for about six or twelve players, way less than how many we have now. Plus, Celestia wanted to show off her garden, so this way players get to move around and see the sights… That and normally after the first round the game becomes a little predictable and you get bored of just sitting around pointing at each other."

Meanwhile, in the garden, despite the need to be tactful, virtually everyone was sticking with their counterparts. Case in point, Octavia and Vinyl remained close to Benny, who had to remind them how the game was played.

"You know, if you're gonna play your role properly, you don't have to stay stuck to my hip. None of us know if any of us is a werewolf."

Vinyl carelessly nuzzled up closer to Benny, closed her eyes, and let him guide her as they walked together.

"Werewolf or not, I'll let you eat me anytime you want."

Not even trying to calm her mare down, as if that was even possible, Octavia rolled her eyes and took stock in what she had to do.

"Oh, do come off it, Vinyl. The royal garden is no place for such lewdness. Save it for after the party and perhaps I will gobble you up as well."

Enticed by her mare finally speaking more freely, Vinyl quickly swapped sides to cuddle in close with Octavia instead, speaking just as sweetly as could be.

"Ohh, dear me. My lady wants to eat up her poor defenseless mare in the midst of scary beasts and dignitaries. Whatever am I to do?"

Amused, but not swayed from her role, Octavia huffed.

"Well, you're probably going to do something foolish and be eaten the first night, leaving me alone with Benny. While appreciated, it’s not exactly what I wished for. I'd rather have you with both of us for the whole game."

Vinyl just laughed off the comment, secure in her luck to make something work.

"Chillax, sweet cheeks. My role has it made. One trip into the woods during the night round and I’ve got a fifty-fifty shot of bagging us our first werewolf. I can carry two items in the day and one at night. That’ll give me exactly everything I need."

Octavia gave a quick rough nudge to Vinyl’s side, sternly looking towards her to have her quiet down.

"And that's exactly what's going to have a werewolf hunting you down for. Keep what you can do a secret. You don't see Benny bragging about his abilities."

Vinyl looked over her shoulder, a bit shocked at the lack of a human walking next to her.

"Uhh, I don't see Benny at all."

Perplexed, Octavia turned to see Benny missing as well.

"Well… shit… He probably thought you were a werewolf, sticking so close to him, ready to pounce and have your way with his flesh."

Carelessly, and seemingly forgetting the game itself, Vinyl snickered, taking it in the most sexual of ways.

"I might be a psychic, but it doesn't take a fortune teller to see that much is true. Now come on. Help me find some raw goods. I need to make my potion to get paid so I can get a scarf for the night round. I need a nightshade flower for my potion in the next day round."

Interrupting the pair as they spoke, Sir Fancy Pants seemingly appeared from behind and trotted up closer to join the duo.

"Lady Octavia, Miss Vinyl. Might I accompany you for the day? I need to locate flynt stones for arrows, you see. However, I can’t help but want to see the wonders the garden has to offer us."

Hearing another player give away their role only made Octavia groan in frustration. It was like they were trying to get themselves singled out.

Elsewhere in the garden, Sniff had met up with Becky to try and catch up.

“Yo, Becks. It’s daytime so we can’t kill each other yet. Mind if I tag along for a bit?”

Never slowing in her stroll, Becky carried on in search of items.

“I’m doing a lot better if that’s what you’re worried about, but sure. What’s up?”

Quickly catching up and matching her pace, Sniff took a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, yet still keeping his voice safely low enough to keep the conversation private.

“So, was everything on the up and up with Prince Tinfoil?”

The question quickly gave a warm glow to Becky’s appearance. Not like she was love-struck, but maybe a teen who was star-struck upon meeting their idol. That, or perhaps Sniff had never seen Becky this kind of happy before, despite her voice sounding upbeat, yet level in its tone.

“Shining was a real sweetheart. We had a late lunch at some ritzy place in a hotel. I couldn’t read their menu so I just asked for a tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Ugh! That shit was amazing.”

Sniff cracked a grin and huffed a laugh, following along with that line of thinking rather well.

“That’s another weird thing about this place that still trips me out… All of their food taste so fucking incredibly good. Although what’s stranger is how ponies act like anything we bring is just as good. Like… Celestia going coo-coo for those Nutty Buddy bars, all of our booze, or even the fillies with Sunny D.”

“Yeah,” Becky lovingly agreed. “Everything does seem to be a lot better here. Including us, don’t ya think?”

Sniff chuckled for a moment, thinking of all the ways he could interpret that sentiment.

“In more ways than one, or so the rumors say,” he joked.

Of all the reactions one could’ve expected, Becky only smiled a little brighter at the inappropriate joke, catching Sniff’s attention.

“What?” He asked with a coy grin. “Not getting queasy anymore? What fun are you gonna be if I can’t pull your chain anymore?”

Immediately after saying that, his expression changed to a look of the kind of boyish grin concern one would have if this had been Chris’s first date. The expression could have been read from a mile away, and Becky knew too well than to let him ask it aloud.

“Nooooo, Sniffy. Don’t you dare even ask me that,” she demanded behind her smile. “Though I do like the idea of finding someone like him, I guess.”

There was so much for Sniff to read into on this. Becky, of all people, interested in dating again, and now cool with it being a pony after a fake date with a married stallion? He had to dig into what happened; respectably, of course.

“So then… What made you change your mind?”

The two approached a basket of raw goods cards, and Sniff, being a gentleman, let Becky filter through the pile first, as well as giving her the floor to speak.

“Just about all the ponies here are so nice and trustworthy. Then we got lucky and found so many that kick ass and are willing to fight for us at the drop of a hat. And with Shining, even if it was a fake date, or even all the times before it, he offers me help, protects me like Dash, respects me like you and the other guys—”

She took another look at the pile of cards, just now remembering what she was looking for, grabbing it, then turning the remaining cards over to Sniff, shooting him a know-it-all smirk.

“And unlike every pony you’re all with, save for Luna, Shining isn’t trying to jump in my pants.”

If Becky was going there, thankfully in jest, Sniff was happy to play along as he searched through the remaining deck.

“Well, as happy as I am for you, I am more than pleased to inform you that no pony I’ve been with has tried to get into my pants.” Quickly finding a suitable card, he slid it into his pocket and returned the same smirk back to Becky.

“They try to get me out of them. Totally different, but yeah. I figured Shining would help you out. Seems like a solid dude, ya know?”

Happy to agree, Becky turned and started off towards a sign labeled “Mansion.”

“I’ll fill you in about the rest later. Mostly street performers that sang for us and an art museum.”

Likewise, at the far end of the garden, Cadance and Shining were doing some catching up of their own. Needless to say, Cadance was more than excited to hear the news.

“I’m so glad you both had a wonderful time. I’m surprised they humored such a request for her lunch, though. But anyway, what did you do after that?"

Shining eyed his card again, thinking how best to use it, but still thinking of the day that had passed.

"Not a lot, really. Mostly I just grabbed us a cab to drive us around the city. I didn't want her walking more than she needed to, so it was mostly me pointing things out to her until we arrived at the city park."

