A/N: Nice to see you all again this week. I've got to warn you that this is actually kind of a long chapter (over 2600 words, so we're getting back to how it was in chapters 2 and 3) and there's no role-playing in it, so if you're here just for the D&D stuff then you'll have to come back in another week or two. I recommend that you read this chapter anyway, but, you know, whatever you want to do is fine.

Chapter 7

With Friends Like These...

Canterlot was truly a place of beauty; its ivory towers reached ever upward, decorative columns stood proudly on either side of doorways like ever-vigilant guards and the countless stairs and white stone pathways made it a lovely labyrinth to get lost in. This was the capital city of Equestria, the home of Princess Celestia herself, and the country's center of art and learning for a very good reason.

Up one of the many stairways of one of the many towers climbed two ponies. The first was a thin, white unicorn colt with a short, silver mane. His partner was a frail-looking filly of a pegasus with a bright pink coat and white mane that partly covered her face. They took their time as they ascended the stairs, chatting away as they did so.

"I can't believe the new source books are based on Critical Roller's stories," the colt said. He chuckled a bit before continuing, "I mean, his writing has always been so... so... Oh, dash it all. What's the word I'm looking for?"

The filly answered, "How about 'Brilliant'. You know, half of Canterlot's book clubs have started writing to get him to put out another novel. I've no idea what they think it'll be about, but I have faith that it'll be at least as good as his last one."

The unicorn scoffed, "Oh, yes, his last book. Don't get me started on THAT. How often did he rely on that Queen Solaria Deus ex Machina rubbish? I mean, it almost reads like a love letter to the princess it happens so often. Don't get me wrong, loyalty to our beloved ruler is one thing, but it does get a tad repetitive after a while."

His partner giggled a little. She flapped her wings and flew a few steps up from him before landing and asking, "Aye? What gentlecolt in his right mind wouldn't write love letters to the princess? Especially one with C.R.'s mastery of the language. You have to admit that for a nerd, he's quite the bard."

"Don't get me started on bards," he smirked. The two then shared a laugh before continuing their walk. "You know, if it weren't for us..."

"Hush, you," she interrupted him, "You know darn well that he was gonna be a great writer anyway. Besides, it's not like you ever did anything but sing that silly Freedom Colt song. How'd it go again?"

The colt smiled, took a deep breath and began to sing...

"And we dive into eternity, facing destiny, and we fly away eternally, forever riding free!" Pinky sang loudly as climbed out of her bathtub. Before she could continue, she burst out giggling as Gummy tried to nibble on her hoof. The pink pony placed her pet alligator on the edge of the tub before shaking herself dry and prancing out the door. With her pet following, she traveled downstairs to the bakery she lived over and could see Twilight Sparkle waiting in front of the counter.

"Oh, there you are," said Twilight, "Hello, Pinky. I just wanted to let you know that Roller wants to continue the game in two days. Is that alright with you?"

Pinky greeted her friend, "Hi, Twilight! I'd love to play with you guys again, but I have to check whether or not I'm supposed to close the shop that day first. Hold on."

The pink pony disappeared through the door to the kitchen, leaving Twilight alone in the shop. A few seconds later, she returned humming another melody. "Good news!"She cheered, "I've got the night off, so I can play with you guys. Ooh, and I've been practicing a new song since last night."

Twilight smiled and told her friend, "That's great, Pinkie," before asking, "Um, where did you even hear these songs anyway? I didn't think you were into that kind of music."

"Oh, I listen to everything," Pinkie answered, "A few years ago I kind of went through this 'swords and sorcery' phase so I listened to a lot of power metal and I guess some of it kind of got stuck in my head. Sometimes I still listen to it with Gummy when he's acting up."

Twilight laughed quietly to herself as she tried to picture her friend in one of the armored saddles that were so popular in fantasy art. "I didn't know you were ever into fantasy," she said, "I mean, that's a little rand..." she then remembered who she was talking too, "Um, never mind. See you at the Hobby Horse in two days?"

"You know it!" Pinkie replied as her friend walked out the door.

"Anyway, it was totally lame," Rainbow Dash was talking to Applejack, "I copied everything from that book down perfectly and I STILL missed with my first swing. Totally uncool."

