In Ponyville, No One Can Hear You Scream

by Revenant Wings

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Random, Adventure, Human
Length: 8494

A virtual reality game based on Equestria goes berserk when a certain purple unicorn finds out she's nothing more than a video game character. The game's director and a few players and sentient NPCs must fight her to gain back control.

Katheryn Barchett is stuck at home for a few days after a major injury and surgery, so her close friend brings her a game based off their favorite TV show. Upon buying the game and a device that lets them enter the fully-interactive world with almost completely sentient NPCs, she takes a liking to an NPC based on one of her favorite characters, Twilight Sparkle. However, a certain unicorn's drive for knowledge takes her to the breaking point; when the game world and the real world begin to become too closely connected, Katheryn must find any available NPC to help contact the game's creator and find a way to stop the train of madness before the bounds of reality and fantasy are completely destroyed.

[Wanted to try out a new genre: Sci-Fi]

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-23 07:10:01 UTC

Part I - December 30, 2021

It was snowing outside the fifteenth floor of Addictive Gaming’s main building on the morning of December 30, 2021.  Mark Wellington watched the little white flakes as they danced and swirled in the morning sun, taking their time before settling on the ground and becoming lost in a sea of snow.  The same was true of the crowd of people standing at the gates to the company’s grounds, bustling by and wandering through the streets as some became swallowed in the growing mass of bodies clamoring to be let in.

To Mark, however, the crowd outside the gates was merely another day like it had been in January of the previous year, when his company’s glorious invention – the Complete Visual Immersion Device – had first hit the shelves of the store on the company building’s ground floor.  A specialized headset designed to immerse the wearer in whatever game they were playing in both sight and feeling, the C-VID revolutionized gaming and brought Mark Wellington and his indie gaming company into mainstream media; over one million headsets were sold within six months of its release.

Tragedy had struck soon when, the past June, a person using the C-VID was attacked by another player – something that was allowed to happen on selected servers – and ended up in a coma due to the majority of his consciousness being inside the game – something that was most definitely not allowed to happen.  Mark and his company took all the steps they could to try and placate the family – paying for hospital bills, compensating in hundreds of thousands of dollars for the loss – but it wasn’t enough.  A few weeks after Wellington had used company funds to pay the family, a court order came announcing that Addictive Gaming needed to recall the C-VID device until it was fit to run again without causing a coma.  That prospect, of course, was up to debate; Wellington and his friends and workers at the company argued that the device had functioned perfectly with the once exception, but the court wouldn’t hear a world of it.  Mark took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, inhaling for a particularly deep puff as he cursed the legal system for banning his device so quickly yet taking nearly three years to allow Wellington’s company the patent for it.

Wellington was not idle during those years, however, and neither was he inactive now.  His company was already at work on a new game compatible with their signature device, and it was very near to completion.  Sales and profits had decreased dramatically following the C-VID user’s coma as the one hundred fifty dollar device was sent back to the factory and shares of Addictive Gaming’s stock fell dramatically to its lowest point since 2016, when Wellington and two friends had first released a puzzle game under the company’s logo.  Interest was returning, as the crowds streaming through the now open gate could attest, but something needed to be done.

Thankfully, the Research and Development team had gotten to work almost immediately once the report of the device had caused a coma hit shelves.  The first plans for the new device were on Mark’s desk before the recall was even issued, and by October the new design was approved and sent to the factory to create a prototype to show Mark.  Later this same day, Mark would be testing out the device before the factories were given the okay to begin mass production.  The Research team was ready to begin production right away, but Wellington himself had the final say and only he could send the new C-VID design into production and distribution.  Mark knew that every day the Research and Development team sat in their own building with bated breath, waiting patiently but with barely-contained enthusiasm for his impending trial run.  Mark himself shared their feelings, taking another puff of his cigarette as he waited for a message from the Research and Development’s Head of Operations to send the message that they were ready.

Mark had finished his cigarette and had snuffed it out in the ash tray on his desk when the phone rang.  He didn’t pick up the phone immediately, instead preferring to listen as it rang twice, then stopped and became silent.  It was only when the phone started to ring again did he pick it up.  “Good morning.  This is Mark Wellington’s office.  State your name, position, and rank.”

“Mister Wellington,” came a younger sounding voice on the other end of the line, audibly shaking and speaking very fast.  “This is James from Research and Development, team leader of the C-VID project and assistant manager of the team in charge of Twilight of an Empire.  A prototype of the game has been finished and the C-VID tests are complete.  In order to proceed with both projects, however… we need your approval.”

Mark gasped.  “How long until you are ready?” he asked, calmer than his caller.

“How long until you can make it down here?” the response came almost immediately.

“Within fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll bring one of the carts around for you and we’ll make it ten.  I believe the roads are plowed for our convenience.  Also, do remember to put on a jacket; the winds have picked up in the last five minutes and it’s below freezing outside.  Meet you at the entry on ground floor.”  And he hung up before another word was exchanged.

Mark Wellington set down the phone and walked briskly over to a coat hanger next to the door, grabbing his coat with one and throwing open the door with the other hand.  Walking into the lobby, he turned to a young woman sitting at the desk just outside and stopped for a minute as he fumbled with his sleeves.