He stuffed his card away, focused on the signs posted around them.

"The Canterlot school band was doing a rehearsal and let us listen in. Then we ran into a quartet that sang for nearly an hour. Though they were really interested in Becky."

He turned his head from side to side, making a mental note of what surrounded him. He seemed focused on his task, yet emotionally emulating what he was recalling.

"After that, we stopped for at a prench restaurant had some dessert, then came here."

That sounded like a typical date, but there were many details left out that Cadance had to know.

"You'll have to tell me more about it tonight, and we'll have to try more of that physical love again."

The scurrying of four clawed paws rushed up behind the loving couple, with one excited female dragon requesting help.

“Hey, Prince Shining. Can you help us find some more silver? I got one card of it, but we need three more pieces and either a psychic potion or two coins to buy one.”

Spike looked over his card, making sure to keep it out of view of the others, just like the rules stated, then tucked it away. He was dead set on his plan working.

“I can do alchemy with one of my skills and make a potion that makes us poisonous to werewolves. If we can make it to the last round, we’ll beat the werewolves by letting them think we’re easy prey.”

Lagging behind, Yona stumbled into Spike, tripping over her long locks of hair.

“Oof! Sorry, Spike. No more silver Yona thinks. It Yona’s fault for not paying attention when silver went missing. Still not sure how game pony knew.”

Losing that much silver was a heavy blow, but Smolder wasn’t letting that setback ruin the fun she was having. Even if she did think it was bogus.

“I think Starlight was cheating for another player when she took them away. And we still have to pay Peter back for the silver piece he let us take.”

Idle chatter picked up amongst the many players as they tried to get into their roles. It was kind of funny hearing nobles try to play up being farmers or tradesmen, thankfully none of the Apples were present to be offended by the attempt, but eventually, it was time to move onto the next stage, and Starlight called for the night round to begin.

"Alright, every creature! It is now nighttime! The weather has gotten cold! If you did not get any clothing items or are unable to venture out, then find a shelter and stay put! Special cards for the night rounds will now be available. Also! Werewolves!"

The shelters were noting more than closed-off sections of the garden maze and dead ends. One such so-called shelter held Sir Fancy Pants, Fleur De Lis, Gilda, Octavia, Vinyl, Cerb, and Kelly.

Gilda, looking rather nervous, sat in the corner.

“So… How many rounds does this game normally take?”

Kelly shrugged and looked over the collection of cards she had gathered, sounding contently passive about the question.

“I used to host games like this at my old shop back in the day, but it was a lot simpler, so it went on for five or seven rounds. This is a lot different, so it’s hard to say with so many players and different rules.”

Gilda dug her claws into the grass, looking over everyone in the room, distrust clearly written on her face.

“I really want to win, but staying inside a shelter with lots of other players is my best bet… Unless… how many players can werewolves remove at one time?”

Cerb, having played a part in making the rules and cards, was confident to give an answer.

“Werewolves can only kill one player at a time. However, there might be one werewolf that can take out up to three in one turn after one night after getting their first kill.”

If that was the case, then the first night was imperative for some players to do as much as they can. That meant Vinyl knew what she had to do.

“Tavi, come on. With two of us going out together, we’re sure to be safe. We both have cold-weather scarves, so we can stay out as long as we want.”

Octavia jumped up, a look of determination glimmering in her eyes.

“Let’s hurry back though, and no wandering off. We’re better off pacing ourselves.”

Without another word, the two trotted away, leaving the rest to kill some time. Leave it to Fancy Pants to focus the attention the biggest human in their company.

“I know we’re supposed to stay in character, but Justin, do you have any plans for all those bits you won last night?”

Cerb shrugged, not remembering he had a pile of money waiting for him back in his room until just then.

“Not a clue, to be honest. Probably just food and clothes.”

Seeing an opportunity, Kelly had a thought for something he might actually want.

“Maybe you can pay some pony to remove that tattoo on your arm and get the one you wanted instead.”

The suggestion caught everyone’s interest, but only Gilda was brave enough to ask about it.

“What’s wrong with your tattoo, and what’s it for?”

Both were fair questions, and Cerb rolled up his sleeve to show off the tattoo, or at least half the M and C below it. His demeanor wasn’t what one could call prideful as he showed it off.

“After I got discharged from the Marines, I was all sorts of screwed up… One night I got stupid drunk, stumbled into a tattoo shop, blacked out, and woke up with this. My best guess is that I told them that I wanted USMC tattooed on my arm, but they gave me the most generic-looking ink job. I mean.. Just this plane-ass block lettering? It doesn’t do my service justice, nor the memory of my brothers who fell.”

Kelly looked at the ink in his arm again, thinking that bringing it up was a poor choice say out loud. However, she could think of something more positive to change the mood.

“How about you can get rid of it, we both get some tattoos to celebrate all the good things we’ve had here instead?”

A good change of conversation, but a cry in the middle of the night alerted them that the game was still in play.

“GAWD DAMNIT!”

The voice was none-other than Rainbow, and her cry of frustration had Cerb laughing like an idiot.

“Awe, shit. Rainbow got got.”

Fleur tilted her head, stuck on those words.

“Got got?”

Kelly was chuckling herself, wondering who must have scored the kill, but was happy to share some slang.

“It’s something Benny started saying after he went into the Navy. It just means they got something bad to happen to them because they got caught.”

That sounded like the case, giving Cerb reason to stand.

“Well, no use waiting then. I gotta venture out and gather some goods. Y’all stay safe.”

No further crises or screams were heard that round, and eventually, it was time for the day again.

“The night is over! Everyone return to the center of town for a meeting!”

Quickly, the remaining players gathered themselves around Chris and Starlight. Speculation was already starting to spread around the group. The number of players missing was more than they had expected.

“My fellow travelers,” Chris spoke to the crowd. “Last night we lost seven of those who came here with us. Rainbow Dash, Princess Cadance, Vinyl Scratch, Benny, Blue moon, Queen Abyssinia, and Swift Sails.”

The crowd was taken back. Were seven players taken out in one round? How was this game even fair?

Well, Chris was about to make another announcement that showed just how difficult this game was about to be.

“After examining the evidence, we’ve determined that there are two werewolves on the loose. We know one killed Vinyl, the other killed Rainbow Dash. However, we can’t tell which of the two killed Benny, Blue Moon, and Swift Sails. However, Princess Cadance and Queen Abyssinia were assassinated by someone here among us.”

Slamming her staff into the ground, Ember called out in anger.

“Are you saying that we have more to worry about than just werewolves? Why wouldn’t you warn us about that?”

Starlight was about to say something, but Chris quickly brought his hand to cover her muzzle, knowing how best to handle this somewhat volatile situation.

“Princess Ember, please try to understand. When we opened our train for passengers, and by that I mean handed out the cards, we were not sure who all would be joining us. However, it seems there were rumors of a wealthy princess who joined you travelers. I can only guess that the assassin was sent here to remove her.”

As the crowd started to take that in, most of them growing more nervous by the second. In turn, this left Ember to ask the obvious.

