Eight Star had taken his place at the head of the table, with the other ponies surrounding him. The small box lay open in the center of the table. Within it were several faintly glowing dice. He spoke to Twilight Sparkle. "If you would, please, give each die to one of your friends. I'm afraid the dice you currently possess won't work for my version of this game."

As Twilight levitated the new dice with her magic, she asked, "How is this game different from 'Ponies and Perils'? Will we need to make new characters?"

Eight Star, while reading over the campaign notes that Twilight had left behind her screen, replied, "It's not that much different… Just…better. It's a game that I invented myself with all new creatures, classes, and character races." He thought for a moment. "In fact if you don't mind, Miss Peril Master, perhaps I'll continue your campaign. I very much like it."

Twilight smiled. "That's fine. And you don't have to call me 'Peril Master.' It's simply 'Twilight Sparkle'." She went around the table nodding to each of her friends in turn, "This is Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie." Each of the ponies spoke a greeting to the newcomer.

"Howdy."
"Hey."
"Hello there."
"Um, hello."
"Hiya!"

"Pleased to make all of your acquaintances," Eight Star replied with a hint of disinterest. Twilight simply chalked it up to his being distracted by reading her notes. After a few moments, the self-proclaimed sorcerer looked up from behind the screen. "I've settled on character classes for each of you. You'll all be starting as Tier 4, Level 30 characters. It only seems fair. Now listen carefully, which of you is 'Grim Jaw?'"

Pinkie Pie raised her hoof. "That's me!" She jutted her lower jaw and made a 'grim' expression on her face to illustrate.

"Excellent. Your character will be changed from a Barbarian, which in my game is a mere Tier 3 class, to a 'Berserker'.

Pinkie Pie threw her hooves up in excitement. "Woo hoo!"

Then Eight Star went through the other characters similarly: Applejack/Princess Bravely would become a Temple Knight, Rainbow Dash/Magic Fire would become a Pyromancer, Rarity/Sing Song would remain a Bard, albeit a more specialized Bard, and Fluttershy/Silent Night would become a Dungeon Runner.

Twilight glanced around sheepishly. "Uh, Eight Star? I don't have a character sheet. What can I be?"

Looking around the library, Eight Star commented, "This is your house, correct? I believe that you would make an excellent Apprentice character…" He gave Twilight a sly smile. "Would you like to be a High Mage?"

Twilight's eyes almost lit up at the thought, but she remembered that it was only a game and calmed down some. But the way he said it… "That sounds feasible," was her reply.

"Excellent. If you wait a few seconds, Miss Twilight, I'll have a character sheet for you." Eight Star looked at the rest of the ponies. "And if you five don't object, we'll get started." He grinned. "I'm good at multitasking."

As he looked down at Twilight's Character sheet, Twilight heard him speak. "What would you like your name to be, Miss Twilight Sparkle?" It felt to her like recalling a memory, but the fact that she didn't do it herself caused her to leap back from the table, and also causing her friends to give her confused glances. She looked around the table, and heard Eight Star speaking, although it sounded as if her ears were stuffed with cotton. "Please, if there aren't any more interruptions, let us continue. Miss Applejack, would you like to speak to the Princess?" She then heard the sorcerer speaking in her mind again. "Your first time with telepathy, Miss Twilight? I know it can be a bit…unsettling…at first. Just let your mind relax. I'll do the hard work…" She also thought she heard what sounded like chuckling in her mind.

Twilight could hear Applejack speaking and Eight Star replying to her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Just let your mind relax, Twilight. That's what Eight Star said…

"Excellent. Now, what would you like your character's name to be?"

"I hadn't really thought about it… How about…"

"I apologize for not having told you sooner, my little heroes. The revelation that the Cult of Discord is behind this is disturbing." Princess Celestia paced back and forth in her throne room. "Surely, I thought that the Element Bearers had sealed away Discord forever… I know exactly what this 'Cult of Discord' is."

"Then tell us!" Magic Fire interjected.

The Princess sighed. "There are those ponies among us who wish nothing more than for the reign of Discord to begin anew." She seethed, "Although, for the life of me, I don't understand why…" Seeing the heroes standing before her, she quickly composed herself. "Knowing that they are now organized enough to have a name, and that they possess magical powers as you have explained…it causes me great alarm. You must purify the Elements of Harmony and stop this cult immediately! Purifying the Element of Generosity is only the first step."

"May I enter now?" A small voice chimed in from somewhere outside the room.

"Ah, yes. You may enter." As the large throne room door creaked open, the Princess turned to the heroes. "This quest may be too much for you five alone, so I have sent for my greatest and most faithful student to assist you." At that moment, a purple unicorn, dressed in the robes of a wizard complete with bells on the hem, entered the room. "Ladies, meet Twilight Shine."