“Hold all my calls and any documents sent for review, Donna.  I’ll be over in the Research and Development building for up to an hour.  I’ll take any other important matters when I get back.”

Once the woman had nodded her approval, Mark walked to the elevator on the opposite side and jammed his finger into the button for ground level.  The doors shut and the elevator dropped at an astounding rate, slowing down slightly as it reached the second floor and coming completely to an easy stop at the first.  Once at ground level, Wellington stepped out into a large lobby filled with company workers and took a sharp left to a door marked “Garage”.  Pulling his coat tight around him, Wellington was greeted by a blast of frigid air as soon as he opened the door and walked out to where a tan cart was sitting.  A young man with dark brown hair and wearing a white lab coat was sitting at the driver’s side while the engine purred idly.  The young man held out a hand to Wellington, who shook it and hopped in the passenger side as the cart took off into the cold morning.

“How are you doing this morning, sir?” the driver of the cart asked.  “I heard you went to the hospital late last afternoon.  Was it another one of your migraines?”

“I was due for another appointment anyways,” Mark replied over the gusting wind.  “Doctor’s orders are for every three months since the report came in and I had the heart attack.  But, it did it me particularly hard that day.  Ended up having to call my wife to come and pick me up even though she’s due to go into labor any day now.  Otherwise, the report came out fine from the visit but I still have to take it easy.”

“And how have you been doing that lately?”

“A cigarette in the mornings and a shot of whiskey in the evening.”

“Those will kill you faster than running the company will, Mark.”

“And this legal system they have in place will kill me faster than the cigarettes will.  What’s your point, James?”

“All I’m saying is that we still need you around here.  Addictive Gaming wouldn’t be the company that it is if it weren’t for you.  Hell, I don’t think anyone else could have led us through this last crisis or the online gaming slump back in 2019.”

“Now, cut that out!” Wellington snapped, though a smile had formed on his face.  “You’re making me a brighter shade of red than this wind is!”

“Sorry about that, sir,” James replied, face straightening out and becoming more focused.  “We’re nearly there.”

James swiftly turned the car around a corner and shot for the garage at the far side of the Research and Development building.  A camera mounted on a pole noticed their approach; soon a pair of glass doors slid open in front of them and did not shut until the car was parked at a short ramp.  The doors’ closing was followed by a blast of warm air as a few janitors got to work shoveling the snow from the small drift that had entered into a large bin.  Meanwhile, James shut off the cart’s engine and led Mark out of the garage and down a hall to a small lobby where they entered an elevator similar to the one in the main building.  James tapped the button for the fourth floor and the elevator slowly ascended.

“Remind me the changes your department has made to the C-VID device,” Mark asked.  “I’m hoping it isn’t too drastic.”

“It would be better if I were to show you rather than try to explain,” James responded.  “The team is launching a prototype of Twilight of an Empire for you to test the new functions of the device through playing a compatible game.  We also wanted you to test the new Artificial Intelligence system we’ve created, as well as the dual perspective interface we wanted to incorporate.  Of course, none of it will be fully integrated until the final approval from you.”

“Is the game itself complete?”

“More or less.”  The elevator stopped and James continued speaking as they walked across a small room and into a hallway.  “Miranda’s nearly finished with the server changes and the art department is working on some final touches to the scenery, not to mention the debugging team is hard at work ironing out the final kinks.”

“Any ideas as to a completion date?”

“The team leaders and project managers are looking at around late February, possibly as early as the end of January if you wanted to get a few screenshots and recordings for the men in advertising.”

“Good, good.  I’ll need some over there by next week if this testing session goes smoothly enough.”

“It won’t be entirely finished by then,” James said with slight hesitation, “but I’m sure we can pick out a few good scenes from these post-production phases.”

James led Mark through a bright blue door with a gold placard that noted “C-VID Research and Testing Laboratory” and into a room where no less than five people in white lab coats were sitting in front of computers with a device attached to their heads and a controller in their hands.  At least ten others were standing near those with the devices, holding clipboards with varying sheets of paper on which they took detailed notes.  Three more surrounded a few computers set off to the side, perking up when Mark and James entered the room.

A light-haired woman broke off from the group of three and came up to James.  “We have two computers ready for you, sir.  The other testers are perfectly normal and the additions seem to be working as they should.”

“Thank you, Hanna,” James said as he grabbed one of the devices.

Mark took the device from James and looked at it.  The device at its core appeared to be a set of headphones with earpieces that completely covered the ears.  Attached to the right side, coming down from the earpiece, was a small microphone.  On the left earpiece was a switch labeled “ON/OFF”.  Just above each earpiece was a bump that appeared to be made of a soft fabric with a harder plastic interior; a similar bump was found at the very top of the device.  Going from side to side was a thin screen, with thousands of tiny pixels on the inside and a small divot in the center that looked big enough to rest on a nose, braced by a thin but sturdy plastic frame.

“This is the newly improved C-VID device,” James said proudly, poking at the screen at the front of the device.  “There are three major changes we’ve made to the device.  All have been approved by the legal department and comply with the changes required by the government for reissuing of the device.”