“Wait… is that part of the game, or is one of us actually in danger?”

Again, Chris rushed to answer, all smiles with his clarity.

“It’s all part of the game. No one here is actually in danger of an assassin.”

The crowd gave a sigh of relief, understanding it was all part of the fun, but the game still had to go on, and Starlight could finally speak again.

“The assassin is likely going to continue trying to hunt down the princess until he or she finds her, but we also have the werewolves to worry about. So, now we need to vote on who we think they might be. Unless… is there anything any of you would like to do before we vote? Any actions you can play or fellow travelers you want to accuse?”

Right off the bat, Cerb pointed at Octavia.

“Octavia walked off with Vinyl alone together. I think she’s a werewolf.”

As if insulted, Octavia recoiled with an insulted, and somewhat over dramatic, gasp.

“What?! I most certainly did not! You can ask Prince Rutherford. He and I found each other after Vinyl wandered off, just like I told her not to, and escorted me back to safety with Twilight and Peter. If I were a werewolf, I would have eliminated him there and then. Now, if any of us is a werewolf, it’s Lord Gestal. He came to the shelter by himself after Rainbow Dash was heard screaming.”

Lord Gestal scoffed, looking just as indignant as one could be.

“Pah! I heard the scream and hid as soon as I realized what happened. If it were any of us, it would be Mister Husk. He was stalking through the garden without a care in the world. Only a werewolf would wander without any concern of being hunted.”

Angered, Prince Rutherford jumped forward, pointing a hoof at Cerb.

“Ha! Devil Dog really IS Devil Dog! I am hunter! I need stone worker to make flint stones into arrows! With arrows! I strike down werewolf!”

A pony clearing their throat quickly broke up the escalating tension. Said pony was Sir Fancy Pants, stepping up to lower the prince’s hoof.

“I’m afraid not, Prince. Justin was in view of us when Rainbow Dash was heard screaming. He couldn’t possibly be the werewolf.”

Only to complicate matters, Kelly chimed in to point out something they were overlooking.

“Actually, there are two werewolves, and only Rainbow Dash screamed. We don’t know when the others were killed during the night. Cerb could still be a werewolf and killed any of the others when he was out on his own.”

With so many questions being raised and accusations muddying the waters, Spitfire fluttered into the center, laying down three small cards.

“I don’t think Cerb is a werewolf, and I would like to prove it. I’m a psychic, and I gathered enough supplies to make a vision potion. I want to use it to see there a werewolf under that skin."

Now the game mechanics were really coming into play, and Starlight was quite excited to have some fun with this part of the game.

“Hold on now, let’s see.” She gave a quick glance of the cards. “Nightshade, a pale mushroom, and black moss. Yep. Your potion is made. You may now examine Cerb.”

Starlight lit up her horn and a small cloud of magic mist appeared over Cerb’s head. It swirled and spun, changing colors of black, grey, red, and purple, before puffing out with a vision of Cerb just as he was, standing below it.

“Nope,” Starlight announced. “Cerb is a human, not a werewolf.”

All eyes went back to Lord Gestal, who rightfully felt concerned about being singled out.

“That proves nothing about me!” He squawked.”Gruff was by himself the whole time! And what about Prince Shining Armor, or the other Wonderbolts? I know Shining Armor didn’t buy any cold-weather items, and he was out by himself during the night.”

With the attention turned, Shining shrunk a little, not at all proud to play his role.

“Gah… I don’t need cold-weather items. I’m a beggar and a stowaway. I’m accustomed to living in the cold, so I didn’t need to buy any. I did see Fluttershy out on her own though.”

Fluttershy yelped, now realizing just how easy this game was to manipulate those you play with and pass the blame.

“I was looking for Justin to see if he wanted to join me and Rarity until the day round. Rarity and I were stuck in a shelter together by ourselves. We just wanted to enjoy the game together.”

Funny how a confession of innocence can just as easily set someone else up for a guilty charge. Fleetfoot could see where Fluttershy might be telling the truth, but the truth could only save her at best.

“So what you’re saying is, you can’t account for what Rarity was doing when you were out looking for him?”

That’s when Rarity caught on as well.

“Oh, shit.”

It was abundantly clear this was not a game for those without patients or tact, igniting Gruff to shout in frustration.

“The whole game is rigged! Why do I have to be a doctor?!”

A quick round of debating eventually ended with two players remaining the focus of scrutiny. It was a vote for Rarity or a vote for Lord Gestal. As fun as this was, Chris had to remind them that this was, in fact, still just a game.

“Alright, you all get to vote once. If you’re right, that means there will be only one werewolf left. That will make it easier to narrow down the next. However, if you’re wrong… it'll still be easier with fewer travelers to pick from, but a greater chance of getting eaten. So, who votes for Rarity?”

After tallying the votes, it was close, but overall one-sided.

“Well, I never,” Rarity harrumphed, offended by the accusation. “This is outrageous! Can’t I call for an appeal?”

Starlight walked up behind Rarity and began to lead her away from the group to a sign that read, “Guilty Burn Here.” She had to break the bad news.

“Sorry, Rarity. Out here, it’s mob justice. So, whether you're a werewolf or not, you’ll be waiting with the others in the afterlife. Also known as the dining hall, but it comes with an open bar, so have a drink with the others and tell them I said hello."

In a flash, Rarity was teleported away, and a tiki torch was lit behind the sign, prompting Chris to give the eulogy.

"As per your votes, Rarity has been found guilty of being a werewolf. Unfortunately, as the tiki torch indicates, Rarity was not a werewolf. So… You can all live with that."

The groups all blinked in disbelief. The harsh tragedy of their hasty vote removed someone who could have helped them.

Cerb could tell he'd be dealing with this tonight.

"Well… She's gonna be pissed."

This revelation prompted Rutherford to stand up with a vengeance.

"Devil Dog lose good mare to injustice! Yaks now vow to avenge marshmallow pony! Real werewolf will be hunted down!"

Needless to say, the game had to go on.

"Okay, travelers," Starlight announced. "Back to work, happy hunting, and good luck."

The groups started breaking off into smaller factions. Speculation and the desire to win were leaving them to dig into who to avoid and to vote on next. This made the jobs of those whose roles was to make food and goods a challenge.

Another day round ended with more thought was put into who to shelter with. Celestia, Rutherford, Thunder, Cerb, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Gilda found themselves hunkering down to strategize.

Being the oldest by a wide margin, Celestia came off sounding like an expert on her approach.

“These werewolves are no different than changelings. Although this assassin will make things more difficult, though realistically, they are both cut from the same cloth. Acting as if they are one thing, but in reality, they only wish to do harm.”

Cerb made his eyes towards Gilda, wondering why she hadn't collected anything earlier, but thought he had her figured out. Even now that it was the night round, she didn't budge. There were a few guessed as to what her role was, but he had other fish to fry.

"It is all a game of trickery and trying to catch others in their lies. The game is different from real life because your life isn't on the line. Plus, you know the other players, most of the time at least, and you play against their weakness and exploit their habits and tells. Like Vinyl talking about what she needed out loud all the time. Psychics in this game can't be avoided if they single you out. That's why Spitfire isn't going to survive this round."