Princess Bravely sniggered, but for the most part maintained her composure.

Magic Fire was not so couth.

Rainbow Dash guffawed. "'Twilight Shine'? Really? Leave it to you to pick the least original name ever!"

Twilight blushed and glanced down sheepishly. "Well… It was the best I could think of…"

Rarity tried to comfort her friend. "There, there. It's not a terrible name… Really."

Applejack nodded. "Yeah! We'll always know which character ya'll have! Like RD is one ta' talk anyway... 'Magic Fire'? Oohh…"

"And what's wrong with my name…Princess..?" Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack.

"Please… Let's not fight…" Fluttershy sank down almost under the table.

Suddenly, the six mares heard the same voice in their heads. It was, of course, Eight Star. "Now, ladies… Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we? Where were we? Ah, yes…"

The five heroines, having recovered from their giggle fit, introduced themselves.

Grim Jaw puffed out her chest and beat on it with a hoof. "Me Grim Jaw!"

"Don't mind her. She doesn't talk like that all the time. I'm Princess Bravely." Bravely bowed slightly.

Silent Night nodded a greeting and smiled.

"Ooh, I love the bell- I mean…I'm Sing Song. I will…um…sing songs for your pleasure, or if you're in need of any assistance."

"And I'm Magic Fire. I'm an awesome Pyromancer, just bein' awesome. With an awesome name."

Applejack and Rarity glared at Rainbow Dash, who sheepishly grinned and chuckled. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."

After leaving the throne room, the heroines were given leave to speak amongst themselves. Princess Bravely spoke first: "So which element should we purify next? I almost wanna say that we should all go purify each element itself so we can complete the Princess's task that much quicker."

Twilight Shine interjected. "We can't split the party! Besides, you all almost died when fighting the Diamond Dogs and the Rarimander!"

The others stared at the High Mage, dumbfounded.

"'Rarimander'? Was that the boss? And how did you know we almost died?" Rarity asked as if she didn't get the reference to the "Rari-mander", which she didn't.

Twilight shrank back for a moment. "Ohmigosh! I…I guess I shouldn't know that stuff, right…?" She let her head fall to the table with a resounding "thud".

Eight Star chuckled. "No need to worry Miss Twilight. We all make mistakes. Nopony's Perfect. We'll just all assume that you heard the characters talk about it while you stood outside the throne room. Moving on…"

"Right," Grim Jaw agreed. "No split party."

"Thank you Pi- I mean, Grim Jaw," Shine stated.

"Well, if we're all done introducing ourselves, we should really get going," Bravely commanded. "These Elements aren't going to purify themselves."

The others nodded in agreement. Magic Fire took this time to ask, "So…which one should we do first?"

Shine replied, "We should start with the Element of Betrayal. It's what I ha-"

Twilight facehoofed. "Nuts! I almost did it again. I'm sorry, you guys."

Eight Star lowered his hood for the first time since joining the game, revealing a horn. "It's quite alright, Miss Twilight. I'm used to players who think out of character. I've already planned for it. You may attempt to purify the Element of Betrayal if you wish." He smiled slyly.

"Um…is it okay if I reveal the background, then?" Twilight asked.

The crimson unicorn smiled. "Of course… It was your campaign."

Shine stood facing the rest of the group. "Uh… Th-" Her face suddenly lit up as an idea came to her. "The Princess has revealed to me that she believes that the Element of Betrayal would resonate the most in Cloudsdale, as the previous wielder of the Element of Loyalty was born there." She grinned.

"Well then!" Bravely replied. "Let's get going!"

Rarity suddenly sniffed the air. "Does anypony smell that? Twilight, are you using some kind of air freshener? It smells lovely. I didn't notice it until just now."

Twilight glanced at her friend, slightly confused. "No…I don't have any… It does smell in here. What is that?"

Eight Star smirked. "Do you like it? It's lavender. Mixed with a little something of my own. Just relax and breathe deep…"

Applejack tried to stand, but found that her legs just seemed too weak, "What're you…" Suddenly, she and the rest of the ponies, save for Eight Star, fainted on the spot.

The crimson unicorn breathed a sigh of relief. He had built up a tolerance to his own concoctions years ago. He glanced at each pony in turn. "Sleep well, ladies. You all have a Big day ahead of you."

Then, he began to mutter an incantation. "Soahc rof siht od ew, uoy sdnib hcihw soach eht s'ti. Soahc rof siht od ew, uoy sdnib hcihw soach eht s'ti." As he chanted, the die in front of each pony began to glow brighter and a fine mist travelled from it to each pony, finally enveloping each in a faint, blue glow.