Page 900 - Party Prep

And that’s The Sonic Rainboom! And the 900 page milestone!

This was the episode I’d been worrying about from the beginning, 899 pages ago. Once it was clear this comic was going to get off the ground, there were a number of “staple” episodes that I knew I would have to cover someday. The Sonic Rainboom was at the top of that list. I had to do this episode at least some kind of justice. I hope I did as much as a D&D-based screencap webcomic can.

I’ve probably imagined this reinterpretation of events about ten different ways, and people in the comments have imagined five more. But the funny thing about writing: Even if you have a story event that’s essential to your vision and can never be removed, a lot can change around it on your way there. Whatever my first idea for this episode was, it certainly wasn’t “Rarity intentionally risks her life to give Rainbow Dash a chance to shine but the DM is skeptical about the physics so it all comes down to a natural 20 but not a single natural 20 but not an astronomically lucky four in a row either.”

Anyway, some guest comics will follow, primarily a long and unusual arc from DragonTrainer, the One Piece Grand Line 3.5 author. And after that… The Best Night Ever!

DM: Rainbow Dash is awarded a golden crown and carried off like a rockstar.
Rainbow Dash: Wooo!
DM: And that is the merciful end of our session.
Rarity: Forgive me, one last thing… Is there any chance we could peek into the future and know if Rarity is going to be punished by the Guild? Have I lost my ticket or saved it?
DM: Well… In the following days, you don’t receive any messages from the Guild. Probably because you’re still blacklisted and all.
Rarity: Didn’t stop them from strong-arming me in the first place.
DM: But even that amount of contact was a risk.
Rarity: …Are you saying it could all have been a bluff?!
DM: Could’ve been, probably not. But to actually answer your question: When you reach out to your contacts as your alias Dainty Dove, they assure you that the status of your ticket is still secure.
Rarity: So mission accomplished. If there was ever a mission to begin with.
Fluttershy: Is that it, then? That’s all six of us.
DM: Let’s see. Rarity has an alias. Twilight discovered a lost tomb. Applejack is Cherry Jubilee’s plus-one. Fluttershy facilitated a hurricane. Pinkie held an epic Bard face-off. Rainbow Dash obliterated a competition. That seems like six to me.
Pinkie Pie: Does that mean next time we’ll finally finally finally finally FINALLY go to the Grand Galloping Gala?
DM: Hmm, I dunno. I WAS considering starting a totally unrelated mini-campaign that lasts three or four sessions…
(stare)
DM: I’m kidding. The Gala is next.
Fluttershy: Woohoo!
Rarity: At long last!
Twilight Sparkle: We all did it!
Applejack: About dang time.
DM: You’re telling me. Now, who wants to help me clean up?
Pinkie Pie: Not it!