Vinyl had outed herself, and Cerb could see that others had figured out how important that role really was.

"Not unless I can save her tonight," Cerb added. “If I can find her, I can probably keep her safe and we’ll see what Lord Gestal really is in the next day round."

That sounded like Cerb had a plan, and naturally, Twilight wanted to help.

"We should go with you. There's strength in numbers. I still have to go out and collect silver. Peter and I can join you."

While the logic was certainly sound, it wasn’t the kind Cerb needed to rely on.

"Nah, I need to be alone to find a werewolf. They won't come after me if I'm in a group."

If the time had come for the hunt against the werewolves, Rutherford wasn’t going to be left in a shelter for it.

“Devil Dog have good idea. Hunt alone. Cover more ground to avenge lost ones. Protect other ponies now.”

With no other protests, the two stepped out of the shelter and parted ways. That left Celestia, Twilight, Fluttershy, Thunder, and Gilda. However, no sooner had the survivors shrank in numbers, another traveler took their place as the Dragon Lord made her entrance.

"Yessh. I figured all the ponies thought Lord Gestal was the werewolf. Prince Shining tried giving me silver dust. The only one he had. Should have waited till the morning round to use it. Now he's a sitting duck with Peter."

Game or no game, Twilight couldn’t leave Sniff unprotected. She just had to keep her cool about it.

"Damnit, Shining. You had only one good skill in this game and you just blew it. Thunder, can you come with me to find some more silver? I know another metalsmith that can make their goods at night after the first day."

The second night gave lots of players all sorts of perks, Fluttershy included.

"Oh! Let me come with you. I can double any resource one time per night. Now we'll have double the silver."

Twilight led Thunder and Fluttershy out back into the garden’s center, hoping there was still at least one silver card left. There was still a good chance she could save this, but they would now have to fight for it as they were nearing their target, so were Octavia and Spitfire.

The two groups merged at the basket, one silver card remaining in the mix of others, and Octavia eyed it with cautious eyes.

“Am I to assume you came for the silver?”

Hesitant and nervous, Fluttershy eyed the card, contemplating how to handle this.

“Well, you see. I, umm-”

Twilight had no time for Fluttershy’s bashfulness, and made an unnecessary return, pulling the basket with her wing towards her.

“Yes. Fluttershy can make the card into two pieces of silver if she picks it up. Let her have it, then we can make two silver powders.”

Spitfire, still trying to catch up, had an imperative question to ask.

“What’s it do anyway? Shining lost his along with the rest of our supplies.”

The basics of what silver could do to a werewolf were on the tip of Twilight’s tongue. So when logic struck, it struck hard.

“What do you mean he lost it? Princess Ember said Shining used it on her and— you all lost your supplies? How did that happen?”

Just as confused, Spitfire shrugged and pulled the basket towards her, grabbing another nightshade card out.

“We don’t know. Chris walked into our shelter and said that we felt as if someone had entered our shelter, but could see no one. Then, before we knew what happened, all our raw goods and supplies were gone.”

Even more confused, Thunder stepped up closer, completely baffled.

“Wait-wait. How did you not know your cards were gone? Weren’t you holding onto them?”

Octavia rolled her eyes, growing frustrated with the time being lost, and still so much more to do.

“No, Thunder Glide. It was part of the game. Apparently, not only is there an assassin among us, but there’s also a thief. Whoever the thief is told Chris to ransack our shelter. We lost everything and have to start over. We also passed Lord Gestal, and don’t have much time left. Spitfire still needs a pale mushroom and black moss to make another potion for the day round. We’ll have to split up if we hope to stand a chance. You take the silver. If we vote Lord Gestal out right away, that will give us at least two more players to narrow down of who the second werewolf is.”

That was a sound plan, and Thunder wasn’t in a position to argue.

“That makes the most sense. It’s also safe to assume that Princess Ember is the thief. Why else would she lie about Shining?”

Heavy steps approaching from behind a hedge put all players on alert.

“Do you think that’s Lord Gestal?” Fluttershy whispered, her timidly fearful voice returning.

The whisper must have been too loud, as a large dark figure lurched out of the bushes to pounce.

“Haa!”

The girls collectively screamed, two of them reaching for the cards, but stopped just the same as Rutherford did, nearly pulling his card to flash at them.

“You not werewolf. Silly ponies nearly target of arrows for werewolf.”

Yet another distraction the girls didn’t have time for, and Spitfire was all about punctuality.

“Gah! We’re wasting time. Prince, Lord Gestal wasn’t far behind us in that direction. Now we all need to split. Octavia, you’re with me until the path splits north and south. Girls, you know what to do.”

With a mighty war cry, Rutherford ran off into the night, apparently lost as he took the wrong path while the girls ran off in their separate groups.

Sadly, they all left just in time to catch sight of a pony dressed in a Saddle Arabian garb creeping into where they just left.

Getting farther away from the threat, with no protection, they could all hear Spike scream out into the open air.

“Yona! Werewolf! Get back!”

Twilight and her new crew made it to the shelter with Shining and Peter, panting as they all entered.

“We got two silver,” Twilight huffed. “Shining… don’t lose these—”

Her words ground to a halt when she found that the shelter was empty.

“Awe, fuck.”

Feeling defeated, the survivors made their way back. Far fewer than the previous day round. All the more crushing with Chris to break the bad news.

“My fellow travelers… Things are not looking good. We’re not even finding the bodies. Princess Ember, Princess Celestia, Prince Shining, Princess Amira, Princess Luna, Kelly, Spike, and Spitfire… All of them partying it up in the afterlife, but no werewolves to keep them company.”

That was a long list of names, but Twilight noticed one who happened to be absent.

“Is Peter still alive?!”

Like watching a Faberge egg getting crushed in slow motion, Starlight cringed, getting ready to add insult to injury.

“Peter is alive and well, somewhere far away from here.”

Sniff toasted glasses with Ember, both of them celebrating their victories.

“So wait,” he laughed. “You were assassinating all the real princesses because that’s what you thought you were supposed to do?”

Ember snickered, now feeling the effects of trying some of the stronger alcohols.

“How was I supposed to know? After Princess Amira, I was hoping it was Celestia, but with Gilda there, I had to use my poison bomb so there would be no witnesses.”

Sitting next to them, Gilda groaned, angrily gripping her glass tight.

“Being the Princess is such a stupid role! On the fourth day I was going to have enough money to buy the train ticket out of there. I was halfway to winning a bottle of my own.”

It was a little sad to see Gilda being such a poor sport about the game, but Sniff couldn’t help but laugh it up as he gave her a few pats on the back.

“Only one player can buy their way out of the garden. I just feel bad I robbed Shining of his only chance to escape.”

Happily trotting up with a drink of his own, Shining took a sip, savoring the flavor of defeat with his wife.

“Bah. The trap was perfect, and since only Twilight knew I could touch silver, they probably would have voted me out as a werewolf anyway. Not that it wouldn’t have been fair, but I can see how to really play this game now.”

