A Pony in Takistan

Matthew fidgeted while he waited for the game to start. This time, all four of the group had managed to fit on BLUFOR. Mer claimed he could tell if the unicorn was in-game by looking at the scripts for ‘OBJECT-UNKNOWN-INTERACT’ lines, which would be a sign that she was in-game and moving. Matthew hoped that it didn’t come to pass. He couldn’t spend the next 72 hours online, after all, waiting for the next game to end.

Finally, after two full minutes, the server host finally started the game. Takistan quickly loaded, and he was left with the black ‘RECEIVING’ screen while he waited. It disappeared, leaving him a view of the BLUFOR camp, surrounded by the BLUFOR players.

“Did it work?” Matthew immediately asked through Skype chat.

Ten seconds passed before the reply came. “No sign of any interaction in the game scripts. It worked.”

Matthew exhaled, along with Leon. It had worked! Joe gave out a small cheer that could be heard through his microphone, and Mer simply smiled. All of their efforts had paid off.

Whether it was a glitch, a joke, or something else entirely, Matthew did not know. But he knew that, if it was ‘something else’, he had done the right thing. The unicorn would be home.

-=-=-

Twilight Sparkle was blinded by an intense flash the moment the ‘game’ ended. Seconds later, after blinking the spots out of her eyes, she found herself on a road outside of Ponyville. She took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of the crisp spring air. She was home.

Truthfully, she was thankful to whoever had protected her during her stay in – what had they called it? – Takistan. She could have actually died dozens of times, while it seemed it was all a simulation for them, something that was not real, like an artificial dream they could all join. If she had died, though, there would have been no ‘respawning’ for her.

She looked up at the sun. No longer was it the harsh glare of that desert, but the glorious rays of Princess Celestia’s sun.

She got to her hooves and quickly started running back to town, headed for her library. Several ponies have her odd looks as she ran past, but she didn’t care. She opened the doors and happily trotted inside, startling Spike.

“Twilight!” He said. “Where have you been? Half of Ponyville saw you disappear in a flash-“

“Later, Spike.” She said. “For now, please take down a letter.”

Her assistant scrambled for paper, before finding a sheet, quickly taking out a quill and dipping it in ink, ready for whatever she wanted to write.

She cleared her throat, and started her letter. “Dear Princess Celestia…”