Applejack lifted two baskets of apples onto her back. She started walking back to her family's barn as she replied, "Rainbow Dash, as interesting as you think this here conversation is, if'n you ain't gonna help then could you just go home? Some ponies around here got work to do."

Just then, the two could see Twilight coming down the road. "Ah, there's a hard-workin' pony now!" Applejack said cheerfully, "Hey, Twigh. You wanna help pick some apples?"

Twilight Sparkle shook her head, "Sorry, I'm a little busy today," she then turned to the pegasus, "Dash, Roller wants to meet again in two days. Can you make it?"

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked, "We already beat the monsters. Doesn't that mean we win? What kind of game takes more than one night to play?"

"Uh, well, if ya'll are just gonna chat then I suppose I'll just get back to work," the farmer told her friends. Applejack walked away from the other two and into the barn. When she came back out, she could here the rest of the others' conversation.

"Well, we didn't find any of the lost ponies and we didn't find out what the monsters are organizing for," Twilight explained, "Does that sound like we're done to you?"

Rainbow dismissively waved a hoof, "So what if we didn't? No problem for me. Why should I care about a bunch of pretend ponies in an imaginary world?"

"Alright," the unicorn shrugged her shoulders, "but if you don't complete the quest then that means you lose." Twilight turned to walk away, but only took a few steps before she heard her feathered friend's voice.

"I hate losing," Rainbow muttered just loud enough to be herd. She flew in front of Twilight and pointed a hoof in her face, challenging, "You name the time and place and Reyna Anne Thunder will stomp baddies in it!"

Applejack cracked a smile and snickered, "Reyna Anne Thunder? What kind of a half-baked name is...?"

"It's an awesome name!" Rainbow cut her off. Applejack laughed a bit before getting back to work and Twilight nodded.

"We're meeting again in two days when the shop closes," she informed the flying pony, "Don't be late."

"I won't be," Rainbow Dash answered with a competitive look in her eyes. She flew off into the clouds as Twilight got back on the road to leave. Applejack wasn't sure of what was going on, but figured that it must have been a better game than she had been led to believe if it got somepony that riled up.

Fluttershy was standing perfectly still, draped in rich-looking fabrics that were woven into a fanciful jacket. Atop her head sat a large, somewhat silly hat that seemed as though it could fall off at any moment. Next to the quiet pony with a series of pins clenched in her teeth was Rarity, who was very focused on the clothes her friend was wearing.

"Now, Fluttershy," Rarity said, "Try not to move even the single smallest muscle while I work my magic. The next big pony in the music business from Canterlot is coming here to get some new clothes soon and I need to make sure this looks good, no, great... Fabulous even!"

Flutttershy gulped and in a trembling voice asked, "Wh-who's coming? Is it Sapphire Shores again or someone new?"

Putting a needle in place, the white unicorn answered, "A new pony. He's some rising star that showed up in the media a few months ago, but apparently he's been singing in Canterlot for years. I think his name is A Capella or something. I heard that he does a lot of musical theater. Now, stop talking for a quick second or I might miss."

The pegasus shut her eyes tight and tried not to think about the very sharp object that Rarity was putting very close to her skin. Suddenly, a bell sounded as the door to the Carousel Boutique opened and the sound caused her the flinch. "Ouch!" Fluttershy cried out as she felt the prick of a misplaced pin.

"Oh, sorry," Rarity apologized, "But, I did tell you not to move. Now, wait here while I see who just came in."

Rarity trotted out of the back room and into the lavishly decorated main floor of her shop. "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique," she greeted, "Where everything is chic, unique and... Oh! Hello Twilight."

Twilight Sparkle let the door shut behind her as she greeted back, "Hey there, Rarity. I'm looking for Fluttershy, but when I went to her cottage she wasn't there. Have you seen her?"

Rarity gestured for her friend to follow. "She's in the back, helping me with a new design," she told her. The two went into the back room and surely enough, there was Fluttershy plucking a pin out of her shoulder.

"Hello, Twilight," greeted the quiet pony, "Do you need something? I'm a little busy helping Rarity today."

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that Roller invited us back to his place to continue the game in two days. Do you think you'll be able to make it?" Twilight asked.

Rarity was taken back a bit, "You mean you actually went to talk to Critical Roller?" She seemed shocked, "After the way he acted? Twilight, I thought you knew better than to associate with that kind of stallion."

"You mean the kind of stallion that writes two best-sellers and an award-winning series?" Twilight asked rhetorically, "Rarity, I know that he was rude, but we DID break into his house. I mean, how would you handle that?"

The white unicorn said nothing and just went back to her work. Fluttershy on the other hand gave Twilight a nervous look and told her, "I, um, don't know. I mean, that game is kind of sc-scary. Isn't it?"

Twilight asked again, "Come on, Fluttershy. It's just a game and aren't you curious about where he gets all his stories from?"

"What would that have to do with a game?" Rarity asked, putting her pins down. Fluttershy let out a relieved sigh when she saw the sharp implements being placed in a cushion. "Exactly what kind of games are you playing?" Rarity continued her questioning, now taking several steps towards Twilight.

Fluttershy answered, "It's Horses and Heroes. You know, that role-playing game? We played for a few hours last night, but I didn't know that's where his stories came from."

The white unicorn felt her jaw drop and her eyes widen. She looked to Fluttershy, then back to Twilight. Shaking her head, she tried to regain her composure. Soon, she was able to talk again, "Horses and Heroes? THAT'S the game you're talking about? THAT'S where he got Beopony from? You must be joking."

Twilight shrugged, "Afraid not. Is that a problem, Rarity? What's wrong? You look a little pale."

Rarity used her magic to levitate a book from a desk on the other side of the room to where her and Twilight were standing and told her, "I refuse to believe that such a recluse could write such a story. I mean, listen to this," she opened to a random page...

… and she began to read.

Horsecules was a large stallion, standing at least a head taller than any other pony they had seen before. His coat was the dull orange of autumn leaves and grew very short, allowing them to see the large, well-formed muscles just beneath his skin. His mane and eyes were dark brown, like a rich chocolate or tree bark. When he walked the ground seemed to move beneath the weight of his step and when he spoke the deep baritone of his voice could be felt vibrating deep in the chest of those that listened. The first words that Beopony and Robin Hoof heard from him were, "I'll help get the princesses out of there, even if I have to carry them out."

Suddenly, she trailed off and stopped reading.

"Rarity?" Twilight Sparkle tried to get her friend's attention, but she seemed to be lost in thought. A glum smile was over the fashionista's face and her eyes were shut loosely in daydream. A look to Fluttershy showed Twilight that she was in a similar condition. Twilight tried again, "Guys?"

"Yes, Horsecules?" her two friends asked in unison, still lost in pleasant delusions. Twilight took several steps back, toward the door. Before leaving, she asked, "Fluttershy, are you going to be at Roller's place in two days? After it closes?"

Fluttershy blushed as she answered, "I'll be where ever you want me to be. Just tell me again about your fur looking like autumn leaves. Please?"

Rarity giggled like a schoolgirl, "Yes, or how you're going to rescue us from the Neverfree Woods." Both her and her model let out a dreamy sigh. Twilight didn't ask any further questions, she just left.

The sound of the door closing snapped Rarity back to her senses. She stood up straight with a sudden, jerking motion and looked around. "Oh, um, how embarrassing," she blushed, "Well, at least nopony was around to see that."

"Yeah," Fluttershy was still lost in her daydreams, "Nopony around to see us."

Rarity was about to shake her friend out of her dreaming, but then realized that for the first time all day Fluttershy wasn't shaking. "Well, this makes everything a lot easier," she commented, "Um, Fluttershy, keep thinking about whatever you're thinking about while I do what I do best. Seriously, don't move. Oh, and don't think about how you just agreed to play with Roller again either."

Fluttershy snapped to attention, "I did wha...? OUCH!" another pin found its way into her side. Rarity quickly pulled it out and sighed. "Ah, well," the unicorn was disappointed, "That almost worked."

A/N: That's about it for this chapter. This is actually one of the longest chapters I've done in a while, so tell me what you think of that. Seriously, let me know what's on your mind, fillies and gentlecolts. See you next week!