It was a jovial afterlife party, and the youngest to join them was enjoying a particularly weak rum and cola in his dragon claws.

“What’s not fair is the Werewolf King.” He took a sip of his drink, trying to act as classy as the rest of the adults around him. “I didn’t even see it coming.”

To break that appearance of looking cooler than he was, Sniff flicked the tip of the tallest spine on Spikes’s head, not letting him get off scot-free.

“Yeah, and you’re also not to yell out any names when you get caught. That’s cheating.”

Spike rubbed his spine, still a little miffed about getting played so hard.

“Hey, you stole three pieces of silver from us and then made us pay you back a fourth. That’s more cheating on purpose than anything I did on accident.”

Cerb belted out laughing, drawing all attention to him, and away from the grieving. Such great luck had smiled upon that crafty bastard, and Cerb knew exactly what happened.

“What a dick. He must have robbed somebody good to buy his way out this fast.”

As it dawned on the remaining players that someone had escaped the garden by stealing his way out, their struggles only amplified their desire to win. Or in Yona’s case, piss her off royally.

“What! Nice human not really nice and steal from Yona! He not really nice human after all!”

It was the greatest swipe of valuables Smolder had ever heard of. Really though, when she thought about it context of how badly it screwed over so many players, she was impressed. Granted they were just cards that was part of a silly game, but still.

“Wow… Humans are sooooo coooool.”

Even more pissed off now, Yona stomped her hooves into the dirt, actually causing parts of the ground to shake.

“No-No-No! Not cool! Meanie jerkface!”

Everyone was getting sidetracked, motivating Fleetfoot to bring their attention back to what was important. Or at least, the most likely target.

"I vote Lord Gestal is a werewolf!"

The sudden outburst surprised Chris enough to make his eyes go wide.

"Wow. You're all really getting into this. Alright, let's count the votes."

Lord Gestal scoffed in the midst of every player raising a hand, claw or hoof to cast their vote.

"This is ridiculous! I couldn't be the werewolf! None of you would even let me get close to you! Even if I was a werewolf, I would have never got the chance."

True or not, the rules had to be enforced, and Starlight led the large griffon to the execution area.

"Sorry, but the vote is final. Please join the others for the afterlife while we start the fire."

Visibly annoyed, Lord Gestal stepped into the circle, and in a puff of magic was gone. In his place another tiki torch was lit, and Chris called out the results.

"Welp… another innocent victim is claimed by the mob. Does anyone want to try and narrow down the search with their abilities?"

In the crowd, Cerb stood in awe of the discovery.

"Damn… I thought for sure he was a werewolf. This is… Shit. It could really be anyone at this point."

In a normal game, yes. However, Twilight wasn’t going to be so easily outsmarted in a game of wits.

"Not just anyone. Cerb can't be a werewolf because Spitfire proved that much last round. It also can't be Prince Rutherford or Octavia, because they would have hunted down their partners in the previous rounds, and I had to take the last silver card from Octavia. We also know it can't be Fluttershy or Smolder, because of the silver they handled. That also narrows out myself and Thunder Glide, because we were together for the last murders."

She scanned her eyes around the survivors, with only two standing out.

"The last thing our group saw before running off and Spike was removed was a Saddle Arabian walking in where it sounded like Spike screamed. He also would have had his wife's trust and saved her for later to make himself look innocent."

Prince Ameed took large steps back, realizing he was the new prime target.

"It wasn't me. I am innocent."

Twilight turned next to Fancy Pants, just as confident in her theory.

"I can only surmise that Fancy Pants was using the same tactic. Although it could just as easily be Fleur De Lis. Both who have stayed with each other for the entire game."

Not so easily shaken, Sir Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle, a sporting grin curling on his lips.

"Hmph," he mused, sounding confidently amused. "Very clever reasoning, Princess. However, Fleur and I have always enjoyed the garden and have been taking inenjoying the sights along with the game. So the reason we have stuck together and not been around the other survivors is because most flowers are far from the items to be collected."

He turned his attention to the remaining Wonderbolts.

"However, have you stopped to think that perhaps the reason Rainbow Dash was able to be taken out the first round was because one of her own had deceived her?"

With another accusation cast, Soarin' began to distance himself from Fleetfoot.

"Nah-uh. No way. Not me. Fleetfoot was usually with Spitfire. They were working together and new what they were both doing. I wouldn't have known where to look for Spitfire during the last night round."

That was looking like the most surefire connection, and Twilight decided to act.

"As the royal judge, I use my one-time special council session to accuse Fleetfoot of being a werewolf!"

The group refocused on Twilight, then turned to Chris for a verdict.

"Oh, well then. If the judge wishes to accuse another traveler, she has the power to do so. Everyone vote."

Offended/mortified, Fleetfoot reared up, her wings flailing out in shock.

"What?! Why am I being singled out? Those aren't good reasons to accuse me."

The remaining votes were counted, and in the end, only Fluttershy had a reason to protest.

"We haven't seen the werewolf, so we can’t blame any pony without better evidence."

In the real world, that probably would have had some question their vote, but this was a game and the rules stated that Starlight was to burn yet another traveler at the stake.

"Sorry, Fleetfoot, but the votes aren't on your side. Step this way, please."

Begrudgingly, Fleetfoot did, and in another flash of light, she was gone, leaving another tiki torch to burn unceremoniously.

"Well look at that," Starlight announced with an amused smirk. "Another victory for the werewolves. Better luck next time."

A loud chorus of groans echoed through the night sky as the day's portion finally ended.

Twilight sat in the shelter where Shining had been slain, where she last saw Sniff. Given the limited options, she still stuck with Fluttershy and Thunder, but was feeling less than confident.

“Girls, this isn’t like a real battle, or trying to deduce who could be a changeling. We don’t have the time to properly investigate and the rules prevent us from actually defending ourselves.”

Thunder slouched next to Twilight, their shared desperation getting the best of her.

“Not exactly. The silver dust would have saved us at night, but then it would have been our word against theirs. It really did best serve its purpose during the day round to expose a werewolf. It might be what got Princess Ember killed... But I have an ability that the werewolves don’t know about.”

Twilight’s ears perked up, a glimmer of hope arising.

“You do? What is it?”

Again, Thunder sulked, this time a little further.

“The ability is called Trip. It will let me trip the werewolf. They can’t get up for ten seconds after that, and that might give me enough time to find another shelter or back to you. Only problem is if I run into another werewolf, I’ll have wasted our only chance.”

Unfortunately, patience wasn’t a virtue for the roles the three had. They held only one means of defense, and that slim chance was all Twilight needed at the moment to give her the motivation for bravery.

“If worse comes to worst, we can always lead a werewolf towards Cerb or Prince Rutherford to kill the it. We also know who we can team up with. So even if a werewolf does come after us, at least another survivor like Octavia, Yona, or Smolder can live to identify the werewolf in the day round.”

Joining in, Fluttershy stood up, sticking close to Twilight’s side, shaking like a leaf.

“Okay. Let’s do this. Justin couldn’t have gone far. Not with his leg like it is.”