“The first is the specialized node at the top of the device.”  James pointed to the fabric bump on the top of the headphones before progressing down towards the two just above the earpieces.  “As before, these two nodes rest on the temples of the player wearing the device, inputting a binaural wavelength that alters the brain patterns to feel whatever the game gives them environment-wise, making them able to taste and touch various items.” James’ finger went back to the node at the top.  “However, to prevent the consciousness from becoming too absorbed in the game as it was for the comatose player, the node at the top here will release a player-specified, one-minute long wavelength that will cancel the effect of the other two nodes out, thus bringing the player back to a normal state.  Times for the pulse are set by the player before the game begins and can be set in five minutes intervals anywhere from five to thirty minutes between pulses.”

“And that will prevent a player from feeling themselves being killed and from thinking they’re dead?” Mark interrupted.

“Correct,” Hanna answered.

“When do you set the pulse time?”

“Once you’ve logged in, there will be a prompt asking you to select the amount of time you want between pulses,” Hanna continued.  “The device will not activate until the timer has been set, and it cannot be set in the middle of play.  To change the timing between pulses, a player has to log out return to that screen before switching it.  The amount of time between pulses is saved every time a player sets the time, and they are prompted to set it every time they log on.”

A chair was brought out from one of the computers and Mark sat down in it, putting the device on his head.  The screen, which Mark originally thought was quite solid, ended up being partially transparent, allowing him to see the screen booting up in front of him.  The three nodes rested gently on his head and soon the feeling of them disappeared as he adjusted his earphones so that they completely covered his ears.  The microphone was a bit short, but Hanna came over and pulled the microphone so that it extended to a few inches away from the center of his mouth.

“Well, it certainly fits more comfortable than the previous design,” Mark commented.

“Glad you think so, sir,” Hanna said as James sat down in his own chair and began to sort out his own device.   Hanna waited until a small prompt came on screen and began typing in numerous commands until the internet had popped up and a welcome screen showed for Addictive Gaming’s website.  Hanna logged herself in as an administrator and began typing in more information before a small window appeared on screen.

“Go ahead and follow the onscreen instructions until it prompts you to go to a server,” Hanna said.  “I’ll get James’ ready during that time.”

Mark slid himself up to the computer, keeping the device on his head.  Next to him was a controller that looked like a standard controller with four individual buttons on the right side, a directional pad on the left, two shoulder buttons, and two analog sticks.  Mark found a message on screen that said “Welcome, M. WELLINGTON.  Please select the amount of time you wish to have between pulses.”  Beneath that was a slider and a layman’s explanation of the third node James had described earlier.  Mark moved the slider up and down a few times as he looked at his options, eventually selecting a thirty-minute time between pulses and proceeded to the next screen.

The next prompt had Mark select the amount of time he wanted to play for.  Hanna was soon over his shoulder.  “This will be so that no one can play too long,” Hanna said.  “There was another family that wanted to sue because their son had contracted heatstroke from sitting there too long, so we added in a timer.  The maximum limit is three hours, and you set that in half-hour intervals.  I’ll explain more about that later, but for now select thirty minutes.  Hopefully that will give James enough time to explain the details inside the game and you’ll see the end result of this.”

Mark complied with the screen and was next prompted to enter a screen name.  Mark simply typed in his first name and was soon directed to a screen with a gloomy hill lit by a fire-red evening sky.  On the hill, there was a sword sticking into the ground, and a castle that stood on the side of a mountain could be seen in the distance behind the sword.  Across the top of the screen, in gold letters with black outline, stood the title: Twilight of an Empire.  In the center of the screen was a small transparent window with a drop-down menu and a prompt: “Welcome, Mark.  Please select your server.”

“Go ahead and select the server labeled ‘United States – East’,” Hanna said.  “It’s the only one we have that is ready to go for the time being.”

Mark selected it from the drop down menu and was brought to the game’s main menu screen, with four buttons: “New Game”, “Load Game”, “Continue”, and “Options.”  All were red with yellow lettering.

“The buttons that are red and yellow are options a player can select before entering the game world,” Hanna said.  “Anything greyed out is unavailable to the player at the time.  I hope you don’t mind, sir, but we went ahead and took the liberty of creating a character for you to begin with.  You may change your look at any time if you would like, being a system administrator.”

“Well,” Mark said with an adventurous smile on his face, “let’s just see what it looks like first, shall we?”

Hanna managed a small, hesitant laugh.  “James is logged in,” she continued as though she never heard him.  “He’s set for forty-five minutes with pulses every fifteen minutes.  Hopefully thirty minutes will be enough for you two to have enough time to look at the game’s functions and test the AI and the C-VID properties.  Do remember your properties that you selected earlier are saved for your profile.”

“Thank you.”

“Now for a third update,” Hanna said.  “Go ahead and select ‘Load Game’ and enter the game world.  With the C-VID not logged on, you’ll see a third-person view of the world.”

Mark did as selected and waited hardly a few seconds before a small village came up on screen.  A map was shown in the bottom right of the screen, a health and magic bar were shown in the top left, and a summary of a current equipment, magic spell, and item were in the bottom left.  Mark himself was equipped with a short-sword, a fireball spell, and a potion in the slots, and was merely at Level 1.  Mark picked up the controller and walked around for a little bit, exploring his new surroundings.  Mark himself was in a black shirt, an unbuttoned black vest, jeans, and brown boots with light skin and brown hair like he had in real life.

“Very nice,” Mark said when he noticed the design of the character.  “Looks just like me when I was younger.”

A small window popped up on screen.  The message on it read “Welcome, Mark.  If you have a C-VID device inserted into your computer, turn it on for a fully-immersive play experience!”

“Go ahead and turn on the C-VID’s power,” Hanna said.

Mark fumbled for the switch a minute and flipped it.  The world in front of him went black and soon opened up so that he was looking at the world as though through the eyes of the character on the screen.  But there was more than that.  There was a small pulse as though something was pushing slightly against his head, then Mark could feel the soft ground underneath his boots.  Without touching a button on his controller, Mark reached for his sword and drew it, sending a hand along the surface of his blade.  It was cool and smooth, as though the sword itself were in his hand instead of the controller.  A soft breeze blew by and Mark could feel it ruffle his hair.

A voice came in through his earphones.  ‘Hanna’s logged you in, I see.’

Mark turned around towards the sound of the voice.  There was James, still in a white lab coat with a white shirt underneath.  He too had pants and boots, but his pants were a lighter blue than Mark’s and James’ boots were black instead of brown.  He held a wooden staff that looked like it had a fake pearl on the top of it, floating a few inches away from the top.  A name, written in green over the top of the player, noted “James – PC”.

‘Absolutely brilliant!’ Mark said.  ‘The C-VID must be working perfectly.  I can feel my own clothes and the sword through the capabilities of your engine and device!  I think we’ll be ready to release this soon if the pulses work.’

‘That’s what we’re waiting for,’ James said.  ‘In the meantime, there are two crucial NPC’s set up for this starter village that we’ll be able to use to test the game and some other mechanics.  For now, let’s start with finding Braeburn.’

‘Sounds like a type of apple more than a fantasy name,’ Mark said as he followed James down an empty street of wood and stone houses.  ‘Who picked the name?’

‘An example of the A.I. system at work’ James said proudly.  ‘Braeburn picked his own name once he realized he could talk with us or not.  He’s been an example of the amount of intelligence the new system will offer if an NPC can choose to name itself.  Of course, while there are the potential problems with renegade NPCs or crucial NPCs that won’t listen to characters, Braeburn himself has been willing to work with us and has even used the message system within the game once or twice to talk with us when we’re not offline about problems he’s found.’

‘His programming can recognize stuff like that!?’ Mark exclaimed.

‘Recognize, but doesn’t know the terms.  Braeburn’s intelligence goes only so far as to know we’re somewhere else and he can use it to communicate with us, but not to the extent that he knows we’re not part of the game itself.  He thinks he’s sending a message to another town.  Neither does he realize that the problems he encounters are bugs; he sees it as some sort of magical interruption.’

‘And there are codes available for all of this?’

‘That cannot be tampered with unless it’s through a system administrator.’

‘Who are the system administrators?’

‘By your choosing, those of us working here in the Research and Development department so that we are able to track down bugs found within the game and able to take care of them here.’

‘That would require more staff, including a team that would take shifts for every server and every manageable time frame.’

‘Will the budget allow it?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Mark said darkly.  ‘The problem will be getting people with all the right qualifications.  Since the online slump, programming and debugging have not been popular fields of work.’

‘I’m sure that opening up a few part-time positions with overlapping time slots would allow for a few jobs to open and may signal.  That and the advanced A.I. that we have in place would allow for us to have the NPCs communicate any problems with us that may arise when exploring.’

‘Are we going to do any exploring ourselves?’

‘Not much outside of this first city.  The beginner’s fighting area is not quite finished; it’s harder trying to keep those enemies from being under- or over-leveled so that a player doesn’t think it too hard.  Ah, and there’s our first target!’

Standing ahead of Mark and James was what looked like an anthropomorphic horse, though with a smaller snout than Mark usually saw on the ranches outside of the city and hands instead of hooves on his arm.  His fur was a light yellow that looked like gold or tan and his slightly long goldenrod mane.  His light green eyes were partially sunken in to his face, while his body was somewhat large and muscular; his rugged and slightly chiseled chest showing through the open western duster he wore.  On top of his head, between his upright pointed ears was a Stetson – the fold on the right side of his head – while his lower half sported a jean and boot combination similar to Mark’s.  Around his waist was a belt from which two pistols hung.

‘What did you say the rating of this game was going to be?’ Mark asked.

‘We’re aiming for a “Teen” rating,” James said.  “No blood is all we need for that, and there’s a large audience of gamers we can reach with that rating.  Not like that bloody Warcraft; its mature rating has kept a fair amount of the audience away recently.  Also, Hasbro specifically said they needed something to market to their surprisingly receptive older audiences.  Fourteen bloody seasons and a fifteenth in progress.’

James stopped talking as they approached the anthropomorphic horse, whose ears perked up as the sound of their footsteps approached.  He took the brim of his hat and bowed it slightly as they approached, a blue name appearing overhead: “Braeburn – NPC”

‘Hey, there,’ the NPC said calmly and coolly as they neared him; his voice thick with a southern accent.  The horse brought up a hand and extended it towards Mark.  ‘The name’s Braeburn.  Welcome to Ponyville.  You must be Mark Wellington.  James told me yesterday you were coming here for a short tour.’

‘Yes.  I was just checking out a few things.  I won’t be staying here long,’ Mark replied, taking Braeburn’s hand; the yellow fur was soft textured beneath his own hand.

‘Still,’ Braeburn replied, releasing his hand.  ‘It’s a pleasure to meet the man I’m working under.’

‘We’re here to check out a few of your functions,’ James said.  ‘Make sure your necessary devices are running fine.  Mark is here to help oversee the operations and make sure everything is moving along as planned.’

‘Well, I’ve got the device you gave me yesterday right here,’ Braeburn said, reaching into a pocket of his pants and pulling out a small device that looked like a PDA and began fiddling around with the screen.  ‘I’m assuming you’ve gotten the handle of moving around here based on the time it took for James to bring you here, so no need to worry about that.  James has also told me you manage a bunch of similar areas, so I don’t think I need to explain the map or health systems… so I suppose I’ll give you your first objective, is that good?’

‘Perfect,’ James said.

‘Well then, let’s bring out your own PDA.  Easily accessible, simply press the up button on the directional pad of the controller to bring up the PDA.  Your PDA will give you easy access to the inventory and your current level of health, in addition to any health problems you might have encountered.’

Mark’s eyes widened for a moment.  ‘I’ve almost forgotten I was in a game,’ he said, chuckling to himself.  The action hardly even registered to him, but he was soon reaching into his pocket and pulling out his own PDA, a little black device about five inches wide and eight inches long with a few options.  A little triangle pointed to an option labeled “Quests”.

‘You should have a little mark on your PDA pointing to the “Quests” label, is that correct?’ Braeburn asked.

‘Yes.’

‘That means the objective has been passed from me to you.  Go ahead and open the message and see what it says.  Go ahead and read it to me so I know the right message got through.’

Mark brought a finger to the screen of the PDA and tapped the “Quests” label, bringing up a small message screen with a single message on it.  Mark tapped the message and the full text appeared on screen.

‘Hello, and welcome to Twilight of an Empire.’ Mark read.  ‘Follow your guide, Braeburn, around the village of Ponyville and get acquainted with the mechanics of the game.’

‘Excellent,’ Braeburn stated.  ‘The message has been sent successfully.’

A notification appeared in the upper right corner of Mark’s vision.  “Braeburn has joined you.”

Mark went back to the main screen of the PDA and found that a mark had appeared next to “Characters”.  Mark went ahead and opened it to find a picture of Braeburn standing there with some general information about his profile; Braeburn himself was a Level 24 and his stats indicated he was a competent fighter, though his preferred areas were ‘social’.

‘Excuse me,’ Mark said.  ‘What does it mean by “preferred areas” on your profile?’

‘Oh, that’s the area where someone like myself would prefer to be in,’ Braeburn answered before James could so much as open his mouth.  ‘You see, I can fight, but I would much rather be allowed to socialize with others.  James said that I was doing well in socializing with others during previous tours here and decided if I wanted to he would let me stay mostly here in Ponyville.’

‘Braeburn’s also been one of only two to select his area,’ James added.  ‘Both selected “social” areas.  Ponyville is a “social” area, which means no fighting will take place here as it’s meant to stock up on items and is easier to socialize with others.  As a matter of fact, there will be a few restaurants and novelty shops with items that really have no use in the fighting areas; they’re merely to advance the player’s experience during the game.’

‘Sounds interesting,’ Mark said.  ‘Anything else before we head off?’

‘I can think of nothing,’ James said.

‘It depends on how much you want me to talk,’ Braeburn responded.

‘Every single NPC you encounter here in the game will have chosen its own name and look and are limited by very few parameters,’ James said, ‘one being a certain level of decency required to keep the rating.  Most of the clothing you see is very similar to normal life, much like our own.  NPCs will also have a choice whether or not to talk to others.  Braeburn was very receptive and open to talking, so we gave him the job of tour guide.’

‘So he’s the one doing the tutorials… but not because you programmed him to?’ Mark questioned.

‘Precisely.  Braeburn chose to give out quests and help newcomers with their way around the city.  It was a job that allowed him to socialize.  You should have heard him during the preliminary testing; asking questions, always wanting to make friends with the staff.  Everyone enjoyed him.  Particularly the males.’  James shivered.  ‘That was awkward.’

Mark raised an eyebrow.  ‘I have a feeling you’ve told me too much.’

‘James,’ Braeburn said, a slight quaver in his voice.  ‘I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone that.  You promised me you’d keep quiet about that whole situation.’

‘That’s a learning memory for you!’ James said proudly.  ‘He still remembers the conversation we had at the beginning of the year!  And I’m sorry, Braeburn, but Mark’s my boss; I have to tell him about most of the stuff we’ve mentioned in our talks.’

‘I promise the word will not spread,’ Mark said.

Braeburn looked back and gave a small smile to Mark.  ‘You seemed like a decent man the moment I saw you,’ he said.  ‘That confirmed it.  Are you going to be around here often?’

‘As often as I can,’ Mark said.  ‘I tend to be particularly busy these days.’

‘Understandable, if what James said about you managing a company is true.’

They walked on in silence for a short while before Mark spoke up again.

‘Where exactly are you taking us on this… tour?’ he asked.

‘James has requested that I take you to the house of Twilight Sparkle,’ Braeburn responded.  ‘There aren’t too many others here at the moment, and most of them are shopkeepers.  Twilight, however, is much more intelligent than they are, and James figured it would be a good idea for you two to meet.’

‘It sounds like you’re setting me up on a date,’ Mark said to James in a sing-song voice.

‘Hahaha…’ James chortled, then went serious, ‘no.  You see, Braeburn and Twilight are the most highly advanced NPCs we have created.  If the report is true… it may well be that Braeburn and Twilight Sparkle are the two most highly advanced NPCs in the world.  Which is why we need your approval if we are to… keep them on board.’

‘You’re asking me to decide whether or not they get to stay?’

‘More or less.’

Mark turned to Braeburn, who had stopped in a small public garden outside a three-story building that took up half a block.  A sign over the door said “Ponyville Library”.  ‘Braeburn… where would you go if your position were to be… terminated?’

‘Terminated?’ Braeburn said.  ‘I’ll admit I have no idea what it means, but it doesn’t sound good.’

‘What he means,’ said James, ‘is if you were to be denied access or forced into exile, what would you do?’

‘I… I… are you considering… executing me?  Is… is that what “termination” means?’

Braeburn’s wide, sad eyes and pout, combined with the desperation that suddenly came into his voice, were such that Mark felt he couldn’t have brought himself to actually have the programmers delete him.  ‘Yes, that is what it means.  No, I’m not actually considering it.  I just wanted to see what you would do.’

‘There isn’t much to do,’ Braeburn said.  ‘I don’t think I would be able to fit in anywhere else.  This… this is home.’

Mark nodded.  ‘Well, know for certain I’m not going to have you deleted.  You’ve done wonderfully in escorting us and have been pleasant company.  Could use someone like you around the office on dreary Mondays.’

Braeburn’s face softened and a smile returned to his face.  ‘Well, then, here we are.’  Braeburn gestured a giant oak tree with the sign out front proclaiming “Golden Oaks Library”.  ‘This is the home and workplace of Twilight Sparkle, which means that the objective I gave you earlier is complete.  Is there anything else you need?’

‘I don’t think so,’ James said.  ‘Not at the moment, at least.’

‘Alright then.  Since I have nothing else to do, I’ll be sitting on one of the benches here.  Hopefully Twilight isn’t too buried in her studies.’

Mark and James nodded and went inside the library, entering a small lobby lit up by a few oil lamps and proceeding into a lounge-like area filled with chairs and tables.  Beyond the lounge stood rows and rows of bookshelves carrying books of all shapes and sizes.  Mark looked down some of the aisles and pulled out a few of the books.  One was a complete version of a standard college dictionary.  Another turned out to be a popular fantasy novel, reconstructed word for word within the game.  Another turned out to be a cookbook.

‘There is a mix of completely original content and actual printed works,’ James said.  ‘We wanted to have some sense of realism.  People are free to check out the books, though it is for a maximum of two hours over a twenty-four hour period.  Once the book is checked in, you have to wait twenty-four hours from when the book was checked out to read it again.  All actual books used have been approved and used with legal consent.’

‘Amazing,’ Mark said.

‘Anyways, Twilight’s room is on the third floor.  Let’s head up the staircase, shall we?’

Mark put back the book he was looking at and followed James up the staircase towards the second floor, which had its own lounge and even more books.  Mark followed James still further up the staircase and up to a door that had a gold plaque on it: “Twilight Sparkle – Librarian and Mage”.

James knocked on the door three times.  No answer came from within.

James knocked on the door again.  Still no answer.

‘Let’s see if she left the door unlocked again…’ James pondered and tried turning the knob.  It refused to budge.

‘I suppose I’ll have to use my master key, then,’ James sighed and pulled out the PDA.  James placed the device against the door and began typing in commands on his own PDA.  Soon, there was a small beep from the PDA and a click from the door, at which point it opened a few inches.

‘I’ve got to remind her to keep the damn thing unlocked during business hours,’ James said mostly to himself as he entered.  Mark followed shortly behind.

Behind the door was a small room with a large bookcase that took up a whole wall.  Across from the bookcase was a wooden desk, with ink bottles and piles of blank paper and old fountain pens, sitting under a small window that looked over the garden area; Mark could see Braeburn sitting on one of the benches as though he was dozing.  At the desk was an anthropomorphic horse smaller than Braeburn was with a purple coat and a horn on her head, wearing a purple coat with white underneath and a loose-fitting purple dress with a  belt.  She didn’t seem to notice Mark and James standing a short distance beside her.  Green text over her head said “Twilight Sparkle – NPC”

‘Twilight,’ James called, but the horse kept scribbling.  ‘Twilight!’ James called again, but he was still ignored.  James sighed again as he reached over for the bookshelf and pulled a book out.  This was ignored, as was James moving one of the books out of order, but James continued moving the books.

‘What are you doing?’ Mark nearly shouted; the horse ignored him.

‘This drives her crazy,’ James said, placing the book he had pulled out into the place where he had moved the other book from.

This got her attention.  The horse was suddenly up from her desk and spun around to face Mark and James, who still had his hand on the book and began to speak very fast.  ‘Which one of you moved my copy of “Dangerous Magic Spells and Their Uses” to the spot of “Dangerous Magic Spells and Laws Against Them”?’  The question had no sooner left her mouth when she spotted James and almost immediately calmed down.  ‘Oh, it’s just you.  Please try to knock next time, James.’

‘I did, Twilight’ James said.  ‘You had your door locked and weren’t answering.’

‘Sorry about that,’ she said.  She turned to Mark.  ‘This is the one you wanted me to meet, I’m assuming?’

‘Yes.  This is Mark.  He’s the manager of the company I work for and was coming here to speak with you.’

‘All the way here to speak with me?’ Twilight said, turning to Mark as she pulled out a small plastic container.  ‘What about?’

Mark watched as she opened the container and pulled out a small contact lens, which she started to place in her eye.  ‘Oh, just some general things.  James has told me a lot about you and wanted me to meet you in person.  Said the things he told me wouldn’t do a face-to-face meeting justice.’

‘Well, I suppose I could start with introducing myself,’ the horse said as she placed the other contact lens in her other eye, turning her eyes into a deep purple.  ‘I’m Twilight Sparkle.  I run the library here in Ponyville and am an ambassador of Princess Celestia.  I’m to keep an eye on things in this town, but I also do research here in the library for other institutions.’  She held out one of her hands to Mark.

Mark shook her hand.  ‘I’m Mark.  I run a company that works in… communications.’

‘Have you met anyone else here?’  Twilight now sounded cheerful and there was a small smile on her face.

‘Yes.  I met Braeburn on the way here.’

‘Did Braeburn give you the tour?’

‘Just a simple one,’ Mark said.  ‘I’m not staying here long.  Just enough to meet a few people, then I have to head back to my main work building and take care of some personal business.’

‘I see… and James is one of your employees?’

‘Yes.  He’s been introducing me since he’s been here before, but letting the others do most of the speaking and just giving me some… finer details.  Now, you said you do research reports?  What sort of research reports?’

‘Anything that strikes my interest.  I’ve done reports on behaviors on schools of fish, family relations and genetic diseases, physical activity level and magical potency, constellations and star charts.  I just finished a really good one on weather patterns and their effects on certain magical spells yesterday.  Do you want to take a look?’

Twilight started running off to her desk and sorting through the papers looking for the report, but was stopped when Mark spoke up again.  ‘I am sure it is an excellent report, but I haven’t got the time.  I do plan to make more frequent stops now that communications between here and my work have been established, but I’m afraid I have other things to do today.  However, it has been a pleasure meeting you, Twilight.  I hope to see you soon.’

Twilight smiled and shook Mark’s hand again.  ‘Well, I’ll try to remember to leave my door unlocked next time for easier entry.  It’s been a pleasure.  I hope work goes well!’

Mark and James waved good bye and started walking out the door and down the staircase.

‘Well…’ James said eagerly, ‘what do you think?’

‘It was just like talking to a real person,’ Mark responded.  ‘I mean… her conversation flowed naturally and was willing to change topics like a regular person, but I saw the text over her head was green like Braeburn’s was, so she is still just an NPC…’

‘What’s the verdict?’

‘I think…’

But Mark suddenly felt a pulsating feeling near his temple, followed by a barely noticeable hum.  In his hands he could feel the controller as it sat in his hands, warm quite solid despite it not appearing in front of him.  There was a beep, and a message appeared in the top right corner of Mark’s vision.  “Your time is up.  Please log out.”  A blast of cold air hit him from behind as he heard the Research and Development building’s air conditioner turn on.

‘…I think your third node is working.  And it’s time for me to log out.’

‘Perfect!’ James said.  ‘Go ahead and open your PDA and save and log out.  I’ll meet you back in the testing room.’

Mark fumbled a bit for the pause button and brought up his PDA in-game and selected the option to save.  His progress was marked with a little picture of where he had been standing inside the library as he saved and the game asked him if he wanted to log out.  Mark agreed and a message popped up.  “Your progress has been saved.  Thank you for playing Twilight of an Empire.  You may now carefully remove your C-VID device.”

Mark pulled off the C-VID and looked around for a minute, confirming he was back inside the bright white of the testing room before handing the device to one of the lab assistants standing nearby and setting the controller down on the desk.  James was wiping his hands on a towel and passed it over to Mark, who took it and rubbed his own hands on it to get what sweat had collected on it.

“Anyways, you were going to tell me your verdict on the personality and intelligence of Twilight Sparkle and Braeburn?” James asked eagerly.

  Mark nodded and smiled, noticing the other assistants had stopped their projects and were looking at him with the same sort of anticipation.  “The progress I have seen on the game is excellent.  I must commend the work from you on the new device – and must send my regards to the art department later – and express my satisfaction with the changes.”

Mark’s face turned serious, though his voice kept its warm tone.  “Our company has come under fire for the device we have created and its flaws.  You have done well to acknowledge the flaws, but we must be persistent and continue working with the C-VID to make sure it remains safe for public use.  My verdict is that this C-VID shall go into production for the public after its hiatus and will be re-released later this year, but that you continue testing the device continue striving to improve it.  Thank you all for your hard work.”

The room was engulfed in a sound of cheering and applauding at the decision, and a few of the assistants even came up and shook Mark’s hand, thanking him for releasing the device.  Mark gave Hanna extra thanks for helping to show him the device and left the room with James a short while later.

“Can you come with me to the cafeteria in the main building for a while, James?” Mark asked.  “It’s almost lunchtime and I figure a good time to talk.”

“Of course, sir,” James said, looking at a small watch on his right wrist.  “What is it you wanted to talk about?”

“The C-VID device; there are things I didn’t want to say about it back there.”

James nodded and the two went back down to the first floor and back into the cart.  The snow had stopped falling and the wind had stopped blowing.  The clouds had opened up enough to allow sunlight to fall and warming the air slightly as Mark and James drove off across the grounds to the main building.  Once in the main building, Mark and James got themselves a lunch plate from the cafeteria and sat down at a table in the far corner.

“Is there something wrong with the device?” James asked once he was sure no one was listening.  “I mean, you seemed impressed by it, but was there something you wanted to change about it?”

Mark took a bite of his roast beef sandwich and sighed.  “Never did it come across my mind that we would be able to make a device that would allow a user to insert their mind and body into a game so in-depth and realistic in terms of feel that we have accomplished with Twilight of an Empire.  Never once did it strike me as possible that soon we would be able to have a game where not only would moves be manipulated just by a controller, but also by the thoughts that a person had in their mind.  And never once did it cross me thought that such a device could potentially kill someone.”

“Are you talking about the incident this past June, sir?”

“Yes, when that one player died because his mind was so far into the game his body couldn’t take it anymore when it became hit by an NPC.  When I first created this company, I only wanted to create something that would remind me of all the times I had as a kid when I first started playing, and create things that lasted well into my older years.  I’ll have you know I still own a couple of the old devices and play them for nostalgic purposes.  I wanted to create things like that: games that would bring back the memories of days gone by when the focus was as much on environment and story as it was about action.”

Mark took another bite of sandwich and was silent for a minute, chewing over his thoughts as much as his sandwich.  “When I approved the C-VID device, I did so because I thought of the social applications of the game.  I thought of the fact that people from across the world could connect in a more personal way through a video game than they ever had before.  So I approved it and we created a social game where the main point was to wander around and explore and talk with others.  It was perfect.  But gamers lately do not approve of social games.  They want action.  They want fighting.”

“Hence is why you allowed Twilight of an Empire to be made C-VID compatible,” James put in.  “I saw the reports.  I saw the bulletins.  I remember the staff being overjoyed at the game being C-VID compatible.  But I picked through the words and saw that you were hesitant.  You didn’t want to let it be compatible.  You weren’t comfortable with the decision.”

“Not one bit.  I knew it would give us some publicity that was keeping the C-VID and the whole company afloat, but I didn’t want to seem greedy.  I didn’t want to seem like I was capitalizing on the opportunity just to make money.  Which is why I decreed the game have social areas.  Twilight of an Empire might be for older audiences staring in the mid-teens, but I wanted others to have fun with it, as well.  Now, I like fighting games as much as most people, but there are times I want to sit down and have a chat with someone.  It makes things more personal, more fun when you go out exploring in a group.  You have people there to watch your back.  That’s why I approved the C-VID for the game.”

The two ate in silence for a while.

“Will you continue to play your games?” James asked.  “I mean, what with the problems we’ve had recently and the fact that I hardly see you online for much other than to work on projects, I’m almost wondering if you’ve stopped playing.”

“It will be hard,” Mark said after some thought.  “But I will continue.  I want to see how well this new endeavor does for us.  Besides, with intelligence like that in Braeburn and Twilight Sparkle, I should hope that this game be intriguing and satisfying and might even restore my faith in… why are you staring at my head?”

James, in the middle of a bite of soup, gestured with his finger to Mark’s head as he swallowed.  “You have some grey hairs growing up there, I see.”

Mark waved off the response.  “I’ve had them there for a while, James.  It’s the stress of running this company and dealing with the legal system.  Probably my cigarette and whiskey doesn’t help it any, but those relief the stress for a moment.”

James laughed.  “Well, there’s one thing you won’t have to worry about.”

“What’s that?”

“If we manage to get a few more A.I.’s like Braeburn and Twilight, you won’t have to deal with the problems of hiring incompetent system administrators.”

James continued laughing, but Mark’s face was serious.  “And who will administrate the administrators?  What if their intelligence allows them to see they are above the rest of the people?  What if they begin to see their position not just a way to keep them in line but a way to control them?”  Mark wiped his face with a napkin and pulled a cigarette out from his coat pocket and lit it.  “We are pushing the envelope with the system, so we’ll need to keep a closer eye on it.”

James stopped laughing and looked at Mark with a mixture of shock and awe before allowing another smile to creep onto his face.  “That’s why you’re in charge of the company and not me.”

Mark allowed himself to smile.

“So…” James asked.  “What are you going to do with the weekend off?  We have Friday and Monday off for New Year’s.”

Mark thought about it for a while as he took a puff of his cigarette.  “Spend time with the wife and kids.  Host a party on New Year’s Day.  Take some time off.  And… just maybe… play a game.”