As they neared the next location to gather goods, they stopped at the sound of voices. It was Smolder, sounding rather upset

Despite wanting to immediately jump in, just to be safe, the three peered around the hedge to see what was happening. It was a meet-up between Cerb, Rutherford, Soarin’, and Smolder.

Still not a reason to get involved, but they could all listen in to Smolder’s rant.

“It was that Fancy Pants unicorn. He offered Yona a piece of candy but showed her his werewolf card instead,” She snarled with gritted teeth. “I think that tall unicorn with him must be the other werewolf. I heard a pony walking behind me, so I ran past him to avoid the trap. That’s how they’ve been winning this whole time… It isn’t cheating that I’m telling you this is it?”

Cerb huffed, or laughed, it was kind of hard to tell from that distance, but he appeared to be in good spirits about it.

“Nah. If you’re alive you can tell the others whatever you saw, but just to be safe. Soarin’, take Smolder with you and go find Fluttershy to hide with while me and the only other Hunter go find Sir Fancy Pants and his girl. I can only take one attack, so Rutherford and I will have to kill them both at the same time or they could take either one of us out between turns.”

From Smolder’s quick thinking, that was going to be one werewolf down, freeing up the three mares to use their tactic on the final werewolf yet undetected. Or at least that’s what Thunder had in mind.

“The next one had to be Swift Sails or Fluer De Lis. Right?”

A flurry of hoof steps clopped ever closer. Whoever it was, they were in a full-tilt run and nearly ran into the three from behind.

When a dark figure appeared, Fluttershy gasped before she fainted, Twilight teleported ten feet in the air into a magic shield, and Thunder reached for her sword… which wasn’t there. It was only by inches that Octavia managed to stop short of barreling into the Thunder or tripping over Fluttershy. However, the near-accident did nothing to stop Octavia from spewing forth some terrible news.

“Soarin’ killed Swift Sails. He’s a werewolf, and ether Sir Fancy Pants or Fleur De Lis is a Werewolf King.”

The three looked lost beyond all comprehension, turning Octavia’s panic into frustration.

“Listen, I was with Benny while they went over ideas for the game. There were to be only two werewolf cards, but Chris wanted a third card. A werewolf king. Cerb wanted the card to be able to slaughter, meaning it can kill up to three players at one time, but Benny said it should be able to turn one player into another werewolf… Chris caved and said it could do both, but it had to get a kill every night it or would lose both options. Something to balance out the game.”

Twilight’s ears wilted. Of all the crap cards to make, a Werewolf King?

“That’s Chris’s idea of balancing the game? A werewolf that can kill more players the more it kills?”

Octavia’s impatience returned with a sharp stare.

“That wasn’t the only card. It was supposed to be random. Sometimes two werewolves, sometimes only the king, or a mix. But that’s why the three of them agreed on the Holy Knight. A player that is a hunter that can survive one lethal action taken against him. And I’m guessing that’s Justin, but if the King knows that as well, we all lose.”

And the pieces slowly started coming together, alerting Twilight to the trouble they were in.

“We only know there were two werewolves that killed on the first night. There were no bodies found the second night, so there could have been a third that didn’t act until the second night. If there are two werewolves and one king, and they turned Cerb while killing Rutherford-”

Thinking like a good soldier, Thunder could fill in the rest.

“Then it’s four of us versus four of them, but we’d have to kill Justin twice.”

There was no time to spare, action had to be taken to stand a chance against the werewolves, leaving Octavia, of all ponies, to spit out the first plan she could think of.

“Fluttershy, I need you to go and try to find Smolder. Soarin’ is either going to use her to lure you three girls out or use her as cover to look innocent for the day round. If you find her, just grab her and run. Don’t give Soarin’ a chance to use his card on you. Bring her back to us if you have to. Thunder Glide and Twilight, you both come with me. With our overwhelming numbers, we’ll be more than enough to keep our hunter and holy knight alive. Whichever werewolf they don’t kill in this night round, we’ll kill in the day round.”

Fluttershy ran off as quickly as her frightened hooves would take her, talking to herself to keep her fear that came with being alone at bay. Anything to keep her mind off of having some pony jump out and scare her as she searched helplessly down the many empty paths and vacant shelters.

“Oh, dear. Smolder and Soarin’ couldn’t have gotten too far ahead of me. After all, they had gone off in the wrong direction if they were looking for me. And Soarin’ wouldn’t have just up and killed her right away. Not if he—”

Suddenly realizing just how quickly they all had reacted, what hadn’t been considered now proverbially slapped her in the face.

“Not unless he had no intention of looking for us and just wanted to remove Smolder. Then that would mean-”

Even if well-intentioned, Fluttershy had been sent on a wild goose chase. The only thing worse than that was that she has spent so much time looking for Smolder, the night was about to end. There wasn’t even any point in bothering to look for a shelter to hold up in.

“Oh, fuck me.”

Fluttershy, assuming the worst had happened, rushed back to find that was exactly the case.

Smolder stood alongside Rutherford, Octavia stood by herself, but all three kept their eyes on Sir Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis. Cerb, Twilight, Thunder, Soarin’, and so many others had all been removed.

“Wow,” Chris greeted the group. “The werewolves have really been tearing through the lot of you. I hope one of you has at least figured out who one of the werewolves are.”

Smolder huffed and immediately pointed a claw at Sir Fancy Pants.

“Fancy Pants has to be the Werewolf King, and if not he is at the very least a werewolf. If he’s not the king, than the other pony. Either way, the most players the King can kill in one turn is three. So, if the next round we all stick together and protect the Prince, then we win.”

For Fluttershy, only one part of this game felt any bit important at all, and that was playing and winning with Cerb. Before she could go on, she had to know what she had missed.

“What happened? Where’s Justin?”

In a sign of respect, Rutherford bowed his head to honor the fallen Holy Knight.

“Devil Dog move slow. Tell me go ahead. Hunt. Then he ambushed.”

Just as upset, Smolder crossed her arms.

“I knew Soarin’ was a werewolf. That’s why I let him lead me away. Spike only had enough materials to make one small anti-werewolf potion that could poison any werewolf that attacked the player who drank it, then he gave it to me. Said he would protect me, because that’s the manly thing to do… So, now I’m winning this for him. That's how I survived the last round."

Octavia, turned to Fluttershy, looking frustrated with herself.

"Justin was gone before we made it to him. We didn't know that, so Thunder took the lead. That's when we ran into Fleur. Before she could show us her card, Thunder used her Trip ability. I ran one way. Thunder and Twilight ran another… Then they found the King… Had I explained things faster-"

"That's preposterous," Sir Fancy Pants gruffly replied, cutting off his accusers. "I didn't see any players last round. Neither did Fleur De Lis, as she was with me. We had one last stop to make at the edge of the garden to see some lovely blossoming-"

"I accuse Sir Fancy Pants!" Smolder boomed, immediately pointing the claw at him. "Let's vote!"

Rutherford, Smolder, and Octavia signaled their votes, giving Fluttershy all the confirmation she needed to prevent a tie.

Two votes of innocence against four demanding damnation and Sir Fancy Pants actually laughed, entertained by the outcome.

"Well, I do say. Perhaps I should have been more careful. Good game, chaps. Very well played."

Knowing the rules, Sir Fancy Pants happily trotted into the burning circle, disappeared with the help of Starlight's magic, leaving behind the burning flame of his ceremonial tiki torch, and Starlight to make her announcement.

"Well, this was completely unexpected, but it appears you have been deceived yet again."

"What?!" Fluttershy shouted. "But… Smolder saw him-"

"Nope!" Smolder answered with a proud smile. "I never saw the pony, or Fleur. They really were off smelling the roses."

This didn't make any sense to Fluttershy. It had to be some kind of cheat. Maybe a prank?

"But you could touch silver and had Spike’s potion. How could you do that and still be a werewolf?"

Since there was some time to gloat, Smolder crossed her arms to pose for her victory.

"On the second night, Yona tripped over her hair, for like… the fifth time. Otherwise, she would have been slaughtered by Prince Rutherford."

Rutherford slammed his hoof into the dirt, raising his voice to brag.

"Pony not know this, but yaks best at being King. Not great at being Hunter. Plenty of arrows, but no bow for hunting werewolves."

That was the deception? Rutherford only pretended to be a hunter this whole time?

As the true skill needed for this game became clear, Octavia comforted Fluttershy with a soft hoof on her back.

"My deepest apologies, Fluttershy. I was a werewolf from the beginning. I had to remove as many threats as I could, and Vinyl was, of course, my first target. From there, it was by chance that Prince Rutherford ran into me walking alone."

Proud of his deception, Rutherford laughed boorishly.

"Little music pony try to kill King. Werewolf not allowed to kill other werewolf. Especially if King. Instead, we make team."

It was a fun game to watch, but as things stood, Chris had the distinct pleasure of bringing it to its conclusion.

"They sure ran the board in this game. Unfortunately, with three werewolves and only two travelers with no voting power or attacks… It's kind of a done deal. That's game."

The whole crowd was laughing it up and having a great time. All the easier to allow Celestia to make her way over to congratulate the winners.

"Prince Rutherford, Miss Octavia, and our young delegate Smolder. Congratulations on your stunning victory."

Also happy to give credit where credit was due, Vinyl trotted over and planted a big wet one on Octavia.

"Woo! Look at you, girl. Going the distance and representing Ponyville like a champ." She turned and playfully bumped hips with her mare. "Come on. Luna gave the rest of the bat ponies the night off and they wanna party with us."

Having a good laugh over the game, Octavia and Vinyl trotted off together, making way for Fancy Pants.

"Twilight, my dear. I sincerely apologize for my performance tonight. And Princess Celestia, your garden is as beautiful as ever. I did my best to enjoy both, but perhaps that ruined the game for some in the end."

Still beaming, Smolder smiled, feeling rather accomplished, but clearly had places to go.

"Well, I'm not mad. I probably wouldn't have won if you hadn't been smelling the roses. The game was fun regardless, but I got to go apologize for killing my friends. I know Spike really wanted to keep me alive and Yona couldn’t believe she got burned by both Peter and me."

She started to run off, but after only a few steps, stopped and abruptly turned back to Twilight.

"You raised one great dragon, Princess. Thanks."

Another latecomer, Rarity came to grab her mare as well. Funny enough, despite losing, Rarity was looking to be in good spirits.

“Oh, dearie. I heard you were one of the last two to make it. Such a shame we were so ill-prepared. Now let’s get you a drink and turn that frown upside down. The Lunar Guard have taken over the afterlife party in the most surprising of ways.”

Not to downplay the outcome of the night’s event, Rarity also bowed to Rutherford.

“It was a pleasure, Prince Rutherford. So much so that Justin says he owes you a drink for pulling a fast one on him.”

Vinyl had borrowed a few phones and started her DJ magic. Needless to say, the music was a hit, playing all genres at random. The bat ponies had been given free access to an open bar so the party was lively, to say the least.

Fluttershy walked in, surprised to see everyone getting into it.

"What did I miss?"

Rarity led her in deeper, happy to explain.

"Well, after those of us who died or escaped ended up here, Vinyl wanted to hear some more music, then we started having drinks and Kelly felt terrible about the bat ponies. Justin had also promised to make it up to them for missing out on the Post-War-Party Party, so she offered to get it started for him.”

Sure enough, one quick look around the room and Fluttershy found Cerb sitting among a large group of bat ponies. It looked as if the others had small groups of their own.

It was charming to see him so engrossed with whatever they were discussing. Laughing it up, making goofy gestures… it was like looking at him finally settled in and living a normal life with friends.

"Justin's not upset that we lost, is he?"

Rarity blew raspberries, overly amused toward the question.

"Not even the slightest. He couldn't believe how silly he was, never to catch on that Rutherford was playing him the whole time. Or that all the others ganged up on him and that Octavia led him into a trap."

All in all, despite how things went, It was a fun evening, and not even Rarity could deny that.

"I was upset at first, getting voted out after the first round… Buuuut, as other players came in, telling of how they lost, it became a joke of who died in the funniest or most pathetic of ways. Well… except for Gruff, but when has he ever been happy?"

Sitting between Rainbow and Midnight, the group was listening to Shining explain some of the differences between the Lunar and Solar Guard.

"No, that's a very common misconception. Bat ponies vision is just as good as any other ponies in the day. They do have the advantage of better ultraviolet light vision at night, but being nocturnal, most have difficulty staying on day shifts."

Picking up on that note, Aster added some insight from her own experience.

"It's also not that we bat ponies can't have day routines. We do sometimes get headaches when we try to get acclimated to the sun, but all the extra lights and colors can be a bit much at first. It's not that much different from some ponies joining the Lunar Guard and having sleeping issues or suffering from Night Gloom."

Again, Shining took over, having experience of his own to share.

"I had this happen to me before. Being the captain of the guard, I had to coordinate and lead both the Lunar and Solar. To better utilize my Lunar ponies, I took three months to work on their schedule."

A few bat ponies took particular notice of his recanted story. A touch of pride and comradery spiking in his voice.

"The first night wasn't so bad, but day after day for the next few weeks I just kept getting more and more tired. After the first month is when the Night Gloom set in. I was just constantly feeling down and my work got sloppy. Mostly because I had trouble sleeping."

Joining the group, Benny had a comment on that.

"Your circadian rhythm was thrown off. Happens to sailors all the time when they get stuck on night watch. Something about the body not understanding why the sun isn't out. Ends up confusing the brain and your sleep cycle."

Midnight nodded with an agreeable grunt.

"I've seen it happen to my kind when they had to take classes or training during the day. We called it Sun Exhaustion."

Far be it for Becky’s curiosity to not get the better of her.

“So, I could tell you weren’t blind, though I’m kinda surprised you don’t have night vision… Do you at least have echolocation or super hearing?”

Aster happily leaned back into the conversation for this question.

"It's not so much that we have better hearing, it's more that we can visualize certain sounds. That's what gives us our echolocation. If we close our eyes and focus, it's like seeing a texturless world without color. Some will say the world becomes black with a silver lining, others say a dark purple and anything that moves becomes brighter or white."

Again, Shining gave his insight on the standing on the bar ponies.

"Their ability to detect motion in the dark is why they stay on the Lunar Guard. They provide a far more valuable service that our Solar Guard can't do without complex spells that frankly don't work as well."

While the conversation was enlightening and enjoyable, Rutherford joined the group to make good on Cerb's offer.

"Ha! Devil Dog friend not win all games. Now yaks and humans even."

Thankfully, Cerb could see Rutherford was joking around. All the more reason to like the big guy.

"You got me good, Prince. Now, come on. Have a seat. I wanna hear who had the funniest reaction when you got 'em."

Sniff, surrounded by a plethora of ladies, a feat not hard to accomplish since arriving, found himself the center of attention for more royals than he ever expected. Together, the Arabians, Abysasians, Ember, Celestia, Luna, and Kelly as another requested party, took part in a stimulatingly industrious conversation. A conversation Queen Abysasian had carried over from earlier that day.

“Peter, I assure you, I have seen many creatures, not only ponies, that have dawned many styles of attire. Even the styles from the likes of your friend Rarity have been noticed for their quality, but it was not until seeing such fashion on you and your human friends did we consider reaching out to acquire such styles. It was only when noticing Ember’s dress was another creation of Rarity’s brought on by the inspiration you gave her, and then the compliments you noticed with what we wore last night, well we simply must have you involved with this arrangement.”

Of course, Peter was no stranger to flattery. He practically rewrote the metaphorical book on the subject matter, so it was easy to notice where this was likely going. All things considered, if he was to help with this trade deal, he was being asked for all the wrong reasons.

“Well, I do appreciate the consideration, your highness. Rarity and I were already planning on working together on a few more projects. However, the real issue here is going to be the logistics.”

That was indeed true, and one of the parties needed wasn’t there to offer his solutions, though Celestia could share them in the meantime.

“Prince Rutherford was interested in the expansion of their trading, so transporting such goods would be beneficial to them. Their issue, however, was increasing food production, which Lord Gestal said the griffons could easily handle by a simple rotation of their crops.”

There was another problem to take into consideration, and it was one that Princess Amira had high aspirations towards.

“Equestria in many ways is very self-sufficient to cover their basic needs. However, when it comes to textiles, no nation can compete with Saddle Arabia in both quality and quantity. Such clothing, as amazing as you all have worn tonight, will need the finest and fabric that only we can provide.”

Another great solution, yet one bump in the road still needed to be smoothed out before any agreements could be finalized, and the problem circled back around to the Abysasians wanting Sniff.

“The only thing standing in the way of our new trading agreements is establishing the final product it seems you have essentially cornered the market in.”

While not exactly having found her way into the trading yet, Ember knew she was partially the catalyst for the whole ordeal.

"Twilight, your Peter gave Rarity the insight to create clothes for every race of our nations that were in the display of power. We all agree that we felt comfortable in them and shockingly accepted them on each other. If he can do the same thing for the Abysasians with inspiring Rarity, this whole thing can go through."

Having been so helpful, Sniff couldn't leave Ember out of the action.

"You know, Ember, for some of the higher-end clothing, I'm sure Rarity and I could use some of the fine gems your country exports. Maybe even help model a few pieces for us."

With all the talk of business and trade, Kelly started to realize how little she has done herself. Thus, what better place there and what better time than now to make something of herself.

"You know, I could probably help with other goods your countries sell. I have a few year’s worth of experience selling merchandise from other countries.”

And that was the perfect segway for Sniff to make his exit.

“Well, then,” He merrily announced to the group as he stood up. “It sounds like we have a lot to talk about, but this afterlife party is stopping on its own.”

He took his drink and quickly downed what little he had left. This got all of their attention, wondering what he was about to suggest.

“Ladies, as much as I would love to stay for the rest of this party and talk economics, I suggest we reconvene tomorrow. Fashion, supplies, production, distribution, and maybe a little local advertisement with Kelly to get this new deal all in order. As for now, Princess Twilight and I have some plans to finalize for tomorrow. Mostly personal affairs, but I’m sure you all understand.”

Sniff’s departure was a disappointing moment for everyone there, but he knew how to make a departure pleasant. Giving each Princess a kiss on the cheek and a hug almost as strong as theirs back in return. Even Celestia didn't fight the affection very well, though a strong blush was embarrassing for her to try to hide. Unlike Luna who seemed accustomed to such pleasantries.

"Have a wonderful night you two," Luna sweetly said, bidding them farewell. "We expect to see you back tomorrow morning."

Somewhere between her first post-assassination drink, and the many that followed, Cadance was feeling utterly fantastic. It was the same drunk she felt the same kind of drunk she did at the human’s welcome party. Much of it had been her nerves driving her to drink, but how could she stop herself when one side of her was her Shining getting closer with Becky, and on the other was Cerb for her to get closer.

However, it was getting late, Cerb was busy to the point it would be rude to interrupt, and she still had Shining all to herself for the time being.

The bat ponies were loving him and Becky anyway. They could have them tonight, she and Shining would have them in the Crystal Empire.

"Shining, dear. I'm getting a little tipsy and this love in the air is really making me want to love on you more."

Those words were most certainly spoken out loud, and like any good friend, Becky was there to step in.

"Woah, okay now. How about Rainbow and I help you both to your room. I have a long day tomorrow anyway."

A quick apology for the delay. I really wanted the art to be released with this, as it would be the first with Chris, but I don't know what happened, to be honest. When it gest completed, I'll add it to here, as well as release a blog with the art and any other updates.

Thank you for your continued support. Now onto the end of chapter review.

So, I intentionally left much of the rules of the game to be understood as it was played. The best part of the game is misleading who you're playing with. A werewolf claiming to be a hunter, a super hunter pretending to be vulnerable, or an important player pretending to be one a werewolf wouldn't have to bother with. Even little things to have to watch out for, like a thief stealing your goods, or an assassin merking folks because she didn't know how to find her target added a new layer of complexity of who to trust.

Regardless, it seems those that lasted the longest had a pretty good time, just like those who died early got to enjoy the Afterlife party. Also, I didn't want the victory to go towards the most cliched character types that always win, and I hope it kept you guessing on who was what... and maybe someday I'll put out a breakdown of all the cards that were available. Some could have been very helpful, but they ended up dying too fast.

Actually, the Afterlife Party turning Bat-Pony Party came a bit late in the development but was as good of a time any to let those little fruit suckers let loose and chillax for a while.

Also, it seems the human's influence is still growing. Although its becoming hard to say who wants them for their time, and who wants them for their legit talents. At the very least, which talents it is they are looking to secure.

Unlike Twilight... We know what she wants everything. Unlike Cadance and Shining, who don't really know what it is that they want, but wow, do they ever want it.

How will the night with Twi and Sniff end? What's going to happen with Cadance, Shining, Becky, and Rainbow when they go upstairs? Any other questions I should ask? Oh, well. You'll have to read about it next week in: