Equestria's Strife Online

Chapters

A Game of War
The Ponyville Welcome
The Savage and the Caretaker
The Eve of War
To Challenge the Night
Rift
What We Must Do; Part 1
What We Must Do; Part 2
What We Must Do; Part 3
A Changed World
Commanders

A Game of War

~*~*One Month Ago*~*~

He took a deep breath. In. Out. Still, his heart pounded in his ears, despite his best efforts to calm himself. Resting his fingers on the keyboard in front of him, a young man with messy, parted brown hair and icey blue eyes began typing.

{This is Kirito, right? I'm sorry to be messaging you out of nowhere like this. I won't blame you if you don't remember me. I went by the name Animus, and we met briefly seven years ago on the first floor of Aincrad, in the Town of Beginnings,} he began. After a brief pause, he continued, {I'm messaging you because there is something important that I want to talk to you about.}

With a click the instant message was sent. A sigh escaped his lips as he rolled himself back in his swivel chair.

Now for the wait.

Aincrad. That name stirred up so many memories. Most of them bad.

Nine years ago, when he was only ten years old, ten thousand gamers had been trapped in a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, or VRMMORPG. He was among those ten thousand. This game, called Sword Art Online, became a hellish deathtrap for all that played it. Unable to logout, the only way to escape had been to complete the game. That meant fighting dangerous monsters and powerful bosses to climb the one hundred floors of the enormous floating palace called Aincrad. The egg-shaped structure had practically been a continent in and of itself, with the bottom floor being nearly five miles from end to end.

He knew that floor like the back of his hand, even to this day. He’d rarely left it, and most of his time had been spent in the first city, the Town of Beginnings. He was just a kid back then, after all. What good could he have done on the frontlines if he had even tried? Especially when there was no respawning. A single death in the game killed the player, their virtual reality helmets, called NerveGear, frying their brains in the real world. So he just waited on the first floor… for two long years.

Talk about nerve wracking. The person he was contacting was practically a legend. Kirito was the very one that managed to beat the game Sword Art Online. The details were never made clear, but anyone that had once played SAO knew his name. The Black Swordsman. Dual Blade Kirito.

It was hard enough deciding to do this even before taking into account just who was the only person that could give him the answers he needed. Still, he was going to do this. He needed to be able to move forward.

Animus’ bright blue eyes drifted over to the space on his desk next to the keyboard. A sturdy gray helmet sat on the table with a cord plugged in the back, and a translucent visor in the front. The surface of the helmet was dusty, stained, and scratched up. Just above the visor were faded letters. They were hard to read, but the word NerveGear could still be made out.

A soft tone rang out much sooner than he had expected. Snapping out of his daze, he looked back to the monitor and scooted back in. He had actually gotten a response so soon? That was a pleasant surprise, and a lot better than the wait he had been anticipating.

{Little Animus? Well, I guess neither of us are that little anymore,} the message read. {So, what's eating you?}

"Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath. {I really don't want to ask in messages like this. I'd much rather ask you face to face. Can we meet in Aincrad? I want to go to the boss room of the first floor.}

{Gotta say, that's a pretty odd request. What's this all about, Animus?}

He had a reason. What he felt was a really good reason. But it had to be face to face. In the game. In Aincrad. It was how he knew he would be satisfied.

Taking another deep breath, he answered, {Please, Kirito, this is very important to me. It's something only you can do for me.}

Much to the young man's relief, the pause on the other end was brief. {... Well, I guess it's alright. It should only take a few hours to fly to the dungeon from the Town of Beginnings,} Kirito answered. {I still have the map data too. So yeah, I'll take you there. Are you sure you don't want to tell me what this is about, though?}

He would?! Yes! Kirito had agreed to take him! He couldn't believe it was so easy. He had been worried about this part all for nothing.

{I'm sure. You'll understand why it had to wait when we get there,} he typed back. The conversation flowed smoothly from that point.

{So, when did you want to meet up?}

{Would right now work?}

{Well, I was going to try completing a few high ranking quests tonight, but I guess it can wait. I still have your information on my friend list, so it should be easy enough to find you once I get there.}

{Alright, but I may not be there right away. I need to register for Alfheim Online first.}

{Oh? Are you transferring over from another game world?}

His fingers stopped for a moment. The weight of this moment was starting to sink in. He was really going to put the NerveGear on again after seven years. He had avoided that world for so long because he hated that it had taken so much from him. Two years of his life. A piece of his childhood. His youthful innocence. He only had a few happy memories of the virtual world, but they hadn't been enough to bring him back. The reasons he had now were different, but he hoped that if he got what he wanted, he could learn to love the virtual world again.

{No, I haven't played a virtual game since you beat Sword Art Online all those years ago. My need to talk to you is what brought me back.}

{I see. You must have a good reason then. I can understand why some people didn't want to come back.}

{Thank you for understanding, Kirito.}

{It's no big deal. I'll see you there soon.}

{Okay.}

Pushing the keyboard back, he looked over at the NerveGear helmet again. This was it. Getting up from his chair and grabbing the helmet, he looked around his bedroom. The room was sparsely decorated. He had just moved in, after all. A pair of boxes sat at the foot of his bed, holding the few things he had left to unpack. Those things could wait, though. This was more important at the moment.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, he took a long moment to just stare at the helmet. He hadn’t updated his rig since back then, or replaced the helmet, which had major security issues if they were exploited right, but if he kept playing after today, he could always update his stuff later.

The toughest part was this final leap. His greatest fear was putting this helmet on and going into the game world. Virtual reality had taken a lot from him, but he had made a promise to someone very special seven years ago. He had promised that he wouldn’t let what happened back then beat him, and if he didn’t conquer this, he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. The kind words that little girl had given him would amount to nothing if he let it rule him.

Clutching the NerveGear tightly in his hands, he pressed it down over his head, feeling it cover him and watching the glass visor slide over his eyes. On the surface of the glass, a few little displays were projected. In the upper left, a time; 8:16 AM. In the upper right corner, a battery symbol showing a full charge.

The display gave him a mixed feeling of nostalgia. Lots of bad memories mixed with a few good ones, but he pushed the bad aside to focus on all the things he had enjoyed. The rush of combat. Weapons clashing repeatedly. Those sorts of memories still prodded an itch deep inside of him. He really did miss it all, even if his life had been on the line before.

Laying himself down on the bed, Animus closed his eyes as he mustered up his nerve. He could hear the liquid in his inner ear with his head covered like this. It was just like listening for the 'ocean' inside a seashell. It was oddly relaxing, and he soon felt his pounding heart calm down a bit.

Opening his eyes to get one last look at the real world, he spoke the 'magic words', "Link Start."

In the very next instant, his vision was taken over. The sensors in the helmet began intercepting the signals his brain sent to his body and redirected them, stimulating his senses with artificial data as he was in a sense pulled from his body and placed in a virtual one. Several displays popped up, confirming the connection of all five of his senses, and after that, his login data was scanned from the NerveGear.

Just like that, he was logged in, and he was fully integrated into a virtual body, a digital replica of his real body. He wasn't in the game yet, though. Instead, he was deposited in a large, vacant room that stretched in a circle around him. Almost half of the wall was taken up by a huge image of a giant tree. And not just giant by normal tree standards, like say a red fir tree. No, this tree dwarfed mountains that could be seen around it. And floating up near the canopy of this legendary tree, the World Tree, Yggdrasil, was an enormous floating palace, shaped like an egg, and made up of one hundred floors. The floating castle of Aincrad, which was practically a whole world in its own right, and the World Tree, both dominated the landscape in the image of Alfheim.

Animus felt strangely glad to see Aincrad again. It had been destroyed when Sword Art Online was cleared, but players brought it back in the Land of Fairies, Alfheim. And it was the perfect setting for what he wanted to do.

His thoughts were interrupted as a pleasant voice of a woman spoke from all directions. "Welcome to Alfheim Online."

Taking a deep, artificial breath, Animus readied himself to pick his character details. The first would probably be which of the eight fairy races he wanted to play as.

"Please se-tnagktzz!" The pleasant voice cut short and glitched as the image of the World Tree began to flicker in front of him.

A knot formed immediately in the pit of his stomach. An error? A glitch? Neither of those options made him feel very good, and his paranoia started nagging at the back of his head. His mind kept flashing back to the two years he spent trapped in a game where death was real.

His fears only grew with what came next.

"Please allow me to congratulate you, Animus," a playful male voice called out with a high cackle. The room around him began to flicker and fade away bit by bit, leaving him floating in endless nothingness as the voice continued, "You are the very last human selected for the honor of this… What did you say it was called?” It seemed to speak to some other presence in aside, “An event? Yes! A special event."

Even in this virtual body, Animus felt a chill go down his spine. "Wh-what the hell? Why is the program speaking to me directly?"

"Program? Oh no, dear boy, I am no program," it tutted him. "I imagine you will find out soon exactly what I am. For right now, I am just collecting players for my delightful new game. So what do you say to being pulled into a world the likes of which you've never seen, along with thousands of other humans?"

What was this thing talking about? And why was it specifically calling him human? If whoever this was really wasn't a program, wouldn't it be a human too? No, none of that really mattered.

"Hell no!" Animus shouted at the disembodied voice. Something about its whimsical, almost condescending tone already had him pissed off, despite the fear he felt. "I don't want anything to do with this! I had important plans in Alfheim Online, so let me go!"

"Excellent! Excellent! Just the answer I was hoping for!" the voice declared joyously. "It wouldn't be any fun if you wanted to go, now would it?"

No. Not something like this again. Why him? Why did he have to get pulled into something like this after all he had already been through? He just wanted to enjoy the virtual world again, not get pulled into another incident like SAO!

"No! Let me go!" Animus screamed. "Nobody should have to be taken prisoner like this! I don't want to play your stupid game!"

His protests were met by a loud clicking noise, and his virtual limbs went rigid. He tried to move, but his body refused to respond. He couldn't even scream as he felt the sensation of falling take hold. He plummeted through the endless black until finally even his body faded.

His mind slipped away as he heard the voice speak, "Well, that's the last one with the flag you were looking for. Shall we get started then? I look forward to all the chaos we will create."

"Yes, let's."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Pain was the first sense to return to Animus, groaning in protest as he reached up to clutch at his aching head. It only took a moment for him to remember what had happened to him. He had tried to go to Alfheim, but someone had intercepted him somehow. The voice had said it was taking him to another game, and he couldn't help but feel that twist return to his stomach at the thought.

"Whoever that guy was," he mumbled to himself, "I swear I am going to beat the shit out of him."

Still groaning in pain, he tried to get up and open his eyes. He only made it up about halfway before he felt a jarring force press over his chest and slam him down on his back once more. Thankfully, instead of hard ground, his head hit something soft. His hands, however, were forced to his sides, and his legs were clamped together.

He looked down at his body and saw that several bands of glowing magenta were wound around his body. He struggled against them, but they didn't budge even an inch. The only part of his body he could move was his head, which he swivelled around to try to get his bearings.

His eyes immediately met another set. The intense gaze of the large purple eyes took him aback as a womanly voice demanded, "Beat up who? Who are you? What are you? Where are you from? And why did you suddenly appear in my home?" The strange bonds on his body tightened with each question that was fired off, until he couldn't even breathe.

He tried to gasp for breath instinctively, but his lungs didn't even start to burn. He didn't feel any of the usual things one should when deprived of oxygen. He remembered this sensation. A virtual body didn't need oxygen, after all. So he really was in a game. These strange bonds had to be some kind of in-game magic too.

Returning his attention to his captor, Animus looked at the rest of her. What he saw bewildered him completely, despite knowing he was in a game. Attached to the purple eyes was a small purple horse. It couldn't have been much more than four feet high on all fours as it glared at his prone form. Its mane and tail were odd too, with a dark purple hue and two stripes of a lighter purple and a near pink hue running side by side through them. And protruding from its mane was a horn glowing with the same magenta light that kept him bound. Horse plus horn equaled unicorn, right? Granted, it didn't look like any sort of horse he had ever seen, but it was the only thing that made sense.

Looking around, he surveyed this home the unicorn had mentioned, seeing bookshelves lining almost every wall, and several sets of stairs leading to other floors where still more bookshelves could be seen. A home? Looked more like a library to him. The vaulted ceiling and entire wall devoted to a window facing a large castle only lent to that assessment.

His look around was interrupted by another tight squeeze, this one causing him to yelp in pain before they began to loosen up.

"Answer my questions, intruder, or else I will hand you over to the Royal Guard and let them deal with you," the mare glowered at him, lowering her shining horn at him.

Why did it hurt? In a virtual game, pain was supposed to be absorbed by the system. He could think about that later. If he ignored this mare-unicorn-thing anymore he was liable to be snapped in two.

The knot in his stomach only got worse as he returned his attention to the strange pastel equine. A glance to the upper left corner of his vision confirmed the presence of a green HP bar with his old character name next to it. He really was Animus once more.

"My name is Animus. I am a human, and the rest would be very difficult to explain," he answered. He noticed a glowing yellow icon over the unicorn's head as he spoke, did that mean she was a non-player character, or npc? That was what that color represented in SAO, but she didn't act like any npc he had ever heard of. "Ugh, what am I doing? I'm talking to a pastel horse. I swear, this has to be crazier than SAO," he griped under his breath. "Why me? Why did I have to get pulled into this nonsense?"

"Pony," the mare said.

The glow on her horn faded, and the bonds disappeared as well. He sat up and gave her a quizzical look. "Huh?"

"I am a unicorn pony, not a horse," she replied with a huff. "Horses live in Saddle Arabia, not Equestria."

What the heck? What was with the names of places in this crazy game? The pun was strong with this place. Okay, so this little creature was a unicorn pony. That distinction had to mean there were other kinds of ponies too.

Now liberated, Animus sat up from the floor and watched as the pony used her magic to pull a book out of a shelf well out of reach.

"I’ve never heard of creatures called humans before," she answered quickly as the pages fluttered open in front of her. "Your body structure most closely resembles that of minotaurs and monkeys. Curious indeed, though it doesn't explain the other strange things that have been happening."

"Hey! Don't go off on a tangent! Why the heck did you hold me prisoner and threaten me for answers, then shrug me off just like that?" he demanded.

She glared at him over the top of her book for a moment before again combing over the pages one by one in rapid succession. "Animus, was it? Honestly, what did you expect me to do when a strange creature the likes of which I've never seen suddenly appears in my study in a flash of light? You interrupted important research I was conducting, and I dealt with you accordingly," she explained in a curt tone. "I was nice enough to give you a pillow too, rather than just slamming your head into the floor. From your answers, I assume you ended up in Equestria against your own will, and are confused. It is only logical that if you have any brains in that head of yours, you won't be any danger to me."

With another glow from her horn, a second book floated over and opened up in front of her. Looking over the covers, Animus saw that the first book she had opened was titled “A Guide to Primates”, while the other was a history book called, “The Early Celestian Era”.

“Darn it. What to do? What to do? I need to find out about the Elements of Harmony, but you’re such a fascinating creature! I really want to learn more about just what exactly a ‘human’ is,” Twilight muttered softly. It was hard to tell if he was even speaking to him specifically, but it sounded more like she was just rambling aloud.

Animus was starting to feel like this wasn't just some simple AI controlled character in a game. This mare was doing too good of a job at pissing him off to be that.

Snapping his fingers to bring her attention up from the books, he growled, "You're right, I'm not going to hurt anyone. I just want to leave the way I came. The last thing I want is to go through something like this again."

"Leave? Already? But there’s so much I need to learn! A bunch of strange things started appearing at the same time that you showed up, and if you go, they might too. You can’t leave before I figure this all out!" she demanded, a frantic look in her eyes. Her ears perked a moment later, as though realizing something. "Spike? Have you found my copy of Predictions and Prophecies yet? I need to find out more about the Elements of Harmony," she shouted up to a higher level of the building that, aside from still more bookcases was dominated by a large hourglass.

"Jeez, make up your mind," Animus grumbled quietly to himself. “Do you want to learn about humans or those Element things?” Getting up and walking over to a short table, he took a seat on the edge and lifted his right hand to flick it down in a practiced motion. When nothing happened he tried the left hand, and this time a faint ringing answered, and several little icons appeared in front of him in midair. He had a feeling it was useless, but he scrolled down to the bottom icon for system options and unsurprisingly found his fears confirmed. There was no button to log out. He was trapped again.

He really didn't know how to feel about this anymore. He wanted to leave, obviously. He was scared, angry, and everything, but most of all, he just felt numb. Staring at the menu in front of him, he just felt that deadening numbness. Why wasn't he freaking out more? He felt like he should feel more like he had all those years before, but none of those feelings came. He felt only a tiny bit of them compared to the terror back then.

"I found it, Twilight, but are you sure it's safe? That thing could be dangerous," a young voice called out from the higher level. Reaching the top of the small staircase between the two floors, a small reptilian creature began to descend, holding a book in its claws. The purple reptile also had the same golden icon over its head.

If Animus had to take a wild guess, it was probably a little dragon. Unicorns, dragons, heck there were probably more mythical creatures here, though the prospect really wasn't that surprising in a game.

Oh, and apparently the pony's name was Twilight. He should probably remember that.

Upon meeting Animus' eye, the childlike dragon, Spike, held the book over most of its face. He didn't take his eyes off of the human as he descended. "What kind of magic is that?" he asked when he saw the menu hovering in front of Animus.

This got the pony's attention. The word magic was like some sort of trigger word as her head spun around and her eyes darted between Animus and the menus.

"What the hay are those? Are they related to the strange crystal-like things floating over our heads?" she asked in stern inquisition.

Animus sighed. He was trapped, as far as he could tell, and he had no other option than to learn what he could about this place. That meant talking about what little he knew about what was going on too. Maybe he could put together enough information to figure out if there even was a way home at all.

A dreadfully familiar voice interrupted them, booming loudly from outside of the building, "Hello everypony! And every human too!"

Animus stood abruptly, anger evident on his face as he looked up towards the high ceiling. "That's the bastard that sent me here!" he hissed through clenched teeth. He found the door and bolted for it right away, swinging it open and scanning from the surprisingly high perch. Turns out the building he was in was a tower with a winding staircase along the outside that lead to the home he had just been inside. Outside, he saw the same elegant castle he had caught a glimpse of through the window. And above that, high in the sky, was the source of the voice.

The enormous image of a hodgepodge creature took up the sky. The translucent image slithered back and forth, its long serpentine body displaying parts of various different creatures, as though some deranged scientist had been playing around with an entire zoo in a frankenstein project.

"Allow me to introduce myself!" it declared with a grin somewhere between jubilant and devious. "My name is Discord, the embodiment of chaos and disharmony throughout this world!"

"Discord?! But he was trapped in stone by Princess Celestia over a thousand years ago!" Twilight blurted as she too came storming out of the doorway.

"As some of you ponies may have guessed, I have escaped my imprisonment by Celestia. How you may ask? Well, I owe it all to a new friend of mine. Allow me to introduce him!" With a sweep of a lion's paw, Discord moved to the side for a new figure to come into view. In a billow of scarlet fabric, a hooded figure of distinctly humanoid shape appeared. Nothing could be seen beneath the obscuring hood of the blood red coat.

If Animus had a heart in his virtual body, he felt like it would have skipped a beat in shock. That cloak was unmistakable. It was the same one that the creator of Sword Art Online had used to announce the start of the game where ten thousand players were trapped in Aincrad. But it couldn't be Akihiko Kayaba, could it? He was supposed to have died years ago when the game was cleared. If it wasn't Kayaba, then wouldn't that mean it was someone else that had been in Sword Art Online? No one else would know what that robe looked like.

The hooded figure motioned with its hand across the sky, and spoke out, "Welcome, human players, to the land of Equestria. My name is Yuto, and I have pulled thousands of you from around your world to take part in a new game of our design."

That voice definitely wasn't Kayaba. Even then, from everything that happened years ago, he wasn't the type of man to hide being behind something like this. Heck, he was dead. There was no way anyone that had died would ever come back, no matter who it was.

"What sort of game, you may ask?" Discord asked with a cackle. "Why, the most dangerous and chaotic kind, of course. A war game! All of Equestria has been turned into a war game where humans and ponies alike will fight monsters and each other to complete the game."

"Ponies," Yuto began explaining, "you may have noticed the objects resembling crystals over all of your heads. These icons are a part of the Grand Quest of the game. The color represents your allegiance, and gray represents those who have no allegiance. There are two factions that shall be prevalent in this game. Gold is those loyal to Celestia and everything she stands for. The other... well, you will all find out what the other is tomorrow morning, when the game truly begins."

"That being said? You may be wondering what this Grand Quest is and what the stakes are?" Discord interjected. "It is the main objective of the game, the mission that must be completed in order to win. The side that wins the game gets the greatest prize of all. The will of their leaders will be made real. Everything from power, to money, returning everything to exactly the way it was before, or even creating something entirely new!"

So it was like SAO, but with a twist. The only way out was to win the game, but if the wrong group were to win, then things could just end up getting worse. Things would have to be different for him this time. Staying put and waiting for someone else to win wouldn't cut it if victory for someone else could lead to an outcome he didn't like. He probably couldn't even trust these ponies. Sure, this Twilight was fairly kind to him, even if she had pissed him off a bit, but there was no telling how things would go from here.

"Human and Pony players across Equestria must fight on the side of a faction to achieve the end they want," Yuto declared, waving a hand out across the sky. "As of now, all of Equestria has been divided into territories, and for every allegiance that has a presence in those territories, there are two Commanders. One human, one Equestrian."

Commanders? For a brief moment, Twilight and Animus looked at each other, their thoughts in turmoil before looking back to the sky.

"These Commanders, with special icons over their heads, will have certain special game privileges, but at a price. Ordinary players, if killed in battle, will resurrect at the last town they visited. Commanders, chosen by the system, don't have that luxury. If they die, they will be gone forever. Furthermore, once a Commander has been chosen for an allegiance in a territory, and that Commander then is killed, all players of that commanders race within that allegiance, that reside in that territory, will not resurrect if they are killed."

"As such, your quest is that of Dominion. So long as a Commander remains for at least two factions in a region, that region will remain uncontrolled. If all commanders of enemy factions in a region are killed, or forced to retreat to another region, then the remaining faction will gain dominion over that region. When all regions are under one faction's control, then the game will be won, and the prize will be given."

Dominion. It really was a war game. Controlling territories and maneuvering factions. Animus was reminded of the old board game called Risk that he played when he was a little kid.

"Players must fight with their own power, and grow stronger in this new Equestria. There are even monsters that now reside outside of towns and cities that can be fought to get stronger," Yuto continued. "There are many other challenges that can be faced, and they will be generated by the system as this game progresses. Everything from mundane little quests to big adventures that supplement the Grand Quest of Dominion. In the end, though, Dominion will be achieved when the leaders of all opposing factions are toppled."

"Why?" Twilight wondered aloud. "Why would they create a war like this?" Her voice was choked with worry. The weight of the situation had to be hitting her pretty hard right now.

"I take it ponies don't really fight wars, do they, Twilight?" Animus asked, gauging her reaction.

"What does it matter to you?" she shot back with a hint of venom in her tone. "From the sounds of things, you're my enemy, aren't you? Your icon thing isn't gold. It's gray."

Animus turned to the pony beside him with a level stare. He was not being hostile. At least, not at this point. "I may be," he answered, to which a menacing glow around her horn was the immediate response, "but I may not be either. He did say that gray is neutral. Without allegiance."

The glow faded and she gave him a wary look, "True, at least for now. Just know that if you step out of line, I will tie you up and have you locked in the dungeon faster than you can say 'horseapples'!"

"She can do it easily too!" Spike added with a glare. "Twilight is a genius when it comes to magic!"

"Being locked up in a dungeon wouldn't be the worst experience I've ever had, but your threat is noted," Animus retorted flatly.

The announcement continued as Discord held up a talon arm and clicked the claw with an accompanying flash. "We wouldn't want things to be too easy, though. As such, my associate and I have taken two very important things out of the equation. Firstly, Princess Celestia shall be indisposed for the foreseeable future, and as such, she will not be the leader of those who ally with her."

"What?! No!" Twilight cried out, her head snapping back to the images covering the sky. "What are we supposed to do without Celestia?"

"And lastly," Discord continued, unperturbed and unaware of the cries, "a set of pesky magical MacGuffins called the Elements of Harmony have been hereby deleted from the world. Wouldn't want them ending the fun too early, now would we?"

"Yes, that wouldn't do at all," Yuto agreed. "And so, human players and pony players, we shall leave you all to this game. The war will truly begin tomorrow morning, so prepare yourselves, and welcome to Equestria's Strife Online!"

The enormous images wavered and faded until nothing but clear blue sky remained. No doubt ponies and humans alike would be starting to panic. The humans for being trapped in a strange world. The ponies for having strange new creatures pop up, having their good change around them, and for their ruler being abducted.

Animus didn't feel the panic anymore. For how scared he had been to put on the NerveGear, having his worst fears come true wasn't hitting him as hard as he had expected.

"You're scared too?" Twilight asked him.

Looking down, he saw that despite himself, his hand was trembling. "Not as much as I expected," he replied truthfully, "I would have to be insane not to be at least a little scared, but I made a promise a long time ago to never let a game like this beat me ever again."

"What do you mean by that?" she inquired further.

"What does it matter to you?" he shot her own words back at her.

"Ugh, fine! Be that way!" she groaned, rolling her eyes. Turning to face him on the stairway, her wary gaze continued to survey him. "So where does that leave us? Do we part ways here?"

Turning an equally critical eye to her, the young man thought for a moment, and somewhat reluctantly said, "I think it would be best that we stick together. At least for the time being. I need to learn everything I can about Equestria. Considering you live in what most would call a library rather than a study, I get the feeling that you might be the best person… er, I mean pony, to teach me. In exchange, I will teach you everything that I know about the kind of game we're in now."

The unicorn's expression lit up and a smug little grin spread over her face. "That sounds great. If Princess Celestia is gone, then as her protege, I need to do everything I can to get her back. Spike, please gather up several lengths of parchment and ink vials for a checklist and notes," she said in a sudden surge of confidence, turning to her little helper. "We'll make a list of topics to cover and go through them in order of importance. We will alternate back and forth with each check on the list between me teaching you teaching me, Animus. This way, we can cover as much detail as we can in a short amount of time."

Spike gave a short nod and hurried back inside. Twilight followed right after, and Animus stood there in bewilderment at the sudden shift in tone from the mare. Jeez Louise, this unicorn had academia, workaholic, and teacher's pet written all over her. He wondered with a touch of dread what he had just gotten himself into, but at the same time it gave him confidence that he had ended up with just the right pony out of any of them.

"Alright then," he called after her as he sauntered back in, "just don't expect me to have all the answers. There are bound to be features I have never seen before, and my experience is limited."

That confidence that flowed from the mare seemed to swell at the prospect of the learning challenge. Her smug grin only grew wider as she sat back at her table, where Spike promptly dumped an intimidating pile of papers and vials. "I am the prized pupil of the princess for a reason, Animus," she declared proudly. "I am sure that once I know enough, I can help you figure out more that can help both of us."

As Spike walked by, Animus said in passing, "She sure is handling all of this well."

The tiny dragon stopped and gave him a flat look. "Are you kidding? She's barely holding it together. This studying is her grasping at things to do to keep her mind off the fact that the pony she looks up to and depends on is gone."

Animus looked over to Twilight, watching as she pulled books off of shelves and down to where she sat comfortably. Worry seemed to be the last thing on her mind as she looked over the covers of the books. Some of them were quickly returned to their shelves while a few were set down on the table, only for still more books to be brought down under her partitions gaze.

"So as long as she has some idea of how to move forward, and doesn't have time to stop, the better off she'll be?"

"Probably," Spike mused.

"Spike, find as many history books as you can on the top level. I think I left a pre-Celestian record next to my copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone," Twilight said as she sorted out the items on the table. Spike walked off with a soft grunt and she continued, "Animus, please come over here and help me make a checklist of topics. We really need to figure out what we should cover first."

Clasping his hands behind his head with a sigh, Animus joined her at the table and took a seat. "Well I think the most important thing right now is to figure out if there is anything special about tomorrow morning. That's when Yuto and Discord said the game would truly begin."

Twilight's ears perked up suddenly in realization. "Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration. Its when we celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and Celestia's defeat of Nightmare Moon!" she exclaimed, jotting a line down on a piece of parchment and rummaging through her pile of books. "Predictions and Prophecies. Predictions and Prophecies. Aha! Predictions and Prophecies! I was just about to research this legend before all the craziness started!"

"Okay," Animus nodded. With a flick of his wrist he called up the player menu once more. "After that, I will teach you about the menu and heads-up display."

"Right, let's get started," Twilight confirmed.

Human and pony poured over the books and papers as they both tried to get a grasp on the situation they had been thrust into together.

The Ponyville Welcome

"«Blasting Stake»!"

A violet glow surrounded Twilight's hoof, and a brown cloak billowed around her as she flung herself forward. A creature resembling a wolf, but made entirely of logs and sticks, lunged forward in answer to her charge. Sharp, splintering claws sprung from the bark of its paws as it snarled.

Animus watched from a ways off to the side as a long, razor spine of raw telekinetic magic sprouted from an opening on Twilight's Cast. The spine emerged from just above her fetlocks and in an instant was driven deep into the chest of the leaping beast. The creature that Twilight had called a Timberwolf was frozen in midair for a second by the jarring impact, a faint creaking and rattling coming from its body.

In the next moment, the second part of Twilight's skill triggered, and the spine she had pierced the monster with exploded. Kinetic energy blasted open a huge chunk of its chest and sent the wolf tumbling back across the grass. When it slowly pushed itself back up on its paws, only the faintly gridded red damage marking could be seen across its chest.

The hp gauge hovering next to it ticked down the damage, moving from about fifty percent, all the way down into the red zone, beneath twenty five percent.

Twilight held still for a moment, no more than a second, which gave the Timberwolf a chance to strike. Glowing yellow eyes narrowing, the arbor canine came in low, bringing its claws around to swipe at Twilight's side. The unicorn shifted aside in the next instant, whirling and bringing her Cast to bear on the monster. Bright red magic flickered in the barrel as it began to expand, and with a loud bang, a wave of flames erupted outward.

“«Heat Wave»!”

The wolf was halted in its tracks as searing fire coated its bark hide, causing it to howl in pain. A ragged growl was the last noise it made before the creature's gauge hit zero, and it burst into thousands of aqua shards.

The battle concluded, and a small menu screen popped up in front of the two of them.

Cast Exp: 23
Bits: 5
Items: Timber Sap

Tapping the menu to make it disappear, Animus looked over to Twilight. Despite her initial enthusiasm, he could tell she was having a rough time. She had surprisingly good fighting instincts, but that wasn't the problem. What was getting to her was the fact that she had just killed.

Even if it worked like a game, the lives here were real. That wolf had been an inhabitant of this world, and the pain of its wounds had been as real as that of the fading claw marks on Twilight's neck. She had choked at the start of the fight, and the wolf had taken the initiative.

As impossible as the idea seemed to Animus, he couldn't deny that what he had seen of this world indicated that it wasn't like any ordinary game. The citizens, which should have been npcs, were in fact players, just like the humans. It wasn't hard to understand that this place hadn't always been a game either. Animus had always believed in the existence of both parallel and completely different universes. Games, books, television shows, and every other 'fictional' story out there; he had always held a belief that they were tiny glimpses into the infinite multiverse, but never in his life would he have believed that the FullDive system, the virtual reality program that the NerveGear uses, could link human minds to one of those worlds.

Then again, magic clearly was as natural as sunlight and oxygen in this world, so it wasn't all that hard to imagine either that a marriage of the power of technology and reality warping magic could do something like this. According to Twilight, messing with the laws of physics and bending reality was just the sort of thing chaos magic was capable of, and Discord had it in spades.

All of them turned to the south, and the three travelers began walking once more. Sitting nestled no more than a mile in the distance was a quaint looking town on the edge of a dark wall of forest. Ponyville and the Everfree Forest were contrasted with the amber dusk light of the late evening on one side, and the pitch black shadows they cast on the other, making them impossible to miss. Their destination wasn't that far off, but it would still be about a half hour if they didn't run into any more monsters.

They had taken the train most of the way, but Animus' lessons on the workings of combat could only help so much without practical application. So, about two hours walk out from the town, a polite request and a few bits greased the brake lever, and the conductor stopped the train briefly to allow them to walk the rest of the way. Two hours ended up being more like three between brief lessons and hoofs-on combat experience, but they would still have plenty of time before the morning of the next day would come around.

"I guess in some ways I should be thankful that this game stuff is going on," Twilight grumbled through clenched teeth. "This blow to my neck would have killed me if things were normal right now." Her voice was a little shaky.

"Yeah, that's one thing that's good about these games. Your body isn't like in normal reality," Animus nodded. "If I were to explain it in more magical terms than scientific, I would have to say it's sorta like an advanced astral projection magic. Your mind resides within an artificial construct body that can perceive and interact with the world. We even get hungry and everything. But we have no internal organs, don't need to breathe, and instead take damage based on numerical values. The strength of blows, the quality of the weapon, and the armor it strikes, and where the blow hits. These factors and perhaps others determine the damage inflicted."

Twilight gave him a surprised look as her weapons and armor dissipated. "You know, you mentioned there is no real magic in your world. You have a surprising knowledge of magic considering that."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Spike glared at him as he hopped up on Twilight's back again. "I felt as confused hearing that explanation about construction and astro magic as when Twilight goes into Lecture Mode."

"Oh, you call it that too?" Animus chuckled "All fear the dreaded Lecture Mode!"

Poorly stifled laughs from the two boys were cut down by an irritated look from Twilight. Animus fought back his mirth and explained himself properly, "Well, magic doesn't exist where I come from, but we have all sorts of stories about it." He could see the curiosity in her eyes growing as she listened intently. Her thirst for knowledge was rather refreshing, he had to admit. "We have stories about all sorts of magic, from magic influenced by imagination and willpower, to magic controlled by arcane language or even mathematical equations. Fire magic. Water magic. Teleportation. Necromancy. Alchemy. Enchanting. You name it. Since our world is so firmly rooted in science alone, many humans fantasize about worlds where mystic forces are real, and people have strength beyond what is normally possible. That's also why we play games. We escape the limitations of our reality by entering fake worlds where we can fly or cast spells, and in some cases, be our true selves."

Twilight was silent for a moment as they walked, hardly batting an eyelash when Spike laid himself out flat on her back. No questions, no interrogations about how the menus worked, she just trudged forward with her eyes on the grass in front of her. The silence crept on into uncomfortable territory before long, and the town was practically within reach.

Just when they were about to reach Ponyville, Twilight finally spoke, "So why do you play?"

What did it matter to her? They had made it abundantly clear that they were merely using each other to learn. He had no idea yet whether he would be her enemy or not.

His own confusion at her curiosity irritated him somehow, and a bit of venom slipped into his voice as he said, "I don't. I hadn't dived into a game for nearly seven years."

Still more wary curiosity danced in Twilight's eyes as she began quizzing him. “Seven years? What made you stop? And why did you come back to it? Does it have something to do with a game that you were in with Asuna and that Kirito guy you mentioned?"

That little bit of irritation grew at the prodding into his past and his mind, causing Animus to stop and turn on the pony with a sharp glare. "It doesn't matter to you. I had my reasons, but I have no reason to tell you anything about them."

Taken aback by his change of attitude, Twilight countered right back in reflex, "What the hay is wrong with you? You were being very polite just before! Out of all the questions I've asked you, this is what turns you into an insensitive jerk? I just wanted to know more about you!" She stomped a hoof down.

Spike quite perceptively turned himself around on Twilight's back and reclined. No way was he getting in the middle of this.

"You're just studying me, trying to figure me out like a book!" Animus shouted right back at her. "I don't go asking about your past or your family. I only know as much as you yourself have volunteered in those areas."

"Well excuse me for trying to be nice and make conversation," Twilight huffed, face burning red.

"If you really want to know, you can figure it out yourself," Animus growled, fists clenching tight. "If you find a human willing to tell you, then just ask what SAO means and fill in the blanks if you can!"

Twilight's red cheeks faded and were replaced with indignation in her eyes. "Fine!" Turning towards town again, she flicked through her menu rapidly and hit the disband party button. Their names and bars disappeared from each other's displays, and she stormed into the town while shouting back, "Our business is done then! Good luck with joining Nightmare Moon's side, and good riddance!"

Yeah! Fine! Good riddance, indeed! They had both learned enough to get by on their own, better to go their separate ways now, lest they just piss each other off more!

Turning and storming down along the edge of town to find another road to enter by, Animus grumbled incoherently to himself. What business of hers was his life? He didn't talk with anyone, not even his parents, about what happened in SAO. Hell, he had just barely mustered up the will to try to talk to Kirito about it before all of this crap happened. No way was he going to blab his guts out to some magical pony he'd just met.

When he reached another small path leading into the town, Animus turned down it. With tightly clenched fists tucked into his pockets, he made his way in. He didn't know whether to be surprised or not, but he didn't see a single pony or human anywhere. He did, however, feel eyes on him from all around. Quick glances around gave him a few signs of life, as curtains ruffled and small shadows moved inside the windows of the quaint homes all around.

It seemed like all of the ponies had shut themselves indoors, but then where were the humans? Did they leave? Unlikely. Being thrust into a situation like this, people were more likely to stick together in one place for a while to figure things out. Perhaps-

"Hiya there!"

"Aaaah!" Animus screamed at the loud, high pitched voice in his ear, jumping away from the noise and unceremoniously falling on his backside.

A mare of pure, poofy pinkness with ice blue eyes filled his view, and he was assaulted by a barrage of hard to follow jabber. "Hi! You look like a nice human! Why are you so frowny though? You should smile more. Smiling is good for the soul. I have a very happy soul because I smile a lot and love to make others smile. Hey! I haven't seen you around here yet, and I'm pretty sure I met every human that was brought to Ponyville."

The verbal torrent was unrelenting, and Animus found himself slowly sliding back along the road to put distance between him and the blindingly pink pony. It didn't help, as with each scoot backwards she took a step forward, keeping her face uncomfortably close to his.

This pony didn't know the meaning of personal space, did she?

"I tried talking to the humans that appeared here, because nobody comes to Ponyville without getting a special Pinkie Pie greeting! Most of them just ignored me, though. Others tried to attack me, but they couldn't hit the broad side of the Apples' barn. Thank goodness that hp stuff doesn't in down in town though, right? A hoofful of humans were nice to me though, and did talk to me and everything. I'm not giving up on the others though, I'm sure I can make all those Negative Nellies my friends sooner or later. I mean, this is a game now, right? We should all be trying to have fun together! Oh, what's you're name? Mine's Pinkie Pie if you didn't guess already, and I'm mmrphrng brrvm!"

Animus sighed in delighted reprieve from the deluge, his hand placed firmly over Pinkie's mouth.

"Please, please, oh please by all that is sacred, slow down for a little bit," he begged softly. Her energy seemed boundless, and there was a glittering in her eyes as she stared intently at him. "Okay, so your name is Pinkie Pie. I got that much."

Pinkie shook her head vigorously.

Not hard to see why she was called that. She was pink from head to horseshoe, aside from her eyes and the triad of balloons that adorned her flank. What had Twilight called them? Cutie marks? Right, they were magical markings that appeared on a pony when they discovered their special talent.

Taking a deep breath and slowly pulling his hand away, Animus continued, "Well, my name is Animus. I just got here from Canterlot."

Pinkie's smile cracked even wider and she started bouncing around him giddily. "I knew I hadn't seen you yet! I never forget a face, you know," she declared. "I'll have to add you to the party list!"

Party? He had just been in a party, and look how that turned out.

"Don't know why you want to form a party with me," Animus mused, pushing himself back up onto his feet, "but I'm afraid I have to decline. I have important business tomorrow morning, and I don't know what's going to happen after that."

Pinkie stopped in confusion, but seemed to quickly realize something and chuckle, "Oh silly Ani! I didn't mean that kind of party! I meant a fantastical celebratory bash!" Leaping up, she wrapped an arm around his neck and hung on tight as she pointed her free hoof out in a grand sweeping motion.

Personal space! Violation! His mind protested, but he found no moment to object as she just kept going.

"Just imagine it! Streamers! Balloons! A punch bowl! And more cupcakes than you could eat in a month! Smothered in creamy, creamy frosting!" She trailed off slightly, loosening her grip and sliding to the ground. She mumbled more about frosting and other sweet treats, licking and smacking her lips.

Animus was more than a little annoyed by this Pinkie pony, but despite that he felt strangely happy. Sure, she was violating his space like no other, and she was bombarding him with sentence after sentence, but she was being genuinely nice. So despite being easily pegged as the annoying, hyperactive party animal type, Animus couldn't manage to muster up much more than mild irritation towards her.

"Well, that sure does sound nice, Pinkie," Animus admitted, "But the thing is, when tomorrow comes around, I may end up being your enemy."

The pink mare turned a curious look on him, and a rather devious thought entered his mind. Should he? Well, why not? She had ticked him off by trying to delve into his personal life when she wasn't welcome. It may have been petty, but at this very moment, he didn't really care.

Leaning down and pulling Pinkie in for her to hear, he told her, "There is somepony here that would love a welcome party though."

A giddy gleam appeared in the mare's eyes as she exclaimed, "Really?"

"Mhm," he affirmed, "Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she arrived just a few moments before I did. She loves surprises, parties, streamers, and all those other fun things. So how about you go give a special Ponyville welcome to her?"

He had hit right on the mark, as evident by the ridiculously wide smile on Pinkie's face. No doubt frantic ideas were already dancing in her brain. "A new pony too?!" she exclaimed, "Best! Day! Ever! Thank you, Ani! I'll get on it right away!" Zipping off in a blur with surprising speed, she called back, "I'll get to your party later! That's a Pinkie Promise!"

Animus shook his head as he watched her bolt away in a hurry. That mare sure was lively. A heck of a lot braver than the rest of the ponies here too, it would seem. She may be a bit of an airhead, but she had also mentioned that humans had attacked her, but they couldn't hit her. It was unlikely that was because of a lack of skill on their part, but rather because of that exceptional agility she had displayed. If he did end up as her enemy, she could be a fearsome foe.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to cut her in half or something," a voice called out.

Animus gave a start and whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice. Nothing behind him. Nothing to his right.

"Jeez, you're awfully jumpy, aren't ya?" a new voice snickered, clearly amused.

Above? Turning to his left and looking up, he spied two onlookers high above him. Laid out along the slanted roof of one of the many houses that lined the street was a human woman. Long golden hair, tied back in a ponytail ironically enough, hung in short bangs that veiled piercing red eyes looking down on him with a sidelong gaze from her lofty perch. She held her arms crossed over a crimson top patched with accents of gold. This was complemented by a similarly colored pair of slacks, striped with the same golden hue down the sides of the pant legs. Her expression was hard to read. A smile played at her lips, but at the same time the look in her eyes was surprisingly critical. He could feel her stare lancing through him.

Accompanying her, floating lazily on a puffy white cloud, was a cyan pegasus with a dazzling multicolored mane. The mare had her neck craned over the edge of the cloud, stifling uncontrollable chuckles behind her hoof. She sure seemed to be enjoying herself with that poorly hidden smug grin on her face.

The woman, which he identified as the first voice, spoke up again, "You looked like you were in a bad mood already, but you didn't lash out at that mare. You handled yourself a lot better than most of the frightened idiots around here."

Animus crossed his arms and looked up at the pair, particularly eyeballing the pegasus that seemed to find so much amusement in him. They had been watching him at least since he entered town? Why?

"So why did you come here all the way from Canterlot?" the woman asked, pointing off to the north where the regal city could still be seen. It jutted out of the side of a high mountain far in the distance. The size of it, even at this range, testified to its magnificent scale.

"You know, eavesdropping isn't a very polite hobby," he replied flatly. "Laughing at someone, or asking questions without introducing yourself aren't much better either."

An amused smile broke on the woman's face, and she nodded softly, "You're right. My name is Mia, former Salamander of Alfheim and head of the Thirteenth Aincrad Raid Squad." She gave a slight bow before reclining on the roof once more and gestured to the cloudbound pony. "Chuckles here is called Rainbow Dash. She calls herself the greatest flier in all of Equestria, and is a walking, talking ego trip."

"Yeah, well you can shove those opposable thumbs where the sun don't shine," Rainbow Dash shot back with a grin.

"Bite me, Skittles," came the retort without missing a beat.

"Heh, sounds like someone wants to taste the rainbow."

"Hah, you wish I swung that way."

"You aren't packing what a mare needs anyway."

"No one would get a chance anyway with that swollen ego in the way."

"Bitch."

"You know it."

"Ahem!" Animus cleared his throat. His cheeks were also a tad flushed from the implications being thrown back and forth. "You've gotten a bit off track ladies, and as entertaining as it would be to see you rip each other's heads off, I have something important to prepare for."

Both turned to look back at him and started laughing together. "We're not angry at each other," Mia explained. "This is just how we tease each other."

"Yeah dude, chill out," Rainbow agreed. "We were messing around is all. Mia's awesome to bounce insults with."

Animus sighed and looked up at the two expectantly, waiting for them to return to the topic at hand.

"That something important is what we're curious about," Mia said in a welcome shift of brevity. "Ponyville is a little town that's out of way, and yet you and another pony come walking in with some sense of purpose. That makes me think that you know a bit about what is going on. If I'm putting two and two together right, then am I right to assume something big will happen here when the game officially starts tomorrow?"

Wow, all that from just a bit of conversation and a few other clues? "Impressive," Animus admitted, "You're right, me and that other pony I mentioned before, Twilight Sparkle, figured out that a being called Nightmare Moon is going to awaken from a thousand years of imprisonment."

"Why is it always a thousand years with these things? Why not seven hundred and forty two or something?" Mia wondered.

Animus just shrugged.

"Nightmare Moon is just an old pony's tale though," Rainbow pointed out.

"Given everything that is happening, do you really think it isn't possible?" Animus pointed out. When Rainbow gave no counter argument, he continued, "We figured that this was the most likely place she would appear. So we came here and went our separate ways."

"Well, thanks for the info. It's a heck of a lot better than being in the dark until the moment it starts," Mia thanked him. "So what do you plan to do?"

Lowering his eyes, Animus glanced further into town, seeing how the barren path stretched beyond sight. What was he going to do? His biggest concern was getting home. He had a life to get back to, a life he had already lost two years of. He would get home. He would not let the game beat him. He would hold tight to the happiness of his real life and never let it go.

"I don't know yet," he answered truthfully. "I may join Nightmare Moon's alliance. I just need to figure out the way that will bring everything back to normal."

"If either of you join Nightmare Moon, I'll take you down personally!" Rainbow Dash asserted. There was no anger in her voice, but he could tell she was serious. It wasn't a threat, but a simple promise.

"We'll see," was his answer. With one last glance up at Mia and Rainbow, he gave a small smile and added, "It was a pleasure to meet you both. Good luck tomorrow."

The two of them nodded briefly and returned to their relaxed postures. Animus took that chance to make his exit, making his way deeper into town.

The Savage and the Caretaker

A continuous stream of frustrated huffs, puffs, and grumbles flowed from Twilight's muzzle as she made her way into Ponyville. The clacking of her hooves on the road rang heavily as the weight of anger and indignation brought them down hard with each step. She was so caught up in her fuss that she didn't even notice as she started weaving in and out of a small crowd, years of reading while walking kicking in. She skirted past tall figures that loomed above her, hardly batting an eye.

Spike, however, looked around warily from his perch on her back. He was all too aware of the tracking gazes of various humans that bored into them.

While the streets towards the edge of town had been completely abandoned, they were becoming more and more crowded as they moved deeper in. Neither of them had seen a single pony out and about yet, but these humans were wandering somewhat aimlessly around the town. They had probably terrified all of the ponies into their homes by now. Canterlot had definitely been lucky to have someone like Commander Asuna there to help the Royal Guard keep the peace, but Ponyville had no such luck.

"That Animus," Twilight muttered to herself as she kept moving forward. "I try to be nice, and he just treats me like the bad guy!" This is why she preferred books to other... creatures. Ponies or humans; whenever she actually did try to connect, it always blew up in her face! Why? Was she doing something wrong? Because this time it certainly didn't feel like it.

"Studying him like a book? Hah!" she scoffed to herself, "He wishes. I actually like books!"

"Twilight, you love books," Spike quipped, aiming a pointed look at the back of her head.

A fresh flush of red filled Twilight's cheeks. "Oh who asked you?"

The squabbling between the two of them was cut short as a loud ruckus began farther ahead of them. The humans all around started to swarm in on the sudden point of interest. With nothing else to occupy themselves, these humans were jumping at any chance to do or see something, it seemed.

Twilight was about to shrug the unknown incident off when a harsh voice cut through the din of the crowd, "Watch where the hell you're going, you damn stupid horse."

Another pony that was out and about the city? Looking back, she could see a look of similar concern on Spike's face. There was no way they could just walk by after hearing that.

"She's not a horse, she's a pegasus pony," another voice shouted back at the first. "Besides, you're the one who should have watched where you were going. You just bowled into her and knocked her over."

The noise from the crowd grew even louder, and the argument within was drowned out. There was only one way to fix that. Bringing the spell into her mind, Twilight and Spike vanished in a flash of light, reappearing in the strong lower branches of a tree near the incident. Twilight quickly analyzed the situation from above, having a clear side view of everything.

On her left was a young human boy standing with his arms spread wide. The boy had short black hair and bright blue eyes that held unmistakable defiance and conviction in them. His body was trembling slightly, but he didn't give any indication of moving.

The reason for his defiant stance knelt right behind the boy. Propped up on one knee was a pegasus mare with a pale yellow coat and a light pink mane. The look on her face was one of fear and uncertainty as she peered around the protective child.

When Twilight looked to her right, she saw a man with light orange hair spiked out in little pyramids, like a morning star. He had a vicious sneer on his face as he looked down on the boy, and the pony he protected. There was no shortage of that venom in his gaze as it flicked over to Twilight and Spike on their perch.

Looking back to the boy, the angry man spat, "You've got a lot of nerve, you little brat. What the hell do you think you're doing protecting these freaks?"

Twilight was about to give this guy a piece of her mind for that remark, but she was cut off by the distinct flash of Casts manifesting. The child hefted an enormous sword up over his shoulder, letting it crash down on the ground in front of him in a display of massive strength. The gray steel blade, from hilt to tip, was easily as long as he was tall, and the width was as broad as he was from shoulder to shoulder.

Both Twilight and Spike's mouths hung agape, much like those of many of the other observers. This game was just full of surprises. Even if it was because of the mechanics of the system, the fact that such a young child could swing such an enormous weapon was astonishing. Then again, it would be rather odd for his Casts to create a weapon that was too heavy for him to wield.

The child gritted his teeth angrily. "They're not freaks. Miss Fluttershy and the other ponies are living creatures that think and feel just like we do."

That boy... Twilight was genuinely surprised to see another human protecting a pony. Sure, Asuna was well beyond warm and kind, but she'd seemed like the exception rather than the rule when compared to Animus. That man was a strange one. No matter how she had tried, she had no idea what was going through his head.

The cold eyes of the arrogant man swept over the child and his weapon, then to Fluttershy cowering behind him, and finally Twilight and Spike again. The look of stone cold killing intent in the man's eyes was enough to make Twilight's knees wobble, but she held firm. She wasn't going to show that she was intimidated. Not to this guy.

As though he could see right through her facade, a sadistic sneer crossed the man's face. That look sent a chill down Twilight's spine, and she suddenly felt Spike's trembling arms wrap around her neck. With a grunt, the man looked to the crowd all around him. He lifted his arms up and spoke to his captive audience, "Living creatures? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Then again, what would you expect from some naive little brat?" He pointed to the boy, Casts winking into being around his hands as dark and heavy looking leather armor formed along his body. From his fingers sprouted a simple two-handed broadsword with a wide half ring hilt.

"You should watch who you turn your blade on, kid," he snarled, raising his voice higher for all to hear. "You think these things are alive? They may be pretty convincing, but when all is said and done, they're nothing but code. They're just glorified NPCs or monsters, and once I know the sides, I'll kill as many of them as I have to in order to get out of this damn place."

The bold declaration sent murmurs through the crowd. This only pushed the man further, as he stepped forward and stamped his foot on the boy's blade. His boot pressed down on the large weapon and sent red splintering lines into the ground with the blade sinking in. His lips split into an arrogant grin as the boy glared up at him. His small arms trembled as he tried to lift his weapon up, only for it to be pressed further down.

Twilight glowered from her vantage point. Her mind was flipping through possible actions she could take. She wanted to help the boy, and shoot the man away with the concussive shots of her impact driver, but whirling thoughts held her back. From what Animus had taught her, inside town should be a safe zone, and so there was really no actual danger in the present situation unless a duel was started. Attacks could be thrown around, but no actual damage would be taken.

However, if she did act, she might be attacked by the onlookers. With him having whipped them up and into his side of the argument, they were likely to see her as a hostile threat if she responded with violence. On the other hand, if she tried to talk it out, he was just as likely to refute anything she could say with the same arguments he'd given the child. Ponies, or people like him; they never listened.

"Don't call me 'kid'," the boy growled. He struggled and failed to lift his weapon from under the oppressive foot. "My name is Kai, and if you dare hurt Fluttershy, I'll knock you flat!"

What could she do? Twilight looked back to Spike on her back, hoping that the little dragon had one of his occasional nuggets of wisdom to share. He looked no less helpless than she did. There was unmistakable anger in his eyes, and while one arm remained clasped around her neck, the other gripped painfully at the back of her mane. Neither of them had any ideas.

The man burst out laughing. "You're gonna knock me flat? Yeah right, " he mocked Kai. "You're, what, ten years old? Maybe eleven tops? A brat like you doesn't stand a chance. I survived the Sword Art Online incident seven years ago. The name's Kibau, and I was the second in command of the Liberation Army, one of the top guilds in SAO."

Sword Art Online? Those words carried a huge weight with them. Twilight could see from how the crowd suddenly got very quiet.

Kibau had them all eating out of the palm of his hand, and he knew it. In a showy display, he swept his broadsword around, gesturing to them all. "I've survived Sword Art Online, and I know I can survive this damn colorful horse world too. I don't care what it throws at us, we're gonna get the hell out of here and back home no matter what it takes, am I right?"

His boasts were answered by a loud roar of approval from the crowd. Sure, putting herself in their place, Twilight could understand that if she had been pulled into their world, all she would care about would be getting home... Okay that was a lie, she'd be studying their world and culture for weeks on end or even longer, but she would really want to be home too. However, the total apathy on display here was appalling to her. How could they be so casually malicious and callous to not just other creatures, but also their own kind?

Kibau sneered at Kai, "Now get out of my way, brat. I'm gonna make an example of that yellow horse there."

Twilight's blood to turned to ice in her veins. The killing intent coming from him made every instinct in her scream to run away, but she choked it down and stood her ground. Despite that, her mind was deadlocked trying to figure out how she could help without making things worse.

Kibau lifted his blade up beside him, the blade becoming coated in red light as a skill started to build up. The tip of his sword was aimed around Kai and right at Fluttershy, whose eyes were wide with terror.

"No!" four voices screamed in unison. Twilight's own shout blended together with Spike's, Kai's and another's as Kibau thrust his blade.

That fourth voice revealed itself in that instant. A rush of soft green and dark brown rammed through the crowd from in its midst. Humans were bowled over in a chaotic clamor, and the teal glow of another skill lasered out and clashed with the crimson light of Kibau's skill.

"What?!" Kibau growled as his weapon was halted in place. The lights of both skills faded to reveal a Cast gauntlet gripping the blade tightly, clinging to it with fingers tipped with razor points.

Wearing these clawed Casts was a woman in a plain and homely brown dress highlighted with parts of forest green. She had short brown hair that stopped just at her jawline in the back, but swept up near her cheekbones as it ran forward. This line accentuated the glasses she wore, the lenses flaring over her emerald eyes in the fading evening light.

Without a word the woman lifted up her other clawed hand, thrusting it forward in a gleam of yellow. The razor nails were halted mere centimeters from his chest by some invisible force. The air at that point seemed to ripple before the force of the blow struck Kibau in full, lifting his foot up off of Kai's blade and sending him skidding back a few feet.

Kai and Fluttershy looked up in surprise at the woman who had come to their rescue, to which she returned a warm smile. That smile vanished as she swept a livid glare over Kibau, who yanked his blade free of her grip and took a step forward, brandishing it for another strike.

"You bitch, do yo-," he started to take another step forward, but froze in place as a small wave of yellow light flowed over his body from head to toe. His limbs shook, as though he were pushing himself forward with all of his might, but he didn't budge an inch. "What the hell did you do to me?!"

He didn't get a chance to yell more, as with a crack and clank of his enormous blade leaving the earth, Kai rushed forward. The young boy pulled the weapon close to his body and spun in place as he activated a skill of his own. The very wind around him was sent into a flurry as the blade whipped out on the return spin, colliding it full on with Kibau's midsection. There was the same momentary pause of the blade just before, and an even larger ripple effect, then the shockwave took effect. Observers dove aside in a panic, breaking their ringas Kibau was sent flying backward like a cannonball. He struck the wall of a house with a sickening crack and a pained gasp. Only a second later, a narrow current of winds to struck against him, continuing the assault. The winds kicked up a large trail of dust along their path before dying out.

"Incredible," Spike whispered in wonder. "He even turned the air into a weapon."

Twilight could only nod in stunned agreement with his statement. Just two moves and the entire confrontation had been turned around. How though?

As the dust settled, Kibau was revealed slouched against the wall of the home, clutching his stomach in pain. The wall, which probably should have been crushed in the impact, was perfectly fine, a small icon appearing along its surface that read «Immortal Object».

"You really must not have done your homework when we got trapped in this game," the woman glared at Kibau, turning around and helping Fluttershy to her hooves. "This game has more differences from SAO than you'd think. Sword skills here aren't all simple attacks. Some of them have special effects now."

Once Fluttershy nodded that she was alright, the woman turned back to Kibau once more. "For instance, the first skill I used was one called «Blade Grasp». It allows me to catch a blow and interrupt other sword skills. My second was «Nerve Point»," she leered through her spectacles as she pushed them farther up on her nose. Both the lenses and the razor claws of her Cast glinted fiercely in the light. "That skill causes three seconds of temporary paralysis at the area I strike. Since I hit your chest, your whole body was paralysed. These are skills of my talon class weapon."

"Then there's my zanbato skill," Kai added, hefting his large weapon onto his shoulder with both arms, "«Tempest Wave» is a two strike skill. The winds created by the force of the first strike become a projectile that fires in the path of the swing."

"It's shameful," the woman clenched her fist in front of her. Her whole body was trembling as she shouted, "Using Sword Art Online as a reason for your way to be the right way. You're not the only person that had to suffer through that hell, Kibau of the Aincrad Liberation Army." She spat his name with an unmistakable malice.

"I used to live in the Town of Beginnings seven years ago. The very town that the Army called home, and I remember your name all too well," she continued as Kibau slowly pulled himself to his feet. What this woman was saying was clearly upsetting him. "You and your followers in the Army were absolute terrors, harming players and NPCs alike and extorting money. You even tried to get the leader of your guild killed in a dungeon so that you could take over."

A number of the once admiring looks of the crowd turned to scorn and disgust towards Kibau, who could only fume in impotent rage as his attempts to side people with him were ripped apart with just a few words. That didn't stop him from sticking to his convictions though, as he shot back, "Thinker was a weak fool, and because of him, our guild had stagnated while all the other guilds were getting stronger. I was going to turn us around so we could beat that game and return to the real world." He swung his broadsword through the air in a show of convicted anger. "We needed as many strong players on the front lines as possible back then!"

"And you were willing to kill a good man to accomplish that?" she retorted. "I'm sick of your self-serving excuses. Get the hell out of my sight."

At the woman's harsh words, half of the crowd that had been watching the incident play out stepped away. However, much to Twilight's bewilderment and frustration, rather than going on their way, the group walked over and stood beside Kibau. One of them offered him a shoulder to lean on, which he gladly accepted with a pained smirk.

"Why are you-?" Kai began to ask, but was stopped by a clawed hand on his shoulder.

The woman looked down at him and shook her head, the slightly smaller remains of the crowd moved to stand behind them. "Let it be," she said softly, a stark change from the hostility she displayed just moments before.

"But-," he tried to argue.

"We can't force any decision on them," she interrupted. "It's their choice to make, even if we don't like it."

"Once this game really starts, you better watch your backs," Kibau called back as he and his new followers walked away. "Next time I won't be caught off guard and beaten so easily."

When Kibau and his group disappeared down an adjacent road, Fluttershy, Kai, and the woman let out relieved sighs together. Twilight even let out a long breath, and heard a similar puff of air from Spike. Neither of them had realized they'd been holding their breath.

A soft voice reached Twilight's ears, bringing her attention down to where Fluttershy was bowing her head. "Th-thank you so much for protecting me from that scary guy," she said in gratitude. "How can I ever thank you, Kai, and Miss..."

"Oh right, I'm Sasha," she introduced herself, letting her gauntlets disperse. "No thanks are necessary." Her eyes turned up and looked straight at Twilight and Spike in the tree, causing the unicorn and dragon to jerk in surprise. "You can come down now," she called with a warm smile.

Twilight felt a little tentative at first, with how ferocious Sasha had just been. The warmth of that smile eased her nerves somehow. She really didn't seem like a bad person.

All eyes riveted up to the tree just in time to see the flash of light as Twilight teleported. A few even jumped in surprise as she and Spike appeared in their midst in the next instant.

"Thank Celestia you showed up!" Spike exclaimed after shaking a little dizziness off. "I don't even wanna think about what would have happened if you hadn't stopped that Kibau jerk."

Fluttershy seemed to perk up with immense interest upon seeing Spike, taking a few steps closer as Twilight apologized, "I'm sorry for just watching all of that. I didn't know what to do."

"No," Sasha shook her head, "it's good that you didn't take action. I think Kibau was trying to goad you into attacking him so he could spin it to his advantage." With a short nod of thanks to the crowd, they all started to spread out and return to how they had been before. There was more tension in the air now, after such a violent incident.

"It's better that I stepped in, instead of you," she smiled, knitting her fingers together. "Besides, part of why I wanted to save Fluttershy was to thank her."

"Thank me?" Fluttershy asked meekly, bewildered. "What for?"

"Because of what you've been doing for the children," Sasha explained happily. "Back during that Sword Art Online game that was mentioned before, I took in children in the Town of Beginnings who were too young or scared to fight. I did as much as I could to protect them and give them a place to be happy. Fluttershy is doing the exact same thing now, finding children here in Ponyville and bringing them to her home so they'll be safe."

"Wow, that's incredibly kind of you," Twilight blinked in surprise, taking a little step towards a blushing Fluttershy.

The flush mare shirked back. Her face was a deep crimson as she mumbled softly, "I-I just wanted to help them. They looked so scared after they heard that they couldn't go home. Everypony else seemed too scared to leave their houses and help them." She flopped back on her haunches and threw slender yellow forelimbs over her muzzle. She squeaked out, "I mean, it was terrifying, but I couldn't just let those poor little creatures stay alone and scared could I?"

"Miss Fluttershy found me about two hours ago," Kai explained as he walked over, giving the shy pegasus a hug. The mare gave another squeak, but didn't pull away like she had from Twilight. "She's kinda a scaredy-cat, so I decided to go around town with her and protect her. I'm playing the big strong knight! Protector of the sweet and innocent, pony or human!"

"That's so cool, think I could be a knight too?" Spike beamed, hopping off of Twilight's back.

Twilight rolled her eyes as Kai grinned wide. The boy examined Spike up and down and asked, "Ever fought before?"

"Umm... No," was the hesitant answer.

"Heh, that's no problem," Kai smirked mischievously. "Agree to become my page, and I'll show you how to fight, no sweat!"

Spike was absolutely aglow with excitement, reaching a claw up to shake. "You've got a- OWOWOW! Watch the frills Twilight!" he yelped as an aura of magenta magic tugged him away by his frilled ear. Kai gave similar protests as Sasha tugged him back by his own ear.

No way was her little dragon going to be throwing himself into danger. No sir. "You aren't going to be fighting anything, Spike. You're going to stay where it's safe," Twilight said with absolute authority.

"And you, young man, won't be putting yourself or others in harm's way with your silly antics," Sasha agreed with equal conviction. "Fluttershy and I will be taking you back to her house. You'll stay where it's safe with the other children."

"Aww!" the two youngsters groaned in unison. "That's not fa-"

Both were cut off by a stern glare from Sasha, the intensity of which could only be guessed at beneath the fierce glare of light from her glasses as she pushed them up once more. Fluttershy giggled softly at the stern disciplining.

The young human and dragon went very quiet very quickly, and Sasha once again turned to a warm, comforting smile. "I'm very sorry," she bowed her head slightly as she apologized, "I've neglected to ask your names."

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike," the introductions came promptly. Twilight dipped her head in return while Spike nursed an aching frill.

"I really don't mean to be rude or anything, but we need to be going. We came from Canterlot to try to figure out everything that's going on," she explained vaguely. No need to mention Nightmare Moon right now and have information about her spreading, and especially with somepony as timid as Fluttershy right there.

That was right, Nightmare Moon was coming tonight. With the high of the previous tension winding down, Twilight's mind came right back to the reason she had come here. Preparations had to be made. She needed to be ready for it, but for that she might need a little more research.

"Do you happen to know where the local library is," Twilight asked Fluttershy. There wouldn't be as much wealth of information in a little town like this compared to, say, the royal archives. Nevertheless, it was the closest township to the old ruins of the Princesses' castle. There could be some useful information somewhere around here. Plus, if she couldn't find anything, she would have an isolated space to continue studying all the information and functions she could find in the player menus.

The pegasus mare nodded and pointed down the road further into town. "If you just head down this way, you'll reach the town square. From there, take the west path and it should take you right by the library. Oh, but you really should be careful around the square. That's where most of the humans are." Fluttershy's eyes shot down to her hooves as she mumbled, "I've been going around in the side roads instead of through the plaza. A lot of the humans there look really scary."

"I don't blame you," Sasha sighed, shaking her head, "A few fights have broken out around there already. A lot of the seedier and more aggressive players seem to be hanging around there while the others stay farther out." She idly tapped her fingers on her hip, her brow creased with worry as she added, "On top of that, all but a handful of the braver ponies are shut in their homes. That's probably for the best though, given everyone's emotional state."

Twilight nodded soberly, but lifted Spike in the glow of her magic in a bid to make a quick exit. There was no time for idle chit-chat anymore. She'd already let the incident with Kibau distract her from her mission.

Heading down the way Fluttershy had indicated, Twilight thanked the two of them and repeated short apologies. A moment later she was on her way. She really hoped that there might be some detail she could find that would help her fix all of this. Maybe some information on the Elements of Harmony that would help her even though they'd been deleted? At this point, she'd take just about any option she could find to end all of this before it could truly begin.

Still standing at ground zero of the heated conflict, Sasha and Fluttershy started to discuss taking Kai back when a large poof of pink popped up beside the child. They gave a start as the new arrival chimed in out of the blue, "Heya everypony! Oops, everypony wouldn't be right would it? Everyhuman? No, Fluttershy is left out then..." She started to mumble quietly to herself, adopting an interestingly serious expression as she tried to solve her little conundrum.

Though surprised, Fluttershy was relieved to see her friend. The smile on her face was more than proof of that. "Hello Pinkie. Um, if you don't mind, could you please not pop up so suddenly next time?" she asked.

"Oh, oki doki, Fluttershy," Pinkie perked up. Looking to the others she beamed, "Heya Kai. Heya Sasha."

"Just as energetic as before," Kai chuckled to himself at the perpetual pep of the perky pink pony.

"You remembered our names," Sasha noted, impressed. "I take it you've finished trying to welcome every last new arrival here in Ponyville?" The pink mare had been quite vocal about her mission before.

Her words seemed to make something click in Pinkie's head, and she revealed a surprising smirk. "Yeah, I got to everyone except one last pony," she answered, chest swelling with pride. Her tone was more level than before as she spoke, but still held that unmistakable mischievous mirth. "I've got a special surprise in mind now, too."

Looking around secretively, Pinkie pulled the three of them in and whispered in a hushed tone. Each of them nodded periodically before breaking the impromptu huddle.

"Sounds like a lot of fun!" Kai snickered, clasping his hands behind his head.

"Sure, I think it'll do some good," Sasha agreed.

"Do you think some animals would be alright? The children have been loving them so much, and I'm sure it would make them even happier," Fluttershy requested in earnest.

"Of course," Pinkie nodded. "Be sure to bring them all along. Do you think you could also go get Rarity on the way?" Planning mode engaged as Pinkie started to list details off. "Last I saw her she was at the boutique using a human girl to try to make new designs. Tell her there will be a lot more specimens for her to work designs off of there. Try to get that Lisbeth girl to come too. Maybe tell her there will be a lot of Casts for her to examine. Trust me, that should do the trick. Got it all?"

Eyes spinning from the overflow of information all at once, Fluttershy tried to piece it together simply, "Rarity; design inspiration. Human girl; Casts. Um, that's it, right?"

"Atta' girl, Fluttershy," Pinkie nodded vigorously.

Only a few more little details were discussed before Pinkie evacuated the area. All she gave was a claim that she had something super important to do on her own, and vanished as quickly as she had come, leaving the others to go about as they had discussed. There was one common thought on all of their minds.

With everything that was happening, something like this was very much needed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Animus stopped along his chosen path as a strong grumble passed through his stomach. Hungry. He had some bits from the two timberwolves he and Twilight had taken turns fighting earlier, so maybe he could get something. It couldn't cost too much, could it?

Looking around, however, price didn't seem to be the real issue at present. Even if he could afford it, there were empty grocery stalls scattered all around, and any actual houses of business were locked up tight. There were no NPCs in this world just running shops and the like automatically. No active shopkeepers meant he wouldn't be able to get so much as a fruit or vegetable to curb his hunger pangs. There weren't even that many other humans in this area, just a few scattered up and down the road.

One of these humans caught Animus' attention though. A broad-shouldered giant of a man with dark skin and a bald head. He was knelt down in front of the pony-sized counter of a shaded stall, holding up a bright red apple that just about made Animus' mouth water. It looked so sweet and juicy to his ravenous eyes, and the signals of his hunger only grew stronger at the sight. Upon closer inspection, it looked like this stall actually had baskets filled to the brim with colorful apples on either side.

Curious, he walked up to the stall, and as he got closer, he saw two ponies standing behind the counter, talking with the large man. One was a large, bulky stallion with a vibrant maroon coat and a large yoke around his neck, while the other was a smaller mare with an orange coat. Both of them had the same blonde manes. The stallion's was shorter and ruffled while the mare's mane flowed out from under a wide-brimmed stetson hat, and ironically enough was tied into a ponytail.

As he got closer, the conversation between them came into focus.

"There ain't no way ah could ever feel right chargin' folks forty bits a pound fer our apples," the mare shook her head obstinately. "That's more than twice the price they normally go for."

"Now just hear me out, Applejack," the large man said calmly, "You see, I did just a little hunting of wild monsters outside of town earlier today. Just from one weak enemy I got an easy ten bits. So with just four kills I'd have enough to buy a pound of apples, and that was just from easy fights. Economics are gonna take a big turn really quickly around here, and you gotta stay ahead of the game if you wanna do well."

This was certainly an interesting conversation. Seeing as how he hadn't been noticed just yet, Animus hung back a ways and listened to the debate taking place.

"And how in tarnation would hiking the prices of mah wares do that, Agil?" Applejack questioned, clearly skeptical.

As if to demonstrate a point, the man named Agil took a bite out of the apple he was holding. "Now, I may not know what else this world has to offer, but your apples have to be the best I've ever tasted. There's no doubt in my mind that others would be more than willing to spend a little time fighting to get the money together to pay for them. And since bits are so easy to come by, that means that prices of other items are gonna take a rise too. It's basic inflation principle." With a smile he took another bite before continuing, "Not only would you be ahead of that curve, but your prices would actually encourage players to go out and get stronger to get more money, which can only be good for your alliance. Plus you could charge quite a bit more for those baked goods you mentioned to further increase profits and support growth. If you're aggressive with your prices you can even have some extra scratch to help others with in any way you choose."

This guy really knew his stuff. Animus was thoroughly impressed, and Applejack, though still a bit uncertain, seemed to see the logic in his statements. Looking to the stallion beside her, she asked, "Whadya think Big Macintosh?"

The broad-shouldered male, stoic up till that point, looked pensive for a moment before answering, "Makes sense tah me. If things are changin' that much, we're gonna need prices that match that."

"I knew you'd see things my way," Agil laughed. "I'm something of a merchant myself, so I understand how hard running a shop can be in this sort of situation. Since you two were brave enough to come out and try to provide a little food for us humans, I wanted to give a little advice, businessman to businesspony."

"It's mighty appreciated, partner," Applejack relaxed, uncertainty leaving her. "If more humans are like ya'll, we might be able to get through this here crazy situation alright."

The laugh that followed from Agil was a bit off and forced. His shoulders slouched a bit and he mused, "Yeah, let's hope everything turns out for the best." His somber tone brought a touch of worry to the ponies.

With the conversation seemingly reaching an end, Animus resumed his approach. Applejack and Big Mac perked up at his arrival. Kneeling down by the counter, he shifted through his menu to retrieve ten bits, sliding the golden coins onto the counter. "This should get me one apple, right?" he asked.

Applejack nodded and tipped her head to the side to indicate he could take one. More than happy to do so, he picked up a particularly shiny red delicious and crunched into it. A low hum of bliss escaped his throat as the flavor hit home. Agil had been right, these apples were amazing. Better than any he'd had back home.

"You know, it isn't very polite to eavesdrop on others, kid," Agil interrupted. "How else could you have known to offer ten bits for one apple?"

Animus shrugged, caught in the act. "I didn't mean any harm by it. Just couldn't help but be curious about an interesting conversation," he answered truthfully before pushing himself back to his feet. Not really intent on talking, more concerned with how he should prepare for tonight, he waved a bit on his way out. "Thanks for the food." he said as he left.

"That guy's an odd one," Applejack said, eyes tracking Animus as he walked off.

"We all have our issues and our ways to deal with them," Agil nodded. "He's done no real harm, so no need to worry about it."

When the apple stall was well out of sight behind him, Animus deftly tossed his meal into the air and caught it. Sure, he wanted to prepare for tonight, but how exactly should he do that? As much as he hated to admit it, he'd probably have a bit more direction if he had stuck with nosey Twilight.

Animus stopped mid-step as he felt a tap on his shoulder. Whirling around, he found... Nothing.

"What the-" he began to say, but he never finished as a he felt a blow strike the back of his head. The blow itself wasn't that strong, but in the next instant he felt his eyelids grow heavy and fall. His body went limp, and he crumpled to the ground like a rag doll.

The last thing he heard was an all-too familiar voice giggling and exclaiming, "Phase one complete!"

Author's Note

Long chapter is long!

Whew, I put a lot of work and thought into this one. Sadly, it took much longer to finish than I would have prefered, but hey, when you have a nearly four year old daughter to look after every day, you take what little energy and inspiration you can find. I hope you enjoyed everything I brought out in this chapter. Five more major humans introduced, three protagonists from SAO and one antagonist, then another OC. I have all sorts of fun plans brewing for these characters and how everything will progress.

This chapter also demonstrates something I'm trying to do differently from SAO. Adding special effects to sword skills in my opinion will allow me to.adapt more strategy into the story. Really, I'm taking as much inspiration from another favorite MMO based anime of mine, Log Horizon, as I can, and fitting it in with SAO elements. Seriously though, all of you that haven't NEED to watch Log Horizon. I love SAO a lot, but in my opinion, LH is about ten times better in almost every way. It's that freaking good. Hilarious, an amazing and diverse cast of characters, intense battle tactics, politics, and economic mechanics, a great score, and a main character that shows just how wonderfully devious a genuinely good guy can be.

Oh... and... AKATSUKI-CHAN! KAWAIII DESU-NEE!

*coughcough* Sorry, had to get that out of my system. That little ninja is just too damned adorable.

The Eve of War

"Did you see the way Kai swung that huge blade?" Spike cooed in delight, rocking back and forth on Twilight's back.

He had been talking about it ever since they'd left the humans and Fluttershy. Irritation slowly bubbling, Twilight tried to remember that he was just a child, and it was unavoidable. "Yes, I saw it," she sighed, keeping a steady trot. "How could I miss it?"

Despite her exasperation, Twilight really couldn't deny that she was impressed too. The fact that the laws of reality had changed significantly to suit a game kept being brought to the forefront of her wonderment. Sure, there had always been wondrous feats achieved with magic, but here humans seemed to have no magical aptitude. Not even in the same sense as the magic of earth ponies and pegasi.

That only made it stranger that they had Casts bound to them, even if it was because of the game. Casts were supposed to bind to the magical flow within their user, and yet from what Twilight had been able to tell, the humans didn't even have such an aura. Then there were the sword skills. The paralysis Sasha had triggered and the winds Kai had kicked up had both had faint traces of magic to them, now that she thought back on it.

Were the Casts and the skills somehow being used as a conduit for limited magical manipulation? That wouldn't make sense though. All magic begins and ends with mana, and the game didn't seem to have changed that. The flow and aura of mana was present in all things. It begged the question, what was it that the Casts were bonding to in the humans, and how was it still allowing them to manipulate the mana around them through the sword skills? They didn't seem to have direct control of it either. Magic was supposed to be controlled through the will of the user, but all these humans had to do was hold their weapons certain ways and pre-set effects occurred.

It was as though the Casts all of them wore were operating under completely different laws than her own magic.

A low, frustrated growl rumbled from Twilight as she continued to turn her observations over in her mind. What good was it doing her to postulate like this? She could put details together until she was blue in the face, but she had no way of knowing if she was even close to correct. It wouldn't do Celestia any good either, wherever she was. No, she needed to try to find out more information on Nightmare Moon's defeat and the Elements of Harmony. She reasoned that any scrap of information could make a difference.

A sharp tug on Twilight's mane brought her attention back to the world around her. On instinct she stopped in her tracks, only to wince as Spike's head knocked into the back of her own.

"Ow! Pay attention, will you, Twilight?" Spike grimaced, rubbing the faintly glowing red mark that quickly vanished. He pointed a claw ahead of her, where she saw the path open up into a large crossroads where countless humans could be seen. Some sat around with empty looks on their faces, while others walked aimlessly about. Farther into the tall crowds, beyond sight, the sounds of metal striking metal could be heard. The clanking and crashing echoed over the indiscernible mass of voices.

Sasha and Fluttershy had been right, there had to be well over three thousand humans at this plaza right now, and the atmosphere practically suffocated her with the tension and hostility she was looking into. She was only pulled out of that constricting feeling by Spike gently giving her shoulder a shake. He pointed off to their right towards a sparsely populated street that seemed to arch along the outer edges of the plaza.

"We should go quickly," Spike said nervously. "The longer we stay here, the more likely we'll attract the wrong sort of attention."

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, the sooner we find that library, the better," she agreed.

Starting at a slow trot, Twilight headed down the safer road. Despite that, her curiosity forced her head to turn to look into the plaza whenever there was a break in the buildings. These humans were such an oddity.

She walked along in silence the rest of the way. Even Spike was quiet, only wistfully looking around at the town. When she reached the road that branched out due west from the plaza, she turned down it, keeping her slow but urgent pace. The sun was dipping lower and lower, tinting the town a rosey pink and the sky progressively melted from warm orange and pink into a deeper and darker night blue.

Twilight had to squint her eyes against the light of the setting sun for a little while, but got a welcome reprieve as the shadow of a large tree fell over her. Looking ahead, she saw what had to be the library casting its long shadow over her and her assistant. The large but stocky tree sat cozily on an isolated stretch of road where the density of buildings started to thin out. The roads were empty too. Not a single human or pony to be seen. It was just her, Spike, and a treehouse with something dangling on a rope from one of its branches...

Wait.

"What the hay is that?" Spike muttered as he too noticed the cocoon-like mass of rope swinging gently, a good four feet off the ground.

Coming up to the swaying oddity, Twilight could only shrug in answer. She did, however, notice a strange tuft of what had to be brown hair poking out of the bottom of the wrap. It was hard to miss, since it was level with her head.

Spike shuffled to his feet on her back. He reached up and gave the cocoon a hard poke, causing it to sway even further back and forth.

"Nnnrgh! Ow," a groggy but unmistakable voice growled out. "Who the hell is poking me?"

"Animus!?" Twilight said incredulously. A slight edge had slipped into her voice already, remembering how much of a plothole he'd been to her only a couple hours ago. She used her magic to unceremoniously yank up the ropes around his head to reveal his sleepy-eyed face. "What are you doing hanging from the library?"

A pained grimace spread across his face as he grumbled, "Great, you again. How the hell should I know? One minute I was eating an apple and walking through town, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up with someone poking my collarbone." He shot a pointed glare at Spike, who puffed a small jet of fire in his direction.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk for no reason?" Twilight growled back at him. "You have the craziest damn mood-swings I've ever seen. One minute we were getting along at least a little, and the next you were treating me like I insulted your mother or something!"

Fire lit behind Animus' eyes as he shouted back, "Like I said, I don't need you to be prying into things you're not welcome in! Hell, even if I end up on your side of this damn war, that won't change a thing!" He tried to struggle against his bonds, but only managed to make himself swing more and start spinning in a dizzying spiral.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Twilight snorted.

"There you go again, trying to read me," he groaned in protest. "My reasons are my own. Besides that, once this is all over, I'll either be dead or back in my own world."

So he considered that reason enough to act like this? "So because either way you'll be gone for good whenever this is all over, that gives you the right to treat me like this just for trying to get to know you?" Twilight fumed. She stamped a hoof on the ground hard enough to send Spike teetering from her back, face-first into the cobble road. "We talked about this game; we talked about Equestria and the types of ponies here; we figured out our situation together easily! Then the moment I ask about you, you blow up in my face! What the actual rut!?"

Spike looked up from his faceplant with wide eyes. He'd never heard Twilight swear like that before. She was usually so proper and polite with her language, if a bit awkward at times. She had to be really ticked to blurt such strong profanity out without even faltering.

Animus turned his head abruptly to the side in an attempt to deliberately shirk her tirade. All he achieved for the effort was another dizzying spin in his bonds. He was abruptly halted by Twilight's magic grasping his head, and was forced to look the unicorn in the eyes as she pulled him closer.

Facts she had accumulated scrolled through Twilight's mind as she held him tight in her glow. If he wouldn't say anything, then she'd just have to show his childish behavior to be just that. She'd take what details she had heard from him and others and figure him out despite his attitude.

Yeah, that had to be it. All of the details fell perfectly into place. She smirked at him and declared, "You know what? I think I just figured out a few things about that ‘SAO’, or rather, ‘Sword Art Online’."

Animus' reaction told her she'd hit a nerve. His eyes widened and his jaw clenched. Funny how the body language of ponies and humans wasn't all that different. When he said nothing, she continued, "Sword Art Online was a lot like this game, wasn't it? Humans were trapped in a different world, and couldn't get out until someone won?"

Still no answer except for a wide-eyed glare.

"People died, didn't they? I'm assuming the rules for death were much more severe than in this game? And this all happened between nine and seven years ago, so you had to have been just a kid at the time."

"Stop it."

"For you to act like this, given the facts, I can only assume it's some sort of trauma."

"You-"

"So the question is, what the hay happened to you that makes you act like-"

"SHUT UP!" he finally snapped, his voice cracking and choking as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Twilight would have smiled in triumph, but she hadn't expected the tears. They welled up in his eyes and quickly started to flow down his forehead to drip from his brow. The sudden shift in demeanor snapped Twilight's focus, and she mentally kicked herself. She'd just said it herself; his behavior was probably rooted in a trauma. She'd just dug a big part of that up and waved it in his face just to prove a point.

"I-I'm sorry. I just-"

"You're right, okay? Are you happy?" Animus growled defensively. "Sword Art Online was horrible. Terrifying. I saw people die right in front of me, and not just because of monsters. The people were even worse. Where I had to live for two years, that was a literal hell! People extorted and killed each other just to get ahead and get stronger, while kids like me had only each other and a little church!" His growl quickly grew into more shouting as he struggled against the ropes. "You've hit the bullseye, you nosy know-it-all, so are you proud of yourself?"

No. No she wasn't proud. That still didn't excuse his behavior though. Sure, he had experienced horrible things she couldn't imagine, but even something like that didn't give him the right to ignore common decency.

"Would you quit acting like such a spoiled foal?" she shouted right back in his face. She held his head fast in the grip of her magic and didn't let him look away from her. "You may have had to deal with a lot in the past, but acting like this isn't going to help you get through this. All you're doing is letting your past control you. You're letting that other damn game win!"

Animus' eyes widened once more, a strange look passing over him as they went out of focus. It seemed that her words had struck a good nerve though, as the tension about him seemed to instantly deflate. His tears quickly dried up, and his eyes averted in growing shame. "Damn it, idiot," he hissed, but from his tone he clearly wasn't talking to Twilight. "Can't even keep the promise to her."

Spike sighed happily now that the argument seemed to be winding down. He turned over to sit upright and lazily clacked his claws on the hard pathway. "Her? The promise to not let a game beat you?"

Good questions. Him saying such mysterious things aloud only served to make Twilight even more curious about who he’d made such a promise to. He was cooling off now, so what kind of memory had she touched on to provoke this change?

Animus was silent for a few seconds, but took a deep breath and said, "Look, you figured out about Sword Art Online. You figured out that I lived through horrible shit. Can you please leave it at that? I'll apologize for my behavior, but I don't want to talk about this. It's personal to me."

Well, at least he was calmer. His apology seemed pretty sincere too. It would be pretty poor form for her to drag the skeletons out of his proverbial closet and not forgive him now. "I apologize too. I was butting in a little too far," she admitted.

"And I could have at least told you a little just to keep your curiosity in check," Animus grumbled reluctantly. "I value my privacy, but I guess I did act out of line."

"Oh for the love of Celestia, will you two just finish the whole kiss-and-make-up routine so we can get back to business?" Spike asked dryly, dusting himself off as he stood.

A deep blush covered both of their faces as man and mare turned laser hot glares at Spike before shouting in unison, "Who asked you?!" Their combined shout was enough to knock the baby dragon right back on his behind.

After suppressing the glow in their cheeks, Animus asked, "Do you think you could get me down from here now? I don't exactly think I'm gonna be hatching into a beautiful butterfly or anything."

Releasing his head from her magic, Twilight let him lazily swing back and forth, smirking playfully all the while. "You've got Casts don't you? You don't need me to get you down," she pointed out, walking past him to the library door. She lifted Spike back up to ride on her back.

"Oh. Right," he nodded, clearly vexed that he had not thought of that himself.

Twin lights flashed underneath the ropes, which suddenly began to fray and unravel. A long spear shot down along the length of his body and cut through the ties, finally releasing him. Releasing him into a head-on collision with the ground, that is. Twilight let out a long snerk as she fought back the urge to laugh, watching Animus clutch at his head and loose many profanities into the air. Spike was less successful, cracking up loudly at the graceless display.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," Animus said as he finally rose to his feet.

"Ooooh immensely," Twilight grinned. Spike chortled at her side.

He shot a mildly irritated but playful look her way and relented, "I suppose I deserve that."

He sure did, but she supposed he'd had enough now and motioned her head for him to join her at the door. If they could manage to at least be civilized with each other, it could be to their advantage to peruse the library together and return to the cooperation they'd had before. Twilight had to admit, she enjoyed having someone around that she could speak to on the same level. He didn't come across as the bookish type like her, but he was undeniably intelligent and quick-witted.

Animus took the invitation and pulled himself up to look at the tree he'd been hung from. "So this is the local library, you said?" When she nodded in answer, he asked, "Trying to find more information that might not have been in your study?"

She nodded again. This was why he could be rather enjoyable company, when he wasn't throwing a tantrum like a little foal. He was perceptive. He was smart. She never felt like she had to explain what she meant when speaking to him. He was just a freaking jerk when it came to talking about himself. Seriously, what was his problem?

She was only more curious now.

Out of respect of his privacy - and a bit of shame for her earlier behavior - she bit her tongue to prevent further inquiries from slipping out. Instead she said, "Let's get inside. It's almost nighttime and we only have so much time before morning is supposed to come."

"Right," Animus agreed, reaching for the door and turning it open.

One second the air around them had been dead silent, but the moment the door cracked open it was suddenly swung violently outward. Music and voices blasted out of the doorway and assaulted the ears of the unsuspecting mare, dragon, and man. The cacophony of noise was accompanied by a rousing shout of "SURPRISE!" from countless voices within.

A library, a veritable sanctuary of quiet and learning, was instead a den of chatter, music, and general disorder before a shocked Twilight. Countless faces peered from within and waved to her, Spike, and Animus; most of them human with a handful of ponies. One pink mare in particular rushed forward from the crowd and leaped into the doorway.

Just calling her pink didn't seem to do it justice in Twilight's mind. She was pink from head to hoof except for the sparkling blue of her eyes and the yellow and blue balloons of her cutie mark. She smiled wide and giggled, "I hope you two grumpy gusses made up. Wouldn't want sour faces spoiling a great party, after all."

Animus let out a noise that was somewhere between a groan and a laugh, "Clever. Very clever, Pinkie. You knew about both of us from the start, didn't you?"

Twilight blinked in bewilderment. Animus had met her already? Well, Pinkie was certainly a fitting name for her.

Pinkie looked up at Animus with a sly grin and proudly declared, "Yessiree-doodle. Never underestimate Pinkamena Diane Pie's ability to track down new friends and turn their frowns upside down! You two really needed it too, after that big fight you had, but I can tell it's worked out now."

Animus leaned down with a fake sneer that clearly was more smile than anything else, "That reminds me, I seem to remember now that it was you who ambushed me and knocked me out."

Pinkie shrugged the accusation aside and motioned them inside. "Silly, you wouldn't have attended your little therapy session if I hadn't. Now get your flanks in here and enjoy the party. We're gonna keep going till the game starts tomorrow morning!"

Animus was quickly dragged inside by Pinkie before he could voice any objections. Spike wasn't far behind, running into the party with a whoop of excitement. Twilight just stood in the doorway for several moments. Her sanctuary from the insanity of the world right now, a place she thought would be safe and quiet, was a roaring party ground. Human children ran around shrieking happily, playing with what looked to be a hoard of small animals. The older humans and all of the ponies present were scattered about the main room talking, laughing, and drinking punch.

How was she supposed to research with all of this going on? She'd never be able to focus!

A sigh of defeat escaped Twilight as she trudged through the door and followed Pinkie Pie. So much for her plans.

Pinkie seemed to notice how upset she was and turned back to ask, "What's wrong Twilight? Don't you like the party? I threw it just for you and all of our new human friends. No one should be sad at a Pinkie Party."

The look on Pinkie's face... She was obviously concerned, and she did seem to have put a lot of effort into this party. Twilight just couldn't bring herself to say that she wasn't really the party type, or that she would rather the whole party be gone so that she could have some quiet. The fact that Pinkie had deemed it necessary to play therapist in her own way didn't help either.

She obviously had the best intentions though, so Twilight just said, "Oh, it's nothing. I really want to know though, why are you throwing a party now of all times?"

The question confused Pinkie, her head tilting to the side. "Why not throw a party? I always throw a party for newcomers to Ponyville," she answered as though it were the only logical conclusion. "Right now everyone is scared or angry, so I got together all of the nice humans I could find and all the brave ponies willing to leave their houses so that we could all break the ice. Some of those icon-y thingies over the humans' heads have even turned yellow too because of the party."

"Wow, really? That's great!" Twilight smiled, genuinely surprised. Looking again, she saw that almost every icon in the room was glowing the same golden yellow color. All of the children had them. A number of the adults too. Twilight even spied Sasha and Kai here, and their icons, that had been gray last she saw, were now yellow.

This was all thanks to a party? Something so simple had given immediate results, and what had Twilight been concerning herself with? Just looking in books for answers that very well might not even be there. Suddenly she felt very much like a fool for her single-minded focus. The humans understood this game better than anypony could, so what good would her research do them if they didn't have any human allies to help them?

Twilight thought back to her brother and Commander Asuna, who from all indications seemed to have calmed down the entire huge city of Canterlot together. In barely an afternoon's time too. What had she accomplished since coming to Ponyville? Nothing at all. The whole place was a powder keg and she'd just walked past it.

A part of her mind argued against that though. What could she have even done? She wasn't a soldier or leader like her brother. If she'd tried to bring any peace to Ponyville, it could only have ended badly, right?

Right. She belonged with books; finding facts, and learning anything that could help. She couldn't have accomplished what this little party had anyway. So why should she feel foolish? She shouldn't. She should just keep focused on the task at hoof... Right?

"Come on, cheer up!" Pinkie encouraged, "It's a party, so loosen up and just relax! We won't be in any condition to fight if we stress over it all night anyway."

Twilight was quickly tugged across the room by Pinkie and deposited against her will at a table, beside the punch bowl. As Pinkie bounced away cheerily, Twilight found herself looking up. And up. And up. Towering beside her was a dark-skinned man with a bald head. He looked down at her with a surprisingly gentle smile, only for Twilight to immediately be grabbed by her forehoof and spun around.

"Awesome, another pony!" said the woman that had so abruptly accosted the hoof. Her dark pink eyes gleamed from behind her auburn bangs as she looked Twilight over intently. "You've gotta tell me, what kind of Casts do you have. Are they swords? A spear? Axe? Don't keep me in suspense here!"

Twilight jerked her hoof back reflexively at the sudden contact. "Huh? W-what?" she stammered.

"Lisbeth, dear, please calm yourself. You're hardly acting very lady-like," a unicorn mare with an alabaster coat and an elegant coif(?) of purple hair stepped from behind the woman. A light blue glow from her horn quickly swatted the grabby hands away from Twilight's hoof.

The veritable giant of a human shook his head, "I know you're really excited about the Casts in this game, Lisbeth, but you really can't go around yanking everyone by their arm just to see them all."

A determined fire lit behind Lisbeth's eyes as she looked up to the man's towering figure. "No, you don't understand, Agil," she asserted, "These aren't just regular weapons. They're magic. They're polymorphic. Most importantly, they evolve. These are a weaponsmith's holy grail! The blacksmith skills still exists too, which means I'll be helping each and every weapon that comes to me advance and get stronger."

She waved her hands around enthusiastically, nearly bapping Twilight in the face in her vigor. Casts winked into being around her hands, causing a nervous Twilight to back up a step, as did the white unicorn. From her right Cast manifested a plain black hammer, which she waved around even more fervently and pointed at. "This is a blacksmith's dream! No more making weapons only for them to inevitably be destroyed in battle or sold away when a stronger one is found. No more making tons of average weapons just to sell them at cheap prices to those who can't afford the best. Each weapon my hammer touches will continue to grow stronger and more beautiful the more they are used and tempered. They'll keep growing until they are the best they can be. These Casts are the most perfect weapons I've ever seen!"

Agil shook his head, raising his arms in an appeasing gesture. "Alright alright, I yield," he chuckled.

Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw the other unicorn mare break into a grin as she re-approached the woman. "I really do admire your passion for your craft, you know that," she chided Lisbeth. "However, Mister Agil is absolutely right. You really must exercise a little self control and respect others' personal space. Wouldn't want to scare off a future customer, now would you?"

Lisbeth wilted in defeat and sighed, "I get it, Rarity. You're right." Turning back to Twilight, she gave a short bow, "I'm very sorry for my behavior, miss..."

"Um... Oh right. Twilight. I'm Twilight Sparkle," the nervous mare answered, tipping her head in return. She shuffled nervously on her hooves and in a bid for distraction, used her magic to scoop a cup of punch and take a drink. She was quietly thankful that Rarity and Agil had been there to calm Lisbeth. They seemed much more mild-mannered.

On the other hand, Twilight could hardly blame Lisbeth's overwhelming curiosity. The Casts really were everything she had declared them to be. Even Twilight had to admit she wanted to find out everything she could about the new kind of Casts that this game had equipped them all with.

So Lisbeth had wanted to see her Casts? Well, what was the harm?

Making the decision, Twilight put her drink down on the table and cleared her throat, "I'll let you see them, Lisbeth." Calling her own Casts out, she held up one hoof to allow a good look as the cylindrical barrel of her weapon formed over her fetlock. She turned her hoof over as her armor appeared soon after, the simple brown cloak draping over her with a gentle ruffle.

Lisbeth's eyes lit up like stars in the sky at the sight of the weapon. The unabashed curiosity got a small giggle from Twilight.

"The menu says the Cast is called Spellshot," she explained. This was a chance for her to educate a curious mind, so best to take advantage of it. She channeled some magic into the Cast, and the inside of barrel started the glow with her magenta light. Further tweaks to the magic she pushed in caused the barrel to expand and contract. "I use my magic on it, and it starts focusing it. It allows me to fire the basic telekinesis spell in two forms. The wide barrel turns into a concussive wave; that one is called the Impact Driver. When the barrel is narrow, it shoots a beam even more finely focused than I could manage just from my horn, and that's the Bracer Beam mode.”

A bit of excitement started to settle in and she activated the last mode, the barrel producing a five inch cone of pure, concentrated kinetic force. Twilight started talking a bit faster in her eagerness to share knowledge. "And this here is the Bunker Spine. This is basically the melee attack mode, and if I release it while it's still out, the force inside blasts in every direction. All of this doesn't cost me any Mp unless I use elemental spells."

"Oh wow!" Lisbeth squeed when the explanation finished. Her eyes lit again with a determined fire as she exclaimed, "I've never seen a weapon like this one before! I may have a preference for melee weapons, but this is really something else. You just have to let me be your blacksmith, Twilight. I absolutely have to see how this weapon grows."

Twilight was taken aback by her intense drive, but managed to slowly nod and answer, "Oh, um... Alright."

The fire that seemed to swell around Lisbeth was far from shared by Rarity. The mare looked on in what could only be described as disappointment before interrupting the two with a chiding click of her tongue. "Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. How can you even stand it?"

Both Twilight and Lisbeth turned to look at Rarity. Twilight's expression was clearly confused, but a smirk spread across Lisbeth's face.

"Heh, here it comes," the young woman said knowingly.

"Hush you," Rarity snipped at her in return. Now it was the elegantly groomed mare's turn to invade Twilight's personal bubble. She reached across and grabbed the hem of Twilight's cloak, holding it up for inspection. "This fabric is just not right at all. It's too coarse, too heavy, and the color is all wrong," she critiqued as her eyes and hooves examined the cloth. "How anyone could bear to battle in such garish attire is beyond me. It simply must be changed to a soft violet color to complement your fur."

"Uh, okay, if you say so," Twilight nodded, backing up a step from the new invasion of her space.

This time it was Rarity's turn to be ignited with a powerful flame of determination behind her eyes. She nodded and took a step closer for every step Twilight took back. "I absolutely insist on it, my dear. It's absolutely unacceptable for anyone to have to wear something so hideous. You really must come down to my boutique when you have the time. I'll give your battle garb a look all your own." She practically glowed with ambition and pride as she held a declarative hoof up.

Twilight was a tad flustered at the display. So much for her being calmer and more sensible than Lisbeth. That just got thrown out the window. Agil seemed to share the sentiment, holding his palm to his forehead and shaking his head despairingly.
The Lisbeth's smug grin only seemed to grow as she teasingly chided the mare, "You know Rarity, you really must exercise a little self control and respect others' personal space. Wouldn't want want to scare off a future customer, now would you?"

The words seemed to suck the wind out of Rarity's sails, and she turned on Lisbeth with a glare. "Don't you turn my own words on me. This is different. This is a crisis of fashion, not some silly weapon fixation."

The air between the two of them seemed to crackle as Lisbeth put her hands on her hips. She leaned forward so that she was almost nose to nose with Rarity and growled, "A silly weapon fixation? I'll have you know that a beautiful, high-quality weapon being used expertly in battle is way more beautiful than any little outfit."

From that point the bickering erupted into a full tirade in their little corner of the library. The two of them went back and forth arguing their own definitions of beauty as Twilight and Agil both slowly and carefully backed away from ground zero.

A long and irritated sigh from off to Twilight's side nearly made her jump out of her fur. She whirled around to see an orange earth pony mare with a honey-blonde mane tied up and hanging from under a wide-brimmed hat. The new mare was looking at the bickering pair and shaking her head. "Those two at it again? Ah swear they argue 'bout as much as Rainbow and ah do," she muttered to herself. She quickly reassured Twilight, "Ya'll don't need to worry 'bout those two. They've already gotten into it like this twice since the party started."

"Knowing females, human or pony, I just wonder how many arguments it will take for them to come to blows," Agil commented dryly.

"Well, that's why yer gonna help me break it up," she answered right back.

"I don't suppose I have a choice in the matter, do I?"

"After that lil' crack about females? No. No you don't," the blonde mare chuckled. She promptly grabbed Agil's hand with her hoof and started dragging him closer to the danger zone. She did, however, take a moment to wave Twilight off, cheerily saying, "Ya'll go on and enjoy the party some more. We've got this covered."

Twilight stood there in bewildered silence for a moment before slowly turning away and looking for somewhere else to be. Everyone here was acting as though everything was perfectly natural. Just another day. They were arguing and talking and carrying on as though nothing had changed at all. The atmosphere of this whole party was completely different from anything going on in the town outside, and Twilight had to wonder if that was even healthy

None of them were preparing, or even treating the impending war looming in the morning with the seriousness it should warrant. She had to wonder if she was the only one that was worried about what would happen in only a few hours. How could they all act so carefree? Sure, they had managed to make new allies with this, but shouldn't holding some kind of war conference be the priority?

Looking around the crowd, Twilight spied Spike running around with Kai. The two children were among an even larger group of human kids that were taking turns trying to bust a pinata being hoisted by Pinkie. Off to the side of that group, Fluttershy and another crowd of children were sitting on the floor, doting on a bunch of small animals like squirrels and bunnies. A woman with long blonde hair was chatting and swigging punch with a pegasus mare that had a stunningly colorful rainbow of a mane.

And off in the far corner of the room, she spotted Animus walking up to... Sasha?

~*~*~*~*~*~

A party, huh?

That Pinkie Pie... she was a much smarter mare than he had given her credit for. Sure, there was nothing inherently wrong with Twilight's idea to try to find more useful information on Nightmare Moon, but that was also very likely to produce nothing of value. This party, on the other hand, was already strengthening a tiny bit of human/pony relations, and was creating a comfortable atmosphere to counter the stress of the current situation. It was only helping a small group, but reducing the pressure, especially for the children, was a worthwhile difference.

Animus could remember it clearly. That terror of being trapped in a game of death. This may be a bright and colorful world full of talking ponies, but that didn't hide the fact that a very real war was about to start. Death wouldn't come immediately, but once commanders started falling, those they lead would too. Plus it seemed like the pain absorption program was only running at about half, so fights would actually be painful. Half as painful as wounds in the real world, but painful nonetheless. This wouldn't be like in SAO at all, where one death was the end for you, but you could fight without your wounds affecting you. This new setup was equally terrifying by its own merits.

Yeah, even if the attending number was rather small, this little party was probably one of the best things that could have been done in this situation. It was thanks to a mare he'd taken for a spastic airhead too. Managing to pull all of this together, and even having the profound insight to arrange him and Twilight meeting again to clear the air in their own way... She was smart. Surprisingly smart given her extremely peppy and seemingly scatterbrained behavior.

Still, he'd never really been the kind of guy that really knew what to do at a party. So as Pinkie dragged Twilight away to another end of the room, Animus took to leaning against the first wall he reached. The energy of the whole room was fun, warm, and energetic, but he was quite content to view it all from afar and just bask in that feeling. He watched as the kids played and the adults talked and every just generally drank punch and had a good time. It was all really very nice. A welcome change of pace.

Out of the corner of his eye, Animus spotted something. A woman doing the same as him and watching over the party. Those glasses. That hair. Her face. She'd obviously aged a little in the last seven years, but he'd never forget someone he'd known for almost two whole years.

Moving along the wall, he headed straight for her. She was so focused elsewhere that she didn't see him until he was almost right next to her. She gave him a curious look and asked, "May I help you, young man?"

Of course she wouldn't recognize him. He had only been perpetually ten years old in appearance for those years. She only knew him as that young child. And on top of that she'd watched over so many other kids too.

"I just wanted to catch up on old times, Miss Sasha. It's been so long," he answered with a small smile. "You may not remember me, but my name is Animus, and I was one of the children you used to look after in Aincrad.”

"Animus?!" she looked him over once, clearly surprised. "I don't really remember what you used to look like, but you've obviously grown into a fine young man." She seemed to recall something and added, "By the way, this is around the same time it happened, right? How are you feeling? It can't be easy being in a situation like this again."

She still remembered that? It was Animus' turn to be surprised this time. Miss Sasha was the only person he'd ever fully confided in in the virtual world. She was the only person that knew what had happened. They'd talked about it for hours back then.

It was painful to have her bring it up, but he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her. It wasn't like with Twilight, who was just nosey and butting in where he didn't want her.

"I'm alright. Really, I am," he assured her. He was really grateful that nobody in here could have heard his and Twilight's shouting match outside. The system prevented the transfer of noise through doors unless someone knocked or leveled a listening skill.

"You sure? I know how much you lost last time," she asked in concern.

"I'll be alright," he said again. "That was a long time ago. I've had a lot of time to deal with it." His argument with Twilight would clearly say otherwise, but that's why he was glad that no one could have heard it.

"Alright, well it's really good to see you again, Animus," Sasha smiled warmly. That motherly smile she'd made so many times back then. It was enough to put him at ease.

The night went on like that for hour after hour. Everyone whiling away the time as it dragged on to the inevitable morning hours. Animus happily spent that time talking with Sasha, discussing what each of them had been doing with themselves since they last saw each other.

Everyone lost track of time

-Grand Quest-
The time has come. Adventure and battle await. Sides will be taken and lines will be drawn. Those of Equestria and those of Earth, you must make your choice and decide your fate. The war to decide the future begins now.
[OK]

The party halted as the quest menu popped open in front of everyone. Everyone looked to those around them. This was it. The moment where it would all begin. The time for choices to be made.

What would he do? Animus honestly didn't know what he wanted at this point. However, his eyes drifted up to Sasha's icon, spinning over her head. The bright golden prism flagged her already chosen allegiance.

Could he even choose the same? He desperately wanted to get back to his own world, and if he sided with Nightmare Moon, he might be able to do just that. Could he fight Sasha to do that, though? Fight... Twilight?

Why did that bother him?! She was a nosey little know-it-all that forced her way into a painful part of his past. She dragged out his trauma, knowing it was just that. And yet... She was smart. When she wasn't butting into his privacy she was actually very kind, but she was stern and not afraid to smack him upside the head if she felt he deserved it.

Gah, why was he letting himself fret over this? It was still too early for that. He needed to see what would happen with his own eyes for him to decide.

While everyone else hesitated to hit the button on the quest window, Animus took the initiative. If he did it, then everyone else was bound to follow suit. Then they could all follow the quest tracker to where they needed to be.

Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself.

He pressed the button. The window collapsed into nothingness, and in an instant his body was eclipsed with an unmistakably familiar light.

He was teleporting.

Author's Note

Thank you all for bearing with my long introductory period of the story. I've set up most of my primary cast now, and from this point on, I should be able to get to the real meat of the fun. I hope I haven't bored you all with all of this, but I have attempted in every way I can to make these parts entertaining and funny, as well as important. It just didn't feel right for me to throw all of the characters together into the situation too fast, without allowing them to at least do a little meeting and greeting here and there.

Next chapter, Nightmare Moon is released and the game truly begins. I hope you all look forward to the coming war.

To Challenge the Night

Light filled Animus' view for only a second before it dissipated. As he suspected, the brightly lit and well occupied environment of the library was gone, replaced instead with a large and dimly lit room.

He examined the new bearings, spotting large double doors a ways behind him, and all around several elegant pillars led up to high arches. Above those was a high ceiling, the center of which held a glass window that let in the light of the moon above. There were sparse arrangements of streamers and other decorations wrapped around the pillars and arches with pastel colors that seemed faded and dark from the faint moonlight. Few and incomplete though they were, all of the decorations seemed to converge on a single point in front of him, sweeping up to accentuate a high balcony that looked over the entire room.

Hand flipping through the air, Animus called up his menu and quickly brought up the map. According to it, he hadn't left Ponyville with that little forced teleportation, but he was now dead center in the middle of the town. Wherever this was, it was the most sensible place to be brought for the start of this game's Grand Quest.

At first he was the only one there, but one by one other flashes of light started to spring up all around the room. Human after human emerged from the lights, and ponies as well. Many of the first ponies were just children; little fillies and colts that were no doubt curious and naive to their situation. Moments after, panicked parents appeared from the many erupting lights and embraced their children whom they had watched vanish before their eyes moments before.

All of the lights of teleported players seemed to be forming a large half-circle around the room. To Animus' right, all of the humans appeared, and to his left, a myriad of ponies of each race and innumerable colors.

He was hardly even surprised at this point when Twilight appeared right next to him at the point where the crowd of ponies began. Following right behind her were the handful of ponies that he had seen at the party. He spied Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and everypony else, including little Spike all gathered together. Right to his other side were the human party-goers including Mia, Agil, Sasha, and the others. The many human children that had arrived immediately crossed over and huddled around the one he'd heard was called Fluttershy, who did her best to reassure them.

The flood of arrivals began to taper off quickly, and everyone looked around. The entire atmosphere was tense. Almost suffocating. Any eyes that weren't examining their environment were peering warily at those across from them. Humans and ponies alike didn't know what to make of each other.

"Oh dear, how embarrassing," Rarity shook her head, looking around the room. "Did we really need to be taken to the town hall? I didn't get a chance to finish decorating at all, and it looks just awful."

Well, that cleared up where they were. Made sense that the town hall would be at the center of town.

"With all this ruckus goin' on, yer worried about a few decorations?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Sugarcube, I reckon you need to get yer priorities straightened up a bit."

"Nonsense," Rarity huffed, turning her nose up, "appearances are very important. How else can we make a good impression on our human guests?"

As Applejack and Rarity continued to debate the importance of decorations at a time like this, Animus kept looking all around. Moments ticked by and nothing happened except for the atmosphere growing more and more oppressive. It was on the very cusp of the morning hours, and the legend had said that on the the longest day of the thousandth year... the stars would aid in her escape!

"She's coming," Twilight said. Her voice trembled somewhere between fear and determination.

Animus turned to see Twilight looking straight up, confirming his thoughts. He followed her gaze to see the moon beaming down through the skylight roof. The moon itself was printed with the dark outline of a mare's head looking down on the world, and surrounding it were four stars, creeping closer. These stars inched inward until they vanished behind the moon, and in an instant the shadow decorating the moon vanished.

She was free.

The hairs on the back of Animus's neck suddenly stood up as a sensation like he'd never felt filled the air all around. It was as though the air was crackling. The only thing he could guess was that it was the feeling of a huge magical power coming closer. The feeling grew heavier, and reached a peak. From the corner of his eye, Animus spotted a line of bright blue light trailing out from the wall where the half-circle crowd ended, on the human side. It lanced out along the ground and drew a dazzling array of shapes and runes within its arching path. The same trail of blue light also emerged from the pony side, and arced out until it met its sister line in a bright burst right in front of Animus and the others.

Everyone threw up an arm to shield their eyes from the blinding array of light, squinting through slitted lids as the glow began to dim.

The first thing Animus saw was stars. Countless tiny motes of blue light within a shimmering dome created by the magic circle that glowed on the floor.

"This spell," he heard Twilight mutter, "Is this an Astral Conference array?"

The familiar bite of Mia's voice sprung up from off to Animus' right, asking, "Astral Who's-it-what's-it?"

Twilight didn't answer, but Animus knew that look on her face. She was steeling her resolve; working up her nerve. He'd seen that expression before back in Aincrad, the floating palace of SAO. That was a good look.

She stepped forward. Walking right through the shimmering outer wall of the dome, her body passed right through effortlessly. Her form was surrounded by a pale blue glow when she entered, and any stars her body touched just vanished. They were just an immaterial projection in the circle.

"Twilight, what are you doing?" Spike shouted, running up to the edge of the circle. He hesitated at the edge.

Again, Twilight didn't answer, but turned her head up to look at the balcony ahead of her. That was where the dense feeling in the air was coming from. Animus could sense it. That's why her attention was there.

An unintelligible murmur of uncertainty came from the crowd as all eyes fell on Twilight. For being such an introvert, it was actually quite impressive that she was putting herself at the center of attention like this, but she had an undeniable look of purpose. She knew what she intended to do, even if how she should do it wasn't clear yet.

With a deep breath, she shouted, "I know you're there, Nightmare Moon! Come out and show yourself!"

The murmur turned into a gasp of shock from the pony half of the crowd. The significance of the name was clearly lost on the humans, but the reaction did show that it was a name to be feared.

"My my, this is a surprise," A distinctly powerful and malicious female voice cackled from all directions. "I really didn't think anypony would be expecting me."

A cloud of starry, ethereal material surged around the balcony and condensed into the shape of a new pony. She was distinctly taller than any other pony Animus had seen yet, with her long black coat stretching out as dark as midnight behind sky blue armor that shimmered in the similarly colored light of the circle. Perhaps most striking was the mane. That very same starry cloud she had appeared from was flowing from her head in an obvious display of just how much magic must reside within her. Shining above that flowing mane was the icon of a commander, two crossed sapphire swords.

The last difference that he noticed was that she had a horn and wings, not just one or another. Twilight had mentioned this rare kind of pony, an alicorn. They possessed all the strengths of the other three pony races, and their magic was on a completely different level. That was why the alicorn Princess Celestia had been the benevolent ruler of Equestria for over a millennium. And according to the legends, Nightmare Moon could only be defeated by Celestia with the help of the Elements of Harmony.

Simply put, with those Elements gone, her enemies were outmatched. It was a simple conclusion, really. Twilight, as brilliant as she was, had to see that too. Yet there she stood, the first out of anyone to step forward and confronting this undeniably powerful enemy. It was really admirable.

"Yes, I found out about your return," Twilight shouted up to Nightmare. She stamped a hoof down firmly. "I came all the way from Canterlot to stop you!"

Another shocked murmur rang from the audience. It was a bold declaration, no matter who heard it.

Nightmare Moon only scoffed, a vicious smirk spreading across her muzzle as she looked down on the defiant unicorn. "You are going to stop me? Child, you really shouldn't make such sad jokes. You're embarrassing yourself in front of all of Equestria."

What did she mean by that?

In a rush of her ethereal mane, Nightmare Moon vanished from the balcony, only to appear on the floor below it. She swept her gaze around the entire room and said, "Right now, everything that happens inside this field is being projected in identical circles all around Equestria. Every city, town, and village is watching. After all, what happens now will decide the fate of all of Equestria."

So that was it. That made sense. She couldn't very well be in every location at once, so what better way to announce herself to the entire realm than this?

Right. Enough sitting on the sidelines. Time for him to make a move.

Animus stepped forward slowly, passing through intangible wall of the magic circle. It was a strange sensation, passing that threshold. He could practically feel the flow of the magic around him as the blue glow silhouetted his form. "You've been imprisoned for a thousand years now," he said simply, showing his own knowledge of her.

"My question is, what do you hope to accomplish, Nightmare?"

The dark mare turned her slitted turquoise eyes on him with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. If a pony being aware of her was surprising, then a human knowing had to be a shock.

Before she could answer just yet, Animus kept talking, walking past Twilight and getting closer and closer until he stopped halfway between the two mares. "The stories say that you seek to make nighttime eternal, but is that all there is to it? And where do we humans fall into this?"

An amused smile was given from the armored mare. "Very direct. I like that, young human. You're right, I shall be ending the cursed day and making night last forever, but there is more to my goals than just that." She turned to the pony half of her surrounding audience. She walked to the edge of the magic circle, scaring all of them into backing up considerably. Tracing a path along the inner edge of the array, she cast her eye over them and continued to speak, "After all, what good is my beautiful night without anypony to appreciate it? I am going to rule all of Equestria as its new princess, taking my rightful place of which I was robbed." The edge in her voice went razor sharp as she kept going, "To achieve this, I will gladly exterminate any that dare fight against me in this little game that Discord and his acquaintance have created. I will crush all opposition and rule Equestria!"

Her words had their intended effect, causing most of the ponies to flinch back in fear. The sadistic smile on the dark mare's face only grew.

Twilight's burning gaze followed as Nightmare walked the edge of the circle. Her limbs trembled clear as day, but she held her ground and shot back, "We'll never let that happen. Celestia is our princess. We'll never accept you!"

Nightmare turned to look at Twilight as though she had completely forgotten about the little unicorn. "Oh? Really now? And what can you hope to..." Nightmare stopped mid-sentence as she saw Twilight from the side, her eyes riveted on her with sudden interest. "That mark. Who are you?"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," came the bold answer. "I'm Princess Celestia's personal protege, and I swear that I will fight till my last breath to stop you and save my teacher!"

Caught up in her stand against Nightmare Moon, Twilight didn't seem to catch something that Animus took notice of. Nightmare had seemed distinctly interested in Twilight's cutie mark, the symbol of her talent and nature. Had the ancient alicorn seen it before or something? It seemed the mark had some significance to Nightmare. Dare he think he even saw a touch of worry in those slitted eyes?

That small glimmer of worry that Animus spied vanished quickly, and the appearance of total regal confidence returned to Nightmare. She cackled, "I wonder if that confidence will hold when this is over, Twilight Sparkle." She continued trotting along the edge of the circle until she passed in front of the humans.

The only ponies that didn't back off as she passed were Rainbow Dash and the others. They held firm on their side of the dome, but most of them were busy holding back Rainbow from recklessly charging Nightmare.

"As for your other question, young one," Nightmare looked from Animus to the rest of his kind. "I have a proposition for all of the humans that have been brought to Equestria against their will."

A proposition, huh? He'd expected as much. Animus crossed his arms and waited expectantly.

"It's really quite simple," Nightmare nodded, ignoring the glare Twilight was giving her. "Once I am victorious in this little game, my rule of Equestria will already be absolutely undisputed. As such, I have no need for the prize Discord has offered. My offer stands thus: Side with me, and fight for me to end this little war as quickly as possible. If you do, once we are victorious, I will gladly have all of my loyal warriors transported back to where you came from."

That was it. All he wanted was to be able to go home. She was offering just that, and she was in an undeniable position of power to ensure it.

Animus' thoughts were interrupted as another man stepped into the circle. Orange hair spiked like a morning star, the man already had a broadsword drawn, and pointed the tip at Twilight. "Hell yeah, that's a deal I can get behind," he sneered. Speaking to the people behind him, he declared boldly, "We don't want to be trapped in this world for god knows how long, do we? And what does it matter what happens in this silly virtual world? All of this is just a game, so I'm gonna take the winning side!"

That was a face Animus could never forget. It was Kibau, a fellow survivor of Sword Art Online. Even as he spoke, the icon over his head shifted from gray to the same deep sapphire color of Nightmare Moon's. His allegiance had been decided pretty quickly.

Nightmare smiled at Kibau as he stepped forward, tipping her head to him. "Good, you know a smart choice when you see it. Side with me, and I can assure you that once Equestria is conquered, you will all be able to return to your own precious reality." Back to Animus, she asked, "That is what you want, isn't it? You have no reason to care about this world. Once you've left it will all be just a memory anyway."

The choice seemed so simple, but was it really? He could go home in due time. Just side with Nightmare Moon's unmatched power and make a clean sweep through everything... Killing everyone that resists. Human or pony. His path home would be all but guaranteed. It all really would be just a memory when that happened.

He looked to Twilight, who was glaring between Nightmare and Kibau. Her entire body was as tense as a tripwire, ready to move the instant Kibau even twitched at her the wrong way. She had been so scared when the game was announced, and she obviously still was, but in the span of a single day she'd adapted as best she could and was putting herself in harm's way for what she believed she had to do.

Behind her, past the shimmering wall of the magic dome, he saw everyone he'd met since arriving here. The group watched with rapt attention. All except Rainbow, who was pacing the edge of the circle. It looked like she'd cooled off enough to not go flying right in Nightmare's face, but it was apparent that it was taking every ounce of her willpower to do so. They all just watched though. Most of the humans in that group had already decided to side with the ponies. In fact, Mia was the only one he saw that still had a gray icon like his and the rest of their kind.

Their decision was already made, and if Animus took Nightmare Moon's side, he would have to fight and kill them, and be killed by them. Many times. Until a commander fell and their deaths became permanent.

Could he do that?

"Well? Don't you want to go home?" Nightmare Moon prodded once more for a response.

"Yes. I do," he answered. "I'm certain that every one of us wants to return to our own world."

He saw Twilight's eyes flick over to him for just a moment. That fear and worry he saw cut deeper than he expected it to.

"Good, then you understand that the only sensible choice is to-"

"But..."

"-But?" The calm air Nightmare had started to shift again. A hint of venom laced her eyes as her expectations were beginning to uproot.

"But we could just as well side against you and achieve the same thing, couldn't we?" he finished his thought.

"What the hell are you thinking, kid?" Kibau flicked his blade to point at Animus now. "It's obvious that this Nightmare Moon has way more power than the rest of the wimpy horses in this game. They're all a bunch of weaklings that wouldn't even leave their own homes once we arrived. Creatures like that would only weigh us down."

"I resent that!" Rainbow Dash shouted from the sidelines. She shot into the air and brandished a pair of small triangular blades that emerged from her Casts. "We're not horses, we're ponies. And we're a lot stronger than you think, bub!"

Kibau only grunted, "Like I'd believe that, bird brain. You're all a bunch of frightened cowards from where I'm sitting."

Surprisingly, while Rainbow did simmer where she hovered, Twilight's anger boiled over. She lifted a hoof, Casts gleaming to life and aiming her own weapon at the offending man. The barrel of her cannon lit with magenta light as she growled fiercely, "You-"

Animus cut her off quickly, holding a hand up in her line of fire. "You're the worthless coward here, Kibau!" he finished her thought with equal spite.

This earned a look of genuine surprise from Twilight. He didn't even expect it himself, but he had just acted on instinct.

Nightmare Moon stepped forward, her eyes trained on Animus. "What reason do you have to help the ponies of Equestria, child? If you know my legend, then you must be aware that I am far more powerful than any of them."

"Yeah, what she said," Kibau agreed, "We don't have any reason to help them. They're nothing but a bunch of stupid AI programs anyway. They're not real. None of them are! We kill them like we would any monster and we go home, simple as that!"

Not real? Just programs?

"You're wrong, you bastard," Animus hissed through his teeth.

It wasn't right. Not one bit. They were too real.

Twilight was real.

Spike was real.

All of them were.

"Like hell I am, you little brat!" Kibau yelled back. "They're just a bunch of code. Zeros and ones that talk. They're nothing. We're real!"

All eyes in the room were locked on Kibau and Animus as they argued, and Animus could feel the pressure mounting. Where he sided, and how he justified it would probably sway some people. Still, even though he was speaking in favor of the ponies, was this really the side he wanted to be on? On Nightmare Moon's side, the war would likely be easier thanks to her powerful magic. On the other hand...

No, there was no other hand. Nightmare's side was the easy route. The fast-track home. Worse yet, it was quite clearly the way that Kibau preferred, and he couldn't even stomach the thought of choosing the same way as that coward.

"I should have killed you that day," Animus said, loud enough that everyone could hear it clearly. He clenched his fist tight and pulled himself into a ready stance. Casts and armor appeared around him, and his long spear manifested at the ready. "I should have killed you when I had the chance back in Aincrad, and spared so much future misery for others!"

Kibau's eyes snapped wide at that declaration. The recognition in his eyes was clear as he looked over Animus in a new light, examining his weapon and stance. "You're that little runt?" he asked. He held his broadsword up in a ready stance and sneered, "Guess I should be thankful for the chance to get back at you and kill you myself!"

"I'm not scared of you, coward," Animus glared down the length of his spear. "You call these ponies nothing but programs? I don't believe that for a second. However, even if they are programs that doesn't mean they aren't real! I once knew a program that was more real to me than anyone else!"

He took a deep breath, the image of the black haired little girl filling his mind. He'd only seen her one time, for only a few moments, but her smiling face, black eyes, and white sundress were perfectly clear in his mind. "Her name was Yui, and she pulled me out of a dark time in my life with nothing more than a handful of words and a smile. So don't you dare try to tell me that a program can't be real! I don't know if these ponies are just code and data or not, but even if they are, then they're still real to me!"

A loud jumble of voices filled the air as his own words found purchase in the crowd. This was the moment of truth. He'd thrown his ideals out there, and now it was time to hammer them home. He released some of the tension in his body, but kept the tip of his spear trained on his enemy. He couldn't take his eyes off of Kibau for a second though, or else he'd be inviting an attack. He wouldn't take damage to his Hp, but that wasn't important in this situation. Weakness in combat would make his own ideals seem weak too.

"The choice we humans have here is simple," he said to their audience. "We can choose to side with Nightmare Moon, who is undeniably powerful. She would be tough for anyone to beat, and her allies are at a great advantage. It's the easy way home, I can understand why some will take her side. We do want to get home, after all. Our other option is to fight alongside the ponies. They're not as powerful, but they're good creatures with good hearts. There's no way in hell that I could live with myself if I chose to ruin this world and kill them just to get back to our world." He looked to Nightmare, just behind Kibau, and added, "More than that, I'm not about to vindicate a pitiful temper tantrum of a jealous little sister!"

If Nightmare's eyes had been venomous before as she watched events progress, then now they were completely toxic. Her ethereal mane went erratic behind her, but before she could say anything, two figures entered the dome from the out of the corner of Animus' field of vision. Translucent blue, ghost-like images of Commanders Shining Armor and Asuna appeared within the starry field. The two had wide grins and fierce looks in their eyes as they faced Nightmare.

"That's exactly what I hoped to hear from you, Animus. You're a good kid," Asuna said, calling out the slender blade of a rapier with a flourish of her wrist. To Nightmare she announced, "My name is Asuna, commander of the Canterlot forces. I wield my blade in defense of Equestria."

A tall man with short black hair and glasses stepped out. He looked quite spindly and light, but he carried himself as though he were twice as broad and imposing. A moment later a similar looking man stepped into the field after him, with similar short hair and facial features. Only this man was a few inches shorter and far more broad and muscular.

The taller man spoke up, adjusting his glasses slightly, "I am General Eugene, and this is my brother, Mortimer. We, the leaders of Alfheim's Salamander tribe, lend our power to Equestria from here in Vanhoover."

His imposing brother, Mortimer, nodded, "We'll crush you into dust."

Several more people stepped into the circle, their projections showing them from where they stood miles away in their respective areas. Some of them had a pony at their side, and almost all of them had the gleaming symbol of commander status spinning over their heads in the form of crossed golden swords.

Once it seemed no more would step forward, Shining Armor spoke, "You may be stronger than any of us, Nightmare, but we have friends at our side to help us stand against you every step of the way. Don't even think this is going to be an easy win for you. For better or worse, this war won't be over for a long time."

Nightmare's cackle rang through the building, even as icons around her started changing to gold or sapphire hues. "There may be some of you humans that won't side with me, but not all of you are so idealistic," She looked at all the humans and ponies that stood against her, then to those that had chosen her side. Her eyes fell on Twilight, behind Animus, last of all before saying, "Twilight Sparkle was it? Looks like I'll have to keep my eye on you. I have even more reason to eliminate you now, but I'll be sure to stop by the dungeon in my palace to tell Celestia you said hello."

Animus was nearly knocked over with how violently Twilight brushed past him. He barely kept his footing enough to see her raise her Cast and fire a beam of focused energy right at Nightmare's head while screaming, "Don't you dare lay a hoof on the princess!"

The shot merely struck the wall behind her, as Nightmare once again became wisps of ethereal smoke and moved well out of the way in time.

It was then that Animus noticed something surprising; Twilight's icon had changed. The prismatic diamond over her head had now become the twin swords of a commander.

This wasn't good. She was attacking recklessly, and she likely didn't even know about her new status. She couldn't be killed in town, but she was still making herself a huge target.

The attack came from two sides. Nightmare Moon quickly reformed and sent her starry mane, turning into razor spines, straight at Twilight. From the other side, Kibau's blade blazed with orange light as he came in for an overhead blow.

He couldn't protect her from both attacks, not even when his weapons were polearms. He didn't have time to think though, and quickly threw himself in the path of Nightmare's attack. The leafed tip of his spear expanded and extended forward, transforming into the sword-like blade of a japanese glaive, a naginata, glowing brightly. He cut through the first black spine in an instant, and as the rest closed in, the effect of his «Burning Tassel» skill activated. The moment his weapon stopped, flames erupted from the top of its shaft, traveling back along the path of his strike and produced a wall of seething fire, burning up the rest of her attack.

Behind him, Animus heard a painful shout, and turned his head in an instant. Twilight was unharmed, thankfully.

Kibau, on the other hand, had been halted mid-blow. His sword arm was being pulled back by the long tether of a whip. On the other end of that line was Mia, who had the back end wrapped tightly around her forearm.

"You bitch, don't get in my way!" Kibau growled, trying to bring his blade down on Twilight in a futile effort.

"Now now, it's not nice to ignore a pretty girl when she's trying to get your attention," Mia teased.

With a flick of her wrist, she unravelled the whip around her forearm, and it began to change. The grip turned into a sword's crossguard, and light traveled along the length of its leather as it changed shape and simultaneously activated a skill. The binding leather around Kibau's wrist transformed into serrated segments of blade connected with long steel cord, forming a menacing looking chainblade. Once the light reached Kibau's arm, the blades tightened and slit in his flesh in a saw-like style, severing the limb right above the elbow.. The dismembered hand burst into thousands of aqua-tinted pixels as it was deleted.

Kibau screamed in agony at the severed limb, stumbling back in a stream of curses and gripping the wounded limb. Even with pain levels lower than in reality, something like that had to really hurt. Limbs regenerated after a time though, and he’d be back to fighting form within hours.

"I knew my good looks were disarming," Mia laughed at her own bad pun. Her weapon retracted, the chord reeling into the hilt and returning the weapon to the length of an ordinary longsword.

Rainbow Dash flitted up next to her and smirked, "More like he’s screaming from how ugly you are."

"I can fix that," Pinkie chimed in. She popped up behind Mia and pulled a paper bag over her head, eyeholes and all. "There, all better."

"Bite me, Dash," Mia growled through the bag.

Animus barely acknowledged the sound of a chomp and a cursing yelp as he turned forward again. He had more important things to worry about.

"Don't you worry, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare spoke from the other side of the screen of flames. "I have no intention of harming Celestia. Yet. I want her to watch in despair as all hope is extinguished. Once Equestria falls, so shall my accursed sister."

"You're wrong!" Twilight shouted back through the flames as they began to die down.

"You're the one going down!" Animus agreed. "We'll get home our own way!"

Willing his weapon to change back to its spear form, he held it behind himself. He lowered down, bending his knees and hunching his back until the desired skill kicked in. It activated with a flash of white light, the entire shaft of his spear shining brightly and his body moved of its own accord.

He leapt high into the air. He soared well above the fading screen of fire his last skill had created and kept rising until he could nearly touch the roof.

He spotted Nightmare Moon, and she spotted him. Their eyes met as his arm cocked back, ready to throw the spear.

Two loud bangs rang out, and Twilight shot forward like a rocket with the recoil of her cannons. One hoof blazed with red light as she swung it back in mid flight.

Animus' «Shooting Star» skill released, and he threw his spear down. The weapon created a wake of light through the air, a trail of white that befit its name. The lance of light shot down in the blink of an eye, meeting a steely-eyed Nightmare Moon in the exact same instant as Twilight did.

Instead of their target, Animus' spear and Twilight's hoof met a powerful barrier, the attacks clashing brilliantly against the blue surface. Another bang shook the air as Twilight's weapon fired right after the moment of impact, striking the barrier with full force at point blank range. The force of the shot sent Twilight flying back, and she skidded to a halt right where she started.

Animus landed right beside her. His spear, stopped dead against the shield, vanished in a wink of light and reformed from his Cast.

"Foolish. Did you really think that would work against me?" Nightmare leveled a cold glare at them.

"Damn it, it didn't budge," Animus cursed under his breath as Nightmare's protective spell vanished. "She really is powerful."

"She's not invincible," Twilight shook her head. "It was only there for a second, but we managed to put a small crack in her shield. I saw it just after my shot."

That was good information. To be expected of someone as analytical and observant as her. He'd noticed something as well that held a glimmer of hope for the future of this war.

"That means we're just not strong enough yet," he replied. "We can't beat her magic right now, but I noticed she hasn't tried to use her Casts at all. If I had to guess, her magic has started at a higher level because she's an alicorn. Her Casts must be the same level as ours though, and I think that she doesn't have enough confidence in using them to try against us."

"I really must congratulate you two," Nightmare started to trot slowly towards them. "You both now have my full attention, and have made it to the top of my list."

Animus could guess what sort of list she meant. His fist tightened around his spear as she got closer, and he could see Twilight tense up in the corner of his eye too.

They'd both caught sight of hope for the future, but that didn't erase the fact that here and now they were outclassed.

"I am going to take great pleasure in crushing every one of my enemies in Equestria," she said smugly, transforming into starry wisps mid-stride and passing right between Animus and Twilight. When she reformed, she was standing beside Kibau, who was still clutching his stump in agony. A flash of magic from her long horn cast a cool blue light around the severed limb and slowly turned his pained expression to one of relief. She turned back to the two of them and said, "I wouldn't want the fun to be over too quickly. This is a game, afterall, and I don't want my victory to be handed to me. That's just not very sporting. Most of all though, I want to take my time to crush you two. Animus. Twilight."

"Well what an honor," Animus answered dryly. "I'm not going to go down that easily though."

"Tough talk, little boy. Best not make any mistakes then. I expect this game to last, but it had better not get boring," Nightmare grinned slyly. Her horn flared brighter and brighter, the glow spreading to everyone that had the sapphire icon, and in the next instant, every last one of them vanished. Her last words trailed behind, "Until we next meet, enjoy my eternal night!"

Several long seconds passed in silence with Nightmare Moon gone. Within moments the magic circle began to fade, and the projections of everyone that stood forward from around Equestria disappeared with it. With the circle gone, all that was left to light the dark room in the town hall was the moon shining through the skylight.

It was over. For now.

Animus let out a long sigh, venting the tension out of his body. "Well, I guess my position is set now. No turning back," he mused.

"Don't go regretting it someday down the line." Twilight raised an eyebrow at him.

Rainbow Dash, Mia, and the rest of their little group ran up to the pair, followed after by the rest of the crowd. Old and new inhabitants of Ponyville gathered around the two that had stood up directly against Nightmare Moon.

Animus flushed slightly at all of the attention. Even more so when Mia came up to him, no longer bag-headed, and threw an arm around his neck. “Congratulations, leader!” She grinned wide. “You’ve successfully pissed off a super-powerful magical villain!”

“Huh? Leader?” he blinked. Did she mean-?

He looked up, but saw nothing. He tried turning his head any number of ways to see it, but it moved out of view every time his head moved.

“You’ve got a lot of guts, Animus,” Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement, “I may just have to change my opinion of you if you keep this up.”

Rarity seemed to pick up on what he was trying to do, and produced a small mirror from her inventory, holding it up in her magic. “Here you go dear,” she angled it properly for him to see. “In my opinion, you’ve really earned it.”

He looked in the mirror and saw it. Exactly as he had expected, his icon had become golden. What he didn’t expect was that he, just like Twilight, had the emblem of a commander spinning over his head.

“Oh boy, I’ve gone and done it now, haven’t I?” he smacked his palm to his forehead. “Guess now I definitely have to give this everything I’ve got.” He looked over to Twilight and smirked, grabbing the mirror and showing her own icon to her, “Guess I just can’t seem to get rid of you, can I, Commander Twilight?”

Her eyes widened at the sight of her new icon, and she pouted, “That’s my line.”

Agil stepped forward from the crowd, his imposing figure making many back away to make room. “So what’s the first order of our new commanders?” he asked.

Order? He’d never really given anyone orders before. Still, he’d been chosen by the system for this, and he’d have to get used to it. He thought about what should be done next. Probably should start off small so he had time to think about the bigger things.

He looked to Twilight, who just shrugged, conceding the first decision to him. He knew more about these games than her, after all.

“Alright everyone, it’s been a long day and night for all of us,” he announced to the crowd. “We all should get some sleep to be ready for tomorrow. The sun won’t be rising anymore, so we’ll need to set alarms for waking up and keep good track of time. Most of you ponies don’t know how to operate the menu yet, so find a human player to teach you how to do so.” That was a good start, but more was needed. After a quick check to see that the time was 6:30 in the morning, he continued, “We need rest. Everyone should go home and set an alarm to wake up at around 2pm. I ask that any ponies with a bit of space in their homes please allow a human to stay with you.”

Looking around, he saw that a huge chunk of the humans that had been here before were gone. It seemed that most of them had sided with Nightmare Moon, but the number that had chosen this side wasn’t insignificant. They had a good force here. “I ask that you all please come back at 3pm to meet in front of the town hall. We’ll be setting up a training regimen so that everyone can be ready to fight Nightmare Moon’s forces. It will be tough, yes, but everyone should learn how to fight, even if you won’t be part of the main combat force. It’s an important skill.”

He could see the uncertainty among the ponies, but they all were nodding slowly, acknowledging his words. It was going to be a long, hard road ahead of them all, but none of them had a choice in the matter.

“Alright everyone, dismissed!”

Author's Note

Whew! This scene, man. This scene has been playing in my head in various forms and various sequences since I first came up with ESO. I'm quite happy with how it turned out though. Hope you all enjoy it! I worked hard to get this one out fast, since I'm sure you've all been anticipating it greatly!

I thank you all for your encouragement in writing this tale and helping me keep going now and until the eventual end. I also owe the speediness of this chapter's completion to the encouragement of my grandmother. (See my latest blog) I know grandparents are biased and stuff, but since she's recently published a children's book herself, I value her opinion of my work.

Rift

Everyone went back to their homes as Animus had ordered, and though reluctant, many provided a place to sleep for their human guests. Thankfully, even in the dark of night, with only the glow of the stars and moon to go by, it seemed that all of them had enhanced night vision thanks to the workings of the game. It wasn’t crisp and clear as daytime, but it was definitely better than normal, and everyone found their ways home easily.

Animus didn't take his own advice, as Twilight soon found out. In the chaos of everyone going home to rest, she lost sight of him before she knew it. She didn't expect to find him where she did. She walked into the library just a half hour later to see him standing at the center table. Across from him was Agil, and standing beside the hulking man was the same blonde mare that Twilight had seen him with before. If memory served, her name was Applejack.

"Animus was right, you two really can't seem to get rid of each other," Spike noted as he walked in behind her. "You even picked the same place to rest."

"Why are you all here?" Twilight asked sincerely, ignoring Spike for a moment.

"Ah, good," Animus smiled, "I was hoping that this was where you'd come to first. Agil, Applejack and I were just about to discuss how we're going to start building the new local economy. Really though, money and business aren't my strong suit. I'll mostly just be enacting and enforcing what they agree on."

"I thought you told everyone to get some sleep?" Spike asked pointedly.

Yeah, what was up with that? Twilight was starting to feel a bit drowsy herself. Why was he pushing himself himself to stay up right now?

"I can keep myself awake until tonight... er, you know what I mean," he pointed a finger up to indicate the now eternally dark sky. "Before then, we need to be prepared. Economy; training; patrols; resources; we need to get as much of these things and others put in place as soon as possible. We need organization."

That did make sense. A strong start was important in just about anything. Good momentum at the beginning would carry over.

"I'll help too," Twilight offered. "I can create a checklist of the things we need to cover before the training session starts this afternoon."

If Animus was going to be working, then she had an obligation to as well. They were both commanders now, and they had to lead their alliance to victory.

"We really 'preciate the help there, Twi," Applejack tipped her hat graciously. "Ah'll be representing the businesses of Ponyville while my giant friend here will be helping us adapt it all to how this here game works. Think you can keep all the info straight?"

Spike sputtered out a laugh, "You'll never find a bigger organization freak than Twilight in all of Equestria."

Twilight shot a cold glare at the little dragon, making his laugh quickly turn into a nervous chuckle.

"Ya know what? A nap really sounds good. I think I'm gonna turn in for the night," he announced before bolting up the nearby flight of stairs and disappearing behind the first door he reached.

Clearing her throat, Twilight said, "Spike's snark aside, organization really is my strong suit. As a commander, I really can't afford to rest yet."

"Glad to hear it," Agil nodded. "Well then, first thing's first. When the town meets this afternoon we need to pick out everyone that has a preference for mercantile and crafting skills. Then we need to establish a network of freelance info brokers that will discover new and important facts with cash as the incentive."

"Right, the economy shouldn't be too different from SAO's. The only things that come to mind right away that will be different are the weapon crafts and the fact that we will be competing for resources with Nightmare's forces. Control of spawning grounds and other gathering areas will be important too," Animus added. "These issues need to be handled as fast as possible so that we don't fall behind Nightmare Moon."

"Right, ah can tell y'all about the local businesses so we can figure out how they'll fit into all of this here game stuff too," Applejack chimed in.

A quill and parchment were quickly pulled from Twilight's inventory and she began scribbling away diligently. She listened intently as menus were browsed a significant discovery was made. Apparently, most of the games back where they came from followed a pattern like that SAO game they always talked about, with multiple skills being equipped at once for customizable builds. In this game, however, everyone had the ability to equip a single sub-class at a time. These sub-classes were much broader in benefits and actually made things wonderfully simpler.

With this difference in mind, they proceeded with browsing the list of available sub-classes, focusing on the crafting and gathering types, then figured ways to apply them. There was a lot to pick from, like «Alchemist», «Crystal Enchanter», or even simple creature comforts like «Chef». Many of the possibilities were pretty easy to flesh out between the four of them, but some some sub-classes only appeared in certain menus. «Crystal Enchanter», for example, only appeared in Twilight's list, which meant that some professions were exclusive to specific races. From all indications, humans shared their entire list with earth ponies, and pegasi were sure to have their own unique roles. With some sub-classes unique to unicorns and pegasus, that brought up a new issue.

"Well now just wait a moment there," Applejack was the first to notice. "Ponyville and some o'the places like Manehattan and the bigger cities have every kind of pony livin' there, but other places aren't so lucky. Cloudsdale and other sky cities have only pegasi up there. Canterlot is mostly unicorns. Then Appleoosa and other such farmin' towns you'd have a hard time findin' anything but earth ponies at."

That little nugget of information got a silent nod from both Animus and Agil as they mulled it over.

"That's very true, but won't Nightmare Moon have that problem even worse?" Twilight pointed out.

"Yeah, that's right," Animus agreed, "She is the only one on her side that's able to access those sub-classes. Her soldiers would be lacking those resources."

Agil held a hand up to stop that thought. "I understand why that makes sense, but I don't think we should assume anything here. She could very well have workers with those crafting jobs."

That didn't make any sense though. How could Nightmare's forces have any of the pegasus and unicorn exclusives? The only one that should have them would be Nightmare herself. Could he be insinuating what Twilight thought he was?

"Hey," Twilight felt a defensive tone slipping into her voice, "are you saying that you think there might be ponies on Nightmare Moon's side? There's no way that would happen. We're all faithful to Celestia!"

"Yer just talkin' crazy, Agil," Applejack adjusted the brim of her hat. "There's no reason for a pony to take her side."

That was right. There was absolutely no reason. It was a completely ridiculous idea.

Agil shook his head slowly, "I admire your optimism, and that definitely seems to be the case here in Ponyville. Not a single pony here joined her, but I don't think ponies and humans are different at all. There are good and bad among all of us."

Twilight tried disagree, but no counter-argument came to mind. He was right. There were less than moral ponies in Equestria. All that she could ask was, "Why though? Why would anypony take her side?" She couldn't even begin to comprehend why anypony would.

"If I had to guess? Fear," Animus said bluntly. "Nightmare made it quite clear that she would have everyone that fought against her killed. Death is a terrifying prospect, and fear can change anyone for the worse or better. I saw it a lot back when I was trapped in Sword Art Online. That game was even worse, in some ways. Mostly because no matter what, if you died even once in the game, your brain would be fried with an electric surge in the real world. Before the game was beaten, over three thousand of the ten thousand players had died, and a lot of them were suicide and murder."

Both Applejack and Twilight gave a shudder at that statement. Things like that were extremely rare in Equestria, but they did exist. It was no less unpleasant hearing about it happening with different creatures in a different world. It must have been a truly horrid experience to drive them to such extremes.

"So you really were in SAO," Agil stroked his scruffy chin with a small smile. "I had a feeling you were since you knew Kibau and started yelling about Yui."

Animus looked up at Agil, surprised, "You too? Man, it really seems like a lot of SAO survivors have been brought into this game. And you know Kibau and Yui too?"

Agil nodded, "Yeah, I was a part of the Assault Team since we fought the first Floor Boss of Aincrad, and Kibau was in that fight. I'm also a close friend of Kirito, Yui's father."

Applejack and Twilight shared a look, with AJ shrugging in confusion. Twilight only understood a bit of it herself, most of what they said matching up with the secondhoof information she'd already learned through observation. What really caught her attention, however, was how Animus's eyes widened and his hands clenched tight. That reaction was unmistakable. It was the same sort of reaction he had when the subject of his trauma came up.

Did something Agil said have a connection to Animus' terrible experience?

"Hello? Earth ta' humans, ponies out of the loop are present," Applejack waved a hoof to get their attention.

"Right, sorry AJ," Animus sighed, but added quickly to Agil, "If you don't mind, I have some questions I want to ask you once things are settled down. Is that alright?"

Agil nodded firmly, turning back to the table, "Alright, as I was saying before, we don't know for sure that any ponies joined Nightmare, but it would be foolish to assume they haven't either. I think we should tackle the issue of crafting distribution twofold." He pulled out a quill and paper of his own from his inventory and began scribbling down three dots and two circles. One circle was drawn around two of the dots, while another was set around the singular dot above the first two. "First, we should get in contact with the commanders of all of the other towns. This is a crude representation of our territory on the map."

He pointed farthest dot, then to the two set away from it right next to each other. "This is Canterlot to the north, and these two are Ponyville and Nightmare's castle." He then drew an arching line between Ponyville and Canterlot, saying, "We need to distribute production units so that all of our towns have access to those crafts in town. Some areas will still produce way more of certain things though, since we won't be achieving a perfect balance." He then drew a straighter line between the two locations. "Then we need to maintain lines of trade and communication. There's gonna be surplus of some product or materials in one location, but scarcity in another, so we'll need open trade for every area to maintain balance. One of the most important parts of that will be securing the train stations in as many towns as possible."

Twilight's quill was a mad blur as she took down all of this information. Agil really knew his stuff, using the crude drawing to get across the idea of what needed to be accomplished on a nationwide scale. Applejack was quick to point out, however, that with trade like that, Nightmare was bound to order raids on shipments. If they wanted it to work, they needed to have escorts with every shipment, and that would cut into their main combat forces. Twilight herself pointed out that Nightmare making such raids would do the same thing, and they could always scale their escort numbers to match the severity of the raid parties.

All in all everyone provided good input, and they had a solid base structure for their plans by the time they were wrapping up. It would be enough info for them to share with the other commanders and refine it further.

When they felt they'd covered as much as they could at this early point, both Applejack and Agil stood to leave.

"Alright then, that should just 'bout do it for the next little while," Applejack beamed, content with their work. "We can't do nothing else til we wait and see just how this all starts playing out."

"Right, I think I'll hit the hay until the town meeting," Agil yawned, stretching his arms wide. "What are you two going to do?"

Yeah, what were they going to do? Animus seemed to already have the rest of the day planned out, so she turned to him for the next step.

He took her cue and answered, "Only two things on the agenda, really. First we need to get in contact with Asuna and Shining Armor in Canterlot. After that I have Mia and Rainbow Dash coming by, since they volunteered as combat instructors." A chime sounded as he spoke and a blinking icon appeared before him. He pressed it right away, opening a window in its place. "Ah, speak of the devil, this is Asuna's reply," he murmured as he began reading.

"Jeez, I didn't think you could be so prepared, Animus," Twilight muttered, feeling both impressed and exasperated at the same time.

Was this really the same guy that had been so gruff and distant before? It seemed like a complete reversal since Nightmare appeared. Now he was setting up meetings and formulating preparations, and she felt like she was just getting dragged along for the ride.

"I want to win. I want to live. It's as simple as that," he replied without looking up from his message. "Now that I've decided where I stand, I'm throwing everything into it."

That was it? Just knowing what side he was on was enough to make him act this differently? Now she was almost afraid of what it would have been like if he had joined Nightmare. She could sympathize with his desire to return to his old life though. She wanted her world back the way it was too.

"Alright then," Agil nodded, heading for the door. "Tell Asuna I said hi, we go way back too." He stopped at the door and added, "And Twilight, don't worry, you're doing a fine job as a commander right now. Just keep at it."

Was she that transparent? She was wondering exactly what she was doing here when Animus seemed to be handling everything just fine on his own. She managed a small grateful nod for Agil's words though.

"Heya, Agil, why don't ya come stay at mah farm for the time bein'? Not many places here could fit a guy your size, and we've got a real cozy barn. 'Long as ya don't mind my little sis. She's a real hoofful," Applejack offered as the pair left the building.

"Oh don't you worry, I have a daughter back in my world," Agil laughed, "I know how to handle rowdy little tykes."

The door shut behind them and all noise from the outside world was cut off completely. Now Twilight and Animus were left alone in the main room of the library. The ticking of a clock on the wall punctuated every silent second as Animus read and Twilight waited. Finally, the message was closed and Animus rose to stretch his limbs.

"So?" Twilight asked when he said nothing. "How exactly are we going to have a meeting with Asuna and my brother when they're all the way in Canterlot?" Was he thinking they should take a train there again? There wouldn't be enough time to go all the way out there and back before the time of the town meeting he'd arranged.

"Your brother just confirmed something for me that I had Asuna ask him," he answered mid-stretch. "Your talent. I'd been wondering about it for a little while now, and at first I thought you had a knack for some sort of astral magic since your mark is a bunch of stars."

"What does my Cutie Mark have to do with anything?" she tilted her head.

"Well, for one, I was surprised to find out that your talent is magic. Not any one branch of magic, but all magic. I guess it makes sense though that the princess' personal pupil is a prodigy," he grinned.

This wasn't exactly new information to her. It was her talent after all. She knew her gift well. "What's your point, Animus? Quit beating around the bush with all the little details I already know," she groaned.

"Simple, you're going to cast an Astral Conference Array of your own. Right here. Right now," Animus said, as though it really were the simplest and most obvious thing in the world.

"What?!" Twilight blurted out. "Are you crazy? That was a highly advanced spell, and you want me to cast it just like that?"

Animus threw his hands up defensively at her outburst, "Calm down, I'm not asking you to create a conference between every town and city in Equestria like Nightmare Moon did. We'll start small with a circle here and in Canterlot for now, and as you get better at it, we can add more."

Oh, of course. It was so simple. Not! "Don't talk like it's easy," she trotted over and gave him a couple hard pokes on his chest. "You have no idea how complex of a spell it is, and you expect me to copy it right after seeing it? You're nuts!"

Faster than she could even blink, Animus' hand grasped her by her fetlock. He held her arm like a vice, but his expression was somehow completely calm. "Twilight, we are not in a position where we have the luxury of self-doubt or the words 'I can't'," he told her. "It shouldn't bear repeating that we are leaders now, whether we like it or not, and this is going to be an ugly war. So if something needs to be done that we never would think we could do before, we just do it, and that will inspire our soldiers to do the same."

His words hammered home one after another. The absolute conviction in his eyes was almost mesmerizing, and she couldn't find any flaw in his reasoning. Again she was struck with what a change Animus' behavior had taken, and she couldn't help but wonder where all this came from. She could scarcely see the resemblance between the grumpy guy she'd known yesterday and the resolved leader she was seeing now.

As much as the logical part of her brain told her that the spell was beyond her ability, she couldn't deny what he said. If it was impossible, then it was better for her to actually try. If she just said she couldn't, then she really never would.

Pulling her arm free from his grasp, Twilight nodded in understanding, "Alright, I'll do it. But don't blame me if it fails spectacularly."

"Don't think like that," he encouraged her. "You'll do fine. Just give it your best try. Oh yeah, I was told to tell you that they're waiting in the throne room for the circle to appear."

With another nod, Twilight turned to the center table of the room and pushed it aside with her magic. A space now cleared, she closed her eyes and focused. She thought of the spell she wanted to cast, and of the circle. Her horn lit up, and a beep sounded in her ear. Cracking her eye open, she spotted a new menu window that read:

Destiny «Spellweaver» Activated.
All magic sub-classes merged.
Overcast active.
Mana regen bonus active.

What was this? Destiny? Bonuses? There was no level shown for it on the display either.

"What's that all about, Twilight?" Animus asked when he noticed the new window.

Thinking for a moment, Twilight soon realized what this must mean. "I think I just got a special bonus for my cutie mark," she announced. "It says here that with this «Spellweaver» Destiny, my Mp will recover by an extra six percent of the max every minute. On top of that, all of the magic sub-classes in my menu have been merged into one, and spells up to ten levels above what I have can be cast for twice the mp cost."

A self-satisfied smile spread across Animus' face. "I guess my gut instinct was right. The system does include a pony's cutie mark as a factor. That must be why Nightmare had such powerful magic; she must have bonuses like this for her own magic."

That would make sense. Everything about the game seemed fair and square until Nightmare had entered the picture, but if all of Nightmare’s magic was at level one too, then she had just been taking advantage of her Destiny to cast spells above her level. If that was true, then things were still balanced. That did raise a question in her mind though.

"If this is tied into cutie marks, then doesn't that mean that humans don't have these Destinies?" she asked.

Animus shook his head, "Unless we see otherwise, I think it's safe to assume that it's for ponies only. To be honest, from all indications, you ponies aren't as predisposed to combat as we are. Your society is far more peaceful than ours. An extra edge is understandable in that sense."

So that was how it was? "Oh? So you're saying that I need a crutch to do well in this game? You think I need a handicap?" Twilight turned on Animus. His words had struck a raw chord with her steadily building insecurity. She jammed her hoof in his chest, saying, "I can fight just as well as you can!"

Animus took a step back. With a sigh, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "That's not what I'm saying. Don't twist my words around on me."

A part of her told her to stop there, but she'd already gotten a steam going, and she couldn't stop herself. "Oh sure, the ponies need all the help they can get against the mighty army of humans, right? You gonna cut up all the bad guys and save the day while ponies try to keep up?" she mocked him, "Well I wouldn't even need this Destiny to kick your flank up and down this town!" Her Casts reformed around her hooves for emphasis. "I'm not some helpless little filly that needs protecting."

Animus groaned, raking a hand through his hair. "This is a stupid and pointless argument, Twilight. I'm not going to fight you over something like this when we should be working together to protect our people," he growled in mounting frustration.

His tone only set her off even more. He was giving her attitude now? "Working together?" Twilight laughed the fakest laugh she could. "From the moment Nightmare left you've been running the show all on your own. Setting up meetings and such without even talking with me about it first or anything? Yeah, I'm really feeling the teamwork here."

Animus slammed his fist hard against the wall, his eyes turning from frustration to livid anger. The blow was so strong that it even triggered the «Immortal Object» icon. "Well excuse me for trying to take the initiative!" he shouted at her. "This is only the first day, so why the hell are you getting so pissed off when I'm just trying to do my job?"

"So why am I even here? You're handling everything on your own and I'm being left to the wayside trying to keep up? Right now it feels like the only reason I'm here is to cast the array," Twilight huffed.

"You're not here just for that. You're a commander! You were chosen by the system just the same as I was," Animus tried to explain.

"The system? You're putting an awful lot of faith in something that was created by the ones that stuck us in this mess," Twilight dismissed it right away. "Trusting the system is like trusting Discord. Tell me why that sounds like a good idea?"

"I've got to have faith in something, damn it!" he said, but stopped his tirade with a deep breath. After it seemed he was calm, he continued, "Look, can we discuss this later? Right now Shining Armor and Asuna are waiting on us."

Twilight could still feel her anger boiling, but agreed to stop for now. Really, the last thing she wanted was to let him end it at that, but she also didn’t want to keep the others waiting. Pushing her emotions aside, she concentrated on the spell she wanted to cast and let her eyes flutter shut. The circle appeared in her mind's eye, recreated in vivid detail. After that she thought of her targets, the first being the library she stood in, and next was the throne room in Canterlot. Once she had the spell and location in her mind, she willed her magic through her horn, and out into the ambient magic all around.

With all of the changes that her world had been put through, Twilight found comfort in the fact that her magic worked the exact way it was supposed to. Something familiar and unchanged was a breath of fresh air with all these menus, Casts, and sub-classes.

Snapping her eyes open, Twilight released the spell from her horn in a burst of magenta light. Twin radiant beams shot straight up. One of the rays hit the ceiling and vanished with a ripple while the other turned back down and hit the floor. From that center point, luminous lines emerged, tracing winding paths that spun all around the room until they connected in another bright flash. When it had finished, Twilight and Animus were then standing in a circle identical to the one Nightmare had cast, but this one glowed with the distinct pinkish-purple hue of Twilight's aura.

The two of them waited in uncomfortable, anxious silence for the spell to link up in Canterlot. Both of them refused to make eye contact with the other, instead watching the small star-like motes of light that dotted the inside of the array. Much to their relief, it was only a minute before the translucent images of their fellow commanders emerged from the edges of the circle.

Shining Armor no sooner glanced at Twilight than he asked, "Alright, what happened? What's got you so upset Twily?"

Startled at his bluntness, Twilight stammered, "W-what do you mean? Nothing going on here, no siree. Why do you ask?"

"Twilight and I just have a small personal disagreement. It's not really important, so there's no need to worry," was Animus' nonchalant answer.

Just a simple disagreement? Not important? That was how he saw it? How could he just say that like it was nothing?

The glare that Twilight shot at Animus was so cold that Shining flinched when he saw it. Asuna grimaced slightly, but gave a sharp clap of her hands, snapping Twilight out of it.

"Alright, so let's get down to business," she announced, successfully diffusing the tension. "We need to figure out what our objectives are moving forward."

Right, their objectives. What were they going to be? Obviously rescuing Celestia should be top priority. They knew she was in the dungeon of Nightmare's castle in the Everfree, so that just made things simpler.

"We-"

"Our economic advisors think that the first goal should be claiming as many of the train stations as we can. Having a solid supply chain across Equestria will be important, and it will also allow us to distribute soldiers as needed," Animus interrupted her before she could say a word more.

Okay, that made sense. He may have interrupted her, but there was really no need to yell at him for it. At least not in front of the others. She'd have words for him once this was over.

"Right, so we need to establish an information network as soon as we can too," Twilight built off of his statement. She pulled out one of her scrolls of notes to reference, and she started summarizing all of the things that they had just covered with Agil and Applejack.

With each summarized point, Animus would give a small explanation of what it would accomplish as a whole. He emphasized things such as how an information economy would encourage player growth and exploration. The economics were glossed over for the most part, since they weren't the focus of this meeting, merely a point of preparation.

With those little details squared away, they could get to the real mission. "Alright," Twilight said, placing her notes back into her inventory, "so I think we can all agree that our primary objective should be to rescue Celestia from Nightmare Moon. With her safe, that will be a huge boost to morale, and a blow to Nightmare."

Shining nodded, "Yeah, I think that's a-"

"I'm sorry, Twilight, but that's not a good idea," Animus interrupted.

"What?!" Twilight bristled with anger. "What are you talking about? From everything I had you read about Equestria, you of all people should know how important Celestia is to us!"

Asuna and Shining looked to each other with nervous expressions as the tension exploded between their allies.

Animus shook his head, "That's exactly what I mean. Nightmare knows how important she is too. Why the heck do you think Nightmare openly declared she was holding Celestia captive?"

"And now we know exactly where to look to find Celestia because of that!" Twilight declared. He'd just made her point for her!

"Exactly!" he countered. "You made it incredibly clear how much Celestia means to you in particular too! Nightmare let that information slip so she could coax you into making stupid decisions like this!"

Stupid? Stupid?! "So now I'm stupid?!" she started screaming back at him. She was well over the edge and into the deep end now. "That's what you really think of me, huh? I guess there's no reason for me to be here then is there? You've got everything under control and you're apparently soooooo much smarter than me too!"

"What is wrong with you?!" he yelled back at her. "You can't leave. I need you here!"

Yeah right. What could he possibly need her around for? To take notes? To connect him with the other commanders through the Astral Conference?

Turning her back on him with an indignant huff, she declared, "I'm not your secretary! If you're not going to try to help Celestia, then I have no reason to listen to you!"

If this was how it was going to be, then Animus could just play his little game as commander all he wanted by himself. If he wasn't going to keep his motivation where it needed to be, then she would just have to rescue Celestia on her own.

Why did it have to be them chosen? Why him and her specifically? Why not her and someone else, or better yet, him and somepony else? Twilight wasn't a leader, and it was more than clear to her now that Animus didn't respect her as one either. In that case, it was better for her to just go it alone.

She stormed towards the front door, her face red with anger and frustration. She didn't even stop as Animus tried to call after her. Nothing he could say would change her mind. With a glow of her horn she swung the door wide open and stomped out.

"Stop it, Twilight!" he called for her, trying to follow. "You're-"

She slammed the door in his face without a bit of hesitation. She didn't even look back before teleporting as deep into town as she could. She didn't want to look Animus in the face. There was no way she could consider someone like him an ally, even if he wasn't her enemy.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Stop it, Twilight! You're-"

The door slammed in Animus' face before he could finish speaking. He clutched his poor, battered nose, which glowed red with the damage marking. She was gone.

With a defeated sigh, he finished his interrupted words to no one in particular, "You're better than this, you stubborn mare."

He... really could have handled that better, couldn't he? Right after Twilight had gone, he felt a familiar bit of shame sprout up in him. The sort of shame he felt when deep down he knew he'd acted out of line in some way. But how? He knew he was right about not rushing in to save Celestia. It had to be how he went about saying it. Now because of whatever he said wrong, she was going to be trying to face a deadly enemy without him. Leaving him behind, just like…

An equally deep sigh came from behind Animus. He was reminded, all too embarrassingly, that Asuna and Shining had just seen that entire screaming match.

"Maybe you should have started with that last part, minus calling her stubborn," Shining said with a shallow chuckle. "Dang, you two weren't exactly best friends when you left here, but I didn't think it was this bad with how you two stood together against Nightmare Moon."

"That was easy compared to this," Animus admitted, staring at the door. He was hesitant to turn back and face the others. "Our enemy was right in front of us. It was simple and straightforward. I know I'm not wrong about one thing though; going after Celestia at this point would only end in disaster."

"Shouldn't you go after her? She could be about to do just that," Asuna asked, folding her arms over her chest.

No. No, she wouldn't. Not yet anyway. As ridiculously as Twilight was acting right now, Animus still knew she wouldn't be going yet. He shook his head, "She may be letting her emotions get the best of her, but she's smart. She's gone a whole day now without sleeping, and will need rest before she goes anywhere." With a deep breath, he turned back to face Asuna. "After everything that's happened in the last day, Twilight will need her sleep. She's no idiot. She's a hell of a lot smarter than that."

His answer got a smile and a small giggle from Asuna. Just behind her, Animus saw a rippling at the edge of the magic circle as someone else entered. This new arrival stepped in, revealing a slender figure of a mare, taller and leaner than most. She had a long horn, and a pair of wings folded across her back, clearly another alicorn. He couldn't make out her coloring, since she was projected with a magenta glow from head to hoof, but he did spot a mark of a heart wreathed in elegant splashes on her flank. What was the name of this other princess the guards from yesterday had mentioned again? Ah, Cadenza Mi Amore. That was it.

The princess looked straight at him with a warm smile and said, "You think quite highly of Twily, don't you?"

A slight flush tinted Animus' cheeks at her words. Sure he did, but what did that matter? "Well yeah, why wouldn't I?" he muttered, scratching the tip of his nose with a finger. "She's intelligent, brave, determined, and strong. She may be able to piss me off more than anyone I've ever met, but..."

A knowing grin spread across the princess' face, her eyes narrowing, boring into him in a strangely gentle way. "You care about her."

The faint warmth and flush in Animus' cheeks flared to a burning red. It didn't help that similarly smug grins spread across Shining and Asuna's faces as they watched him go scarlet. "Princess! N-no- I mean, y-yes, but it's not like that!"

"Please, just call of Cadance," she chuckled softly. "I'm the Princess of Love, so I can recognize any form of love or caring when I see it. I can see that you really meant what you said when you told Kibau that you saw all of us ponies as real. As real as any of your own kind. You wouldn’t say that if you didn’t care a lot."

Cheeks still burning, he scratched the back of his head nervously, "Well, yeah. I meant it. Every last word. There's no way I could be happy going home at the expense of this world."

"Well said," Asuna agreed, resting her hands on her hips. "You might be surprised how many of our kind were convinced by your words and conviction."

Shining nodded, looking towards where Twilight left, "Animus, you may think she's very strong, and you're right, but Twilight's very fragile too. In fact, the one thing that can hurt her the most is how those she cares most about think of her. Me. Mom and Dad. Celestia. Cadance. Spike... And now you. Our view of her, or what she assumes we think of her... She can be pretty sensitive to that, and it's that sensitivity that makes her hesitant to befriend anyone. The more she cares about someone, the more she worries about these things."

His opinion of her mattered that much? Animus didn't know what to say to that, but he was starting to understand why she'd gotten so upset. "I told her that she was being stupid," he realized. "To a bookworm like Twilight, that's got to be a hard thing to hear... Damn, I'm such an idiot. I only said that because I know she's smarter than this. She should know exactly what Nightmare's trying to do."

The magic circle began to flicker and blur around them, the projected images of Shining, Asuna, and Cadance started to grow dimmer as well. If he had to guess, either the spell could only last so long without Twilight around to power it, or she was cutting her connection with the spell as they spoke. Either way, their conversation was about to be cut short.

Animus looked to each of them. He was the one that had called for this little meeting, so they were expecting him to say something. Honestly, after what had just happened, he wasn't so sure.

After a few seconds, Shining said, "Look, for the time being, let's play a prevent defence. We'll just explore, get stronger, and deal with anything Nightmare sends our way. We can worry about making our own moves once we've built up some strength."

Asuna nodded in agreement and walked up to Animus. With a warm smile, she placed a hand on his shoulder, the holographic image of her disrupting where it made contact, giving no sensation. "Ani, for now, you just worry about doing that, and try to fix things on your end," she suggested, "We'll keep in contact via messaging if anything comes up."

Yeah... He'd already mucked up big time though. How was he supposed to change things without just making it worse?

Lastly, Cadance added, "You just worry about protecting those you care about and those you are responsible for. I think you know what you have to do."

He did know. He just didn't know if he could do it. He wasn't the best person when it came to the complexities of social interactions. Being a leader was different. That was straightforward to him. He'd had the best role model for it too. His big brother had been an amazing leader. Animus had learned everything he knew about being a leader from his big brother, but he could never quite capture his brother's magnetic pull that made it so easy for him to make friends. So how could he manage to do what he needed to?

No. He couldn't think like that. He needed to take his own words to heart. There was no room for doubt in this world. No room for thinking that he couldn't do something. He needed to believe he could and just do it.

A confident grin returned to Animus' face, his drive restored. "Don't worry, I'll do everything I can. I don't know how long it will take, but I'll fix things with Twilight. Until then, I'll do everything I can to keep her safe."

The three of them smiled and nodded before the circle finally faded and their luminous forms vanished. With a long, deep sigh, all of the tension that had built up just melted out of Animus' body. His shoulders slumped, and he moved over so he could slump down onto a nearby chair. There was still so much to do.

Was this how his brother had felt back then? It was so stressful, but strangely fulfilling at the same time. He felt like crap for his mistakes with Twilight, but at the same time he felt more alive than he had in years. He had to stay confident though. If a leader showed a lack of confidence, then the ones they led would see it and fall apart.

"I guess I had you all wrong," the familiar voice of Spike came from above.

Looking up, Animus spotted the young dragon leaning on the banister at the top landing of the stairs, looking down at him.

"What do you mean by that, half pint?" he shot a playful smirk up at Spike.

At that verbal jab, Spike sent a matching smirk down his way and replied, "I thought that all you cared about was getting home. You sure made it seem like it for a while, but it turns out you're a huge softy on the inside." He lasered in a precision tease, "I mean, you and Twilight are like a married couple with how you argue."

The burning in Animus' cheeks returned in an instant, and he broke eye contact reflexively. "So what did you want, Spike? Teasing me can't be the only reason you haven't run off to catch up with Twilight," he muttered, scratching his nose.

With a hop onto the banister, Spike slid down the stairway into a surprisingly graceful landing in front of Animus. The little dragon's emerald eyes flashed with a serious light as he said, "Twilight would never let me, so I want you to teach me how to fight. Once I'm strong enough, I want to help you protect Twilight and everyone else." His small claws flashed with the manifesting light of his Casts, and twin longswords formed from the enchanted metal, scaled down to his diminutive size. Along with the weapons, small, thin metal plates wrapped around his body, covering his arms, legs, torso, and the crest of his spines.

To be perfectly honest, Animus wasn't at all surprised by Spike's desire to fight. Even if they were just myths and fictional creatures back home, dragons were near universally portrayed with the hearts of warriors. Creatures that fought to protect with a ferocity that was unmatched, whether what they protected was land, treasure, kin, or loved ones. It would be wrong to deny Spike something that was so deeply ingrained in him. That nearly-feral glint in his eyes also helped make this an easy decision.

Besides, Animus had only been ten years old when he'd first gotten trapped in SAO. Who was he to say that a child couldn't have a warrior buried inside of them?

What really interested him though, was Spike's weapons, twin longswords. Dual swordsmanship wasn't a simple thing to master, and yet that was the very thing that this child had been given to best suit his abilities. It was as interesting of an option as his equally technical battle scythe weapon. The fact that he had such an advanced setup told Animus that despite the small, cute appearance before him, Spike could end up as a powerhouse fighter down the line. Only time would tell if that gut feeling panned out though.

There was just one question that needed to be asked. "Spike, are you ready to die to protect everyone if you have to? To protect Twilight?" Animus asked, leaning in close so they were nearly face to face.

"Yes, sir! I can and will- OUCH!" Spike yelped when Animus flicked his topmost spine. "What was that for?!"

It was a good answer. It really was. Animus could feel the conviction, especially when the snarky dragon called him 'sir' of all things. It had been a trick question though.

"No, you should never willingly sacrifice your life for someone you care about," he shook his head. He knew how what he said had sounded, but that wasn’t all of it. Just as a look of confused indignation started to spread across Spike's face, Animus said the rest of it, "You always fight to live. Never even accept the fact that you could die, and never just let it happen. Fight for everyone to live, for no one you love to die. There are very few ways that you can hurt the ones you love more than by dying to protect them. Leaving them to think that you died because of them is one of the cruellest things in the world." His own words brought up painful memories, but he stomached through it. "Do you understand, Spike?"

The little dragon's eyes were wide with what could only be described as awed realization. It was such a simple fact, but the seemingly noble sacrificing of one's self for another was such a romanticized concept that few ever considered the implications of it.

"I understand, Animus," Spike nodded soberly.

"Alright then, I'll help you train to get stronger, and I'll keep it secret from Twilight. All I ask is that you not tell Twilight about anything that happened after she left. Deal?" Animus offered his hand.

"Deal," Spike agreed. He dispersed his Casts and shook Animus' hand vigorously, sealing their little pact.

Author's Note

Alrighty everyone! The stage is well and truly set now! I hope you all enjoyed this little ride, because starting with the next chapter, we're gonna be giving the timeskip button a light tap! It's time to see how things go farther down the line, but not too far, obviously. I have a fun little character arc planned for you all in the next 2+ chapters. (not really sure how many it will take) And I'll also be breaking my streak of following Twilight and Animus. Time for us to get into the heads of some of the other characters too.

In the meantime, I want to see how much you, my dear readers, have been paying attention to the story. I've been dropping hints here and there wherever I could about Animus's past, and after this chapter, I believe I've given enough hints for his history to be successfully guessed at. So, I want to hear all of your opinions. What do you think happened to Animus in SAO that made him how he is? If someone guesses it correctly, I will openly admit to it. It may be a bit spoiler-ific for later parts of my story, but I'll bet you readers are all eager to know just what the heck happened all those years ago. So guess away, my dear readers!

What We Must Do; Part 1

Rarity hummed contentedly as she trotted along the cobble road towards the edge of town. Her destination; a new building constructed near the border of Everfree. The building was a simple but roomy two-story design, with a thatched roof and a mosaic of red and brown bricks making the building look warm and inviting. Beside the door hung a carved wooden sign depicting two swords crossed over a potion bottle and set over a burlap sack. It stood in stark contrast with the dark and gloomy forest behind it, and was nestled nearly on the edge of the town's safe zone.

Of course, had this been Rarity's shop, she never in a million years would have chosen this location. Honestly, it stood out like a rosy red thumb on the edge of town, and the forest certainly didn't help that either. Where was the sense of aesthetic? Sure, it looked cosy enough, but if it had the audacity to be where it was, at the very least it should try to compliment the nature around it, right?

Alas, it was what it was. At least it wasn't an utter offense to the senses. If she did her best to ignore the design flaws, it was actually pleasantly quaint. Perhaps that was the point? Regardless, it was the farthest thing from her own tastes.

It had only been up for two days now, but the shop had already become a familiar landmark and stopping point for players on their way in and out of the Everfree Forest. Here they could buy supplies to prepare for the dangers they'd face within, and then sell the materials and items they earned once they were finished. In that way, this was actually an ideal location. It was right on the path most traveled out of the southeastern side of town, so it spared many a trip from one side of town to another. No other combat supply shop had such a prime location.

Finally reaching the shop, she pushed the door open. She was greeted by the musical chime of the door shaking a bell. It was a common feature of most any place of business, including her own, and made her feel right at home.

Rarity stepped aside and graciously held the door open as two customers were heading out. She even recognized them, a woman and stallion, as customers she'd seen in her own shop. They recognized her as well and each shook her hoof in thanks for her expert services. She accepted their thanks modestly, as always. A lady must not let popularity or compliments go to her head after all.

Once the two of them were on their way, Rarity let the door close and returned her mind to business. The first thing she noticed was that the owner wasn't at his usual spot. The counter right by the door was barren, which meant he had to be helping customers farther in the back.

Rarity gracefully wove her way between a sparse crowd of customers that were browsing shelves stocked to the brim with all sorts of goodies. Everything from potions to crystals; from the eye of a serpent to the condensed essence of a spectre. This shop had just about everything a warrior could need when heading into danger, and everything crafters could need to make those things for themselves.

"Thank you for your business, enjoy your blueberries, Derpy." The familiar, friendly voice of the shopkeep floated to her ears, guiding her along.

She rounded the last set of shelves, and was greeted by the beaming smile of the most memorable googly-eyed pegasus in Ponyville. The eternally cheerful Derpy trotted up to Rarity, holding a sizable basket between her teeth, stuffed to the brim with the aforementioned berries. As usual, one bright eye fixed itself directly on Rarity as she stopped, but the other was looking in almost the complete opposite direction.

Derpy did have the most curious eye condition in all of Equestria, but she was also one of the sweetest creatures in the whole world, right up there with Fluttershy. It was little wonder that everyone in Ponyville loved her. Even Rarity couldn't deny that just about any time she saw Derpy, she smiled.

"Hewwo mish Rariddy," Derpy garbled through her occupied mouth. "You gettin' materiawsh for your shawp?"

Had it been absolutely anypony else, Rarity would have scolded them for speaking with their mouth full. With Derpy, however, one just couldn't help but simply smile.

"Why yes, my dear," Rarity answered, bowing her head slightly. "Agil has promised me a nice portion of the items brought to him by our adventurers. I need them to make the cloth dyes, hair dyes, and fabrics that I'll be using." Glancing down at the basket, full to burst, she asked, "What ever do you need so many blueberries for?"

As soon as she asked, she knew how silly the question was. There was only one reason Derpy could need blueberries. "Muffinsh!" Derpy cheered, her tail wagging energetically behind her. She placed her basket on the floor and pulled a muffin from her inventory, displaying its fluffy, flavorful goodness. She declared proudly, "I make them myself. A muffin a day keeps me happy and strong."

As Rarity looked at the muffin, she couldn't help but feel a nagging bit of hunger. It had been about a half day since she'd eaten, and the little pastry looked absolutely delectable. Even as her hungry eyes admired the succulent berries embedded in its puffed top, the item's stat window suddenly popped up. Whenever one focused on an item, these little screens, visible only to that player, would appear. It was rather annoying at times, but it was just a matter of learning how to only trigger it when you wanted.

Blueberry Muffin
Consumable
Effect Duration: 1 Hour
Recovers 75 Hp per minute
Recovers 40 Mp per minute
Grants 5% AGI buff (non-stackable)

That last part was the most interesting part. Sure, bigger and more complex food items had larger and longer-lasting effects, but an agility boost of five percent was a nice amount for something so simple. If Derpy had one of these all of the time, then it certainly would explain why lately she had been that much quicker at her job.

Speaking of which…

As Derpy tucked her muffin back into her inventory, Rarity pulled out something of her own. It was a tightly rolled scroll, bound with a red ribbon, and she held it aloft with her magic. She asked, "Since I caught you here, would you be a dear and deliver this to Mayor Mare for me? There are some rare materials I need for a special order that aren't in Agil's stock."

Derpy took the scroll, wide-eyed. "Oooo, what kind of special order is it?" she asked.

"That, my dear, is a surprise," Rarity said with a grin. "All that I'll say is that it's something I've been trying to get the commander to agree to ever since I took charge of his wardrobe."

"The commander?" Derpy repeated, promptly putting the scroll away. "I can't wait to see it!"

Rarity chuckled at the show of enthusiasm, beaming all the while. "It absolutely will not disappoint. It's not anything huge, but it is perfect for him," she claimed.

After a few more pleasant words, the two of them parted ways. While the mailmare headed out to make her delivery to city hall, Rarity rounded the next row of shelves. There, she finally found her quarry. Agil was helping an earth pony stallion, taking a vial filled with a viscous amber liquid from the top shelf.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, "I'm still working on getting some stepping stools for you guys to reach up here."

"It's no bother at all," the stallion smiled. "I'm just glad you had this Alpha Timberwolf Sap. This is the last one I needed to commission my first weapon upgrade. You just saved me a day's worth of hunting in the Everfree to find it."

Agil grinned broadly, slamming his fist against his chest. "That's what I'm here for. You'll find almost everything this region of Equestria has to offer here at Agil's Everything Emporium," he said, chest swelling.

Rarity could feel a small smile playing at her lips as she waited for Agil to be unoccupied. The drastic changes that had already swept over Ponyville were rather amusing when she thought about it. Ponies willingly traveling into Everfree. Fighting monsters that only weeks ago would have sent them into a panic. It all would have been completely unthinkable before this game started, and yet--

Once the stallion went on his way, Agil spotted Rarity and gave her a wave. "Well if it isn't one of my best customers. What can I do for you?" he greeted with the same broad smile she'd seen on him every day.

It was time for it to begin. The song and dance of business, and Agil was one of the finest in the craft that Rarity had ever encountered. Every visit to him was a battle in itself.

"I'm here to purchase some more materials," she answered. "I'm running low on moonbloom blossoms, manticore mane hair, timberwolf bark, cocatrice eggs, and mana dust. I need one hundred units of the first four, and six hundred of the dust. Lastly, I need as much spider thread and beast hide that you can spare me."

Agil tapped his chin in thought for a few seconds before saying, "Alright, so if we average out about ten bits per unit for the first order, that comes up to ten thousand. I can spare about three hundred threads and four hundred hides, and averaging out those to fifteen bits each that should make... Ten thousand and five hundred. Alright then, if that's all you need, then it will cost you twenty thousand and five hundred bits."

"Twenty thousand? Now hold on a moment there, dear," Rarity said, stomping a hoof down. "I had an order much like this one a week ago and you only charged me ten thousand. Why in the wide realm of Equestria did the prices double already? All of those materials are native to our territory too, so the price should be lower than that." Just what was he thinking? The price was much too inflated

Agil shook his head, turning to one of the shelves and starting to straighten out some crooked items. "Rarity, you should know that it's not that simple," he sighed. "Yes, they are local materials, but there is only so much of it to go around right now. The monster parts are easy enough, but so far none of the natural resources have started to respawn. On top of that, we also have to keep up a steady supply of trade to the territories that don't have the materials we can gather. The resources here aren't just for us to use."

"But... I mean... Oh fine, I suppose I see your point," she relented. He did make a sound argument, and he was far more accustomed to this economy than her. "I'll pay your price, but do please tell me when you have more supply to sell for cheaper, would you, dear?"

"Of course," Agil nodded, "anything for a friend." He started walking to the front of the store, Rarity right behind him. "Why do you sound so strapped for cash though?" he asked as they walked. "Between your thriving business and any money you get while hunting, I'd think you'd be swimming in bits."

Rarity smiled weakly at the question, her eyes darting in the opposite direction. "Yes, well... You see, the thing is that I've never really gone... hunting... before," she grimaced at just the thought of it.

This seemed to surprise Agil, and he gave her a strange look as he stepped behind the sales counter near the front door. "You haven't fought a single monster in the last two weeks?" he asked as he tapped the top of the counter, bringing up a new menu. With a few taps to the projection, he selected each item Rarity had requested, in the quantities she had asked for, and the price of twenty thousand and five hundred bits was calculated.

"Don't get me wrong, it's impressive that you've been able to keep your business supplied and funded without the money from monsters," he told her. "Still, you really should be gathering some of your own supplies to cut costs."

Rarity shook her head, "Please, dear, I can bear having to train in basic combat skills by the instructors in town. However, I'm not the type of lady that takes any amount of pleasure in fighting."

"Spoken like a true pampered princess," a voice came from behind Rarity, turning her about to see Mia approaching the counter with Rainbow Dash at her side. She brushed a bit of her golden hair out of her eyes before resting her hand on her hip. "You just haven't experienced the exhilarating rush of barely making it through a difficult fight."

"Spoken like a true Ravager type DPS fighter," Agil chuckled, mirroring her words. "Though I don't think that's the angle that's going to convince her to start hunting."

Rainbow Dash scoffed, "Oh she'll fight. It's just a matter of time before she finds the right reason."

Agil raised an eyebrow curiously. "Pretty insightful words, coming from the biggest battle freak in Ponyville," he commented dryly.

"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" Rainbow said, grinning from ear to ear. "I mean, I've even managed to get Fluttershy out there a little bit, though it's slow progress." She dusted her fetlock on her chest in a cocky gesture. She seemed to be taking her role as the chief instructor pretty seriously, even if she wasn't lacking for boastfulness.

"You mean how you practically strong-armed her into fighting?" Mia pointed out, shooting a mild glare at the mare. "Fluttershy nearly died several times there, and she would have if we hadn't had a healer there to back her up. I'm telling you, she can't fight, and she'll never be able to. She's too soft. Anyone who's just as hurt when they hurt others just can't be expected to fight."

Rainbow flapped up to eye level with Mia and matched her gaze. "And I'm telling you that she'll be able to do it!" she argued. "We pegasi have warrior blood in us, so I know she can do it. It may take a while, but she will."

"We'll just have to agree to disagree," Mia said, dismissing the notion with a wave of her hand.

As their bickering continued, Rarity suddenly remembered that she was still in the middle of a purchase. Quite eager to take the chance to get away from the topic at hoof, she turned back to the counter and tapped her way through her side of the shop menu, completing the transaction.

Turning away from the counter, she told Agil, "I'm really sorry, dear, but I must get going now. I have many customers waiting on me, I'm sure you understand."

Agil waved her away with a smile, replying, "Yeah, I've been there countless times. Take care now, and I hope you'll consider going out and hunting for yourself."

Again with the hunting. What was so great about it anyway? Swinging weapons around and killing each other just to get stronger and kill some more? Even if death wasn't permanent yet, it was still wholly barbaric. It was far better to leave things like that to the Royal Guard and those with similar destinies. She was just a seamstress and fashionista, not a warrior.

She simply shook her head at him as she left, not feeling she needed to say anything more. At this point, she just wanted to be back at her boutique, where she could just focus on her work in peace.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The deafening clang of metal on metal cut through the silence of the Carousel Boutique as the door on the far end of the room swung open. The clanging banged against Rarity's eardrums, and in an instant she bolted upright, bleary-eyed, and a faint trail of drool strung from her lips to the paper on her desk. She blinked her vision clear in time to see a young man waving to her as he walked out the front door.

"Ugh," she groaned, rubbing the side of her head as her foggy brain started to come together. Her ears were hit with another loud clang just before the door the man had come in through closed, shattering her thoughts back into a muddled heap. She grumbled under her breath, "For the love of Celestia... Why did I ever agree to let her build that annex?"

Irritation bubbling up from her muddled, half-awake brain, Rarity lifted herself up from the desk. She trotted right over to the door the offending noise had come from and threw it wide open with her magic. No sooner did she do so, then another clang struck her eardrums. Gritting her teeth, she stormed in and protested, "Liz, why in the wide realm of Equestria must you insist on making such an infernal racket so early in the morning?"

One last clang reverberated through the air before Lisbeth looked up from her workbench, where the curved blade of a scythe sat. The weapon glowed a bright orange that cast an eerie light on her features. The once auburn hair was now a vivid shade of pink that matched her eyes, a change that had been courtesy of Rarity's own services.

Lisbeth placed a hand on her hip, pointing her hammer at a clock on the wall her. "Morning? It's nearly noon. Not my fault that you work yourself so hard that you pass out," she said before bringing her hammer down once more on the weapon.

"Ugh, this is no way to start off a Monday," Rarity grumbled, silently acquiescing the point to Lisbeth.

"Yeah, about that," Lisbeth said after another hit, "It's Tuesday, not Monday. You were out for a whole day and a half."

"Th-that long?!" Rarity gasped, her face going flush. Just how many customers had walked by and seen her drooling all over her desk? "Oh, how utterly embarrassing. How could I have let this happen?"

The look that Lisbeth shot her couldn't have screamed 'You're kidding, right?' louder. The blacksmith rolled her eyes and said, "Oh I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that you've decided to perform so many services? Honestly, a salon, designing and producing fashionable casual wear, and making cloth and leather armor upgrades. You end up working almost all hours of the day with barely any sleep! To be honest, I'm surprised it took this long for your brain to give out. We may have inexhaustible virtual bodies, but we still need sleep and relaxation for our minds."

Rarity's ears folded back against her head at the fierce scolding. Again, the reasoning was without flaw. She had no sound argument against it, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"I have to play my part, though," she said, still trying to defend her actions. "Everyone is working so hard fighting, so I have to do everything I can to assist as well. Sure, the only combat related item I help with is the armor, but one shouldn't overlook the importance of appearance either." Most of her work was cosmetic, yes, but she stood by the value of it, and her numerous loyal customers could prove her point.

Lisbeth sighed, "Even so, you really need to take care of yourself before you start thinking of others." She pointed across the workbench to the far wall and said, "Look, even the commander understands the importance of a nap."

Rarity's gaze tracked the line of her finger to see the familiar form of Animus slumped down in a cozy looking chair. How he managed to sleep through the infernal banging in here was a marvel to her, but he was indeed napping. It was actually kind of adorable seeing the busybody leader in such a state.

"Granted, I don't think he's gotten a full eight hours of sleep since the war started, but he rests whenever he can," Lisbeth explained, turning a pointed look at Rarity. "Which is more than can be said of you, Miss Workaholic."

Okay, perhaps she was going a tad overboard. Being able to work constantly for much longer stretches of time was a craftspony's dream. Still, she couldn't let down all of her loyal customers, could she? She'd never had so much business before, and all of it local. Before, she would be designing suits and dresses for the social elites in distant cities, but now she was creating outfits for pony and human alike that were anything from trendy to high fashion. Not only had her style exploded in countless new directions, but she had more customers than she knew what to do with... and perhaps that was part of the problem.

"I see your point," Rarity relented. She sheepishly kicked at the floor with her forehoof. "I'll try to slow down a bit. I must seem a real fool, pushing myself till collapse."

“Not at all. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand getting lost in your work, but you gotta balance it out,” Lisbeth said and shook her head and swung one last time before lifting the superheated scythe up by its black stave. The thin, curved blade started twisting and expanding as the upgrade took hold. Once complete, the glow of heat faded, and the new weapon was revealed. The stave hadn't undergone any change, but the blade had grown twice as long, three times as broad, and was now a stunning shade of blue that glittered translucently in the light of the room. It had gone from looking like a rudimentary farming tool to being ready to cleave a foe in twain. Lisbeth had done well with this upgrade.

That translucent, crystal-like quality to the blade was quite stunning as well. Rarity had seen a number of improved weapons leave Lisbeth's side of the building, but nothing quite like this. "Why dear, however did you get the blade to look like that?" she asked, curious.

Lisbeth grinned with delight, pulling a small blue crystal no bigger than an apple from her inventory. With a flick, the stone was sent spinning up and towards Rarity, who caught it with her magic.

"It's a special kind of crystal, a lot like a sapphire," Lisbeth explained as Rarity examined it. "However, where sapphires and the like have actual uses in crafting important items, this Azurite and others like it are nonessential cosmetic enhancement items. They're pretty rare too. We were lucky to find three in time for the upgrades, and that's the spare fourth."

"I see," Rarity said, nodding in understanding. "It was a marvelous choice picking this color too. It matches the armor I made for the commander to a tee."

"That's the point," Animus said, stirring in his seat. He pushed himself up from his lazy reclining and rubbed at his eyes with a yawn. "So the last upgrade is done now, Liz?"

"Sure is! Check it out for yourself, Commander!" Lisbeth said, hefting the scythe and tossed it to Animus.

He called out his Casts and caught it deftly before spinning it on his fingers. He examined the blade and checked the stats of the weapon before letting both the weapon and the Casts disperse.

"Commander this, Commander that," he sighed. He stood and stretched out his arms over his head. "Ya know, I can deal with most calling me that, but I work closely with the two of you. Could you just call me Ani instead?"

"Sure thing, Ani," Lisbeth said, a devious glint lighting in her eye. "Though with that new scythe, I won't make any promises that I won't go spreading around the title of Azure Reaper for you."

Ani paused for a moment in thought and called the weapon out once more. "The Azure Reaper, huh?" he muttered, a smile tugging at his lips. "That's definitely a title that would strike fear into our enemies. I like it. A hell of a lot more than Commander."

It was a good title, Rarity had to agree. Ani was the only player in the territory that was known to wield a battle scythe type cast, and there was an undeniable intimidation factor to such a weapon. A title to match was quite fitting. There was just one problem.

"That's all well and good, but if you're our leader, you should at least look the part!" she interjected. She shot a look up and down Ani, from his plain dark blue jeans to the faded blue t-shirt, it all looked wrong. Don't even get her started on his brown hair, but that was an issue for another time. "Why are you not wearing the formal attire I made for you? I don't care if you wear your casual clothes in private, but when you are in public where your soldiers can see you, you need to look like the leader you're supposed to be."

She stared him down along the line of her muzzle, and he sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I get it, Rarity, I really do," he said, nodding. "Still, do my clothes really have to be so stuffy and fancy? I feel like a snob just wearing it."

With a quick couple of taps through his menu, Ani's clothes flashed brightly and changed into the flashy duds that Rarity had designed. A deep sapphire colored dress jacket laid over a simple white button-up. Then there was was matching pair of slacks with two white stripes running down the outside of the pant legs. Last of all was a glossy pair of laceless shoes, also following the white on blue pallet of the rest of the outfit.

Rarity looked over the clothes then looked him in the eye indignantly. "And just what is wrong with this look?" she asked. "You look very professional and regal, if I do say so myself."

Animus adjusted the collar of his jacket, looking all the more uncomfortable. "It's this top and the shoes," he explained. "I wouldn't mind wearing all of this to a meeting or some formal event, but walking around town I just feel like a spoiled rich kid trying to show off. I hardly feel like a warrior and leader of the Ponyville forces in this."

"Well," Rarity replied, raising a hoof, "Isn't that what the look of your new armor is supposed to be for? It's pretty much a warrior version of this formal wear." Why was he even letting something like that bother him? There wasn't anything wrong with looking fabulous.

"Yeah, but a leader walking around with his Casts active at all times?" Ani argued back. "I already tried that one day, and everyone seemed more nervous. Being battle ready in the middle of town makes me seem on edge and worried for my safety."

Oh, he could be so stubborn! Why couldn't he just wear his formal attire around town, and his casual clothes at home? "I really don't understand you, Ani," she sighed. "No one here would think you're a snob just because of a few fancy threads. You're our leader, and you were obviously chosen because of the respect you earned from all of us, so what exactly are you so worried about?"

It was only there for a second, but Rarity detected the slightest flush rising up beneath Ani's cheeks. Curious. Whatever could that be about?

"I--," he began, but stopped short. He closed his eyes for a moment in thought before continuing, "I guess you're right, Rarity. I've just been a bit stressed lately, and it's been making me feel a little self-conscious." Leaving the dressy clothes on, he walked past her on his way out. Before he went out the door, he added, "Just forget I said anything. The clothes are fine; wonderful even. Thank you both for everything, but I have to go organize the dungeon clear parties."

He left, looking very tired as he closed the door behind him. Had he always looked so weary, or was this a recent thing? Rarity felt a bit ashamed that she didn't know the answer to that question. She had been so absorbed in her work that she had shut out a lot of the world around her. It was easier to forget about war, death, and all the unpleasantness of this game when she sunk herself into her designs. The most she ever heard of it was from conversations with her own customers.

It helped that business had never been better, and she had even more traffic since she allowed Lisbeth to build the extension off of the back of the boutique. Weapon and armor upgrades in one place just made sense, even if there was a bit of noise pollution every now and then.

Still, Ani didn't look like he was doing too well. Sure, he was getting more sleep than she had, but his job was far more stressful. Getting bent out of shape over how fancy the clothes she'd made for him were? That really didn't seem like him.

"Just what has gotten into that boy?" she asked wistfully as she stared at the door. "He didn't have any complaints when I made those for him. He really seemed to love them."

Lisbeth sat down in the chair behind her workbench and chimed in, "I think it's because of the situation with Commander Twilight."

"Twilight?" Rarity repeated. She turned a raised brow to her. "Why do you think that she's making him like this?"

Lisbeth crossed her arms, reclining in her seat. "I heard that they got into it a few days ago," she explained. "Twilight's be running solo into the Everfree ever since the war started, and she barely interacts with anyone except us shopkeeps. Ani was trying to convince her to start helping him again, but she started really laying into him. She criticized him in just about every way you could imagine, from his attitude to how he dressed. She said he isn't taking this war seriously and letting his title go to his head."

"This coming from the mare that's throwing herself into danger at every turn and ignoring all of Ponyville?" Rarity scoffed. "She has no right to criticize. She may be dedicated to rescuing Celestia, but Animus is the one who has actually taken responsibility for his position."

Honestly, just what was Twilight thinking?

Lisbeth shrugged again, saying, "Whatever the case, it seems Ani took it a lot harder than he probably should have."

Rarity sighed and remembered the azurite stone she was still holding in her magic. Sending it back over to Lisbeth, she wondered aloud, "But why? He's in the right."

Lisbeth retrieved the stone and placed it back in her inventory. "Maybe he wants to appeal to her, hoping that it will get her to listen to reason. He's been relentless in trying to get her back on his side, since the more reckless she is, the more it puts the rest of us in danger."

This really was a horrid situation. Twilight had seemed so right for the position of commander when she stood up to Nightmare Moon. She and Animus had spoken and fought brilliantly together, and yet not even an afternoon had passed before she went rogue. Just what was she thinking?

Ugh, things like this were so depressing and frustrating to think about, and none of it was doing anyone any good.

Letting out another long sigh, Rarity changed the subject, "Where did you hear about their little spat anyway, Darling?"

"Rainbow Dash told me," Lisbeth replied. "She was taking a nap on a cloud nearby when it happened and overheard every word."

"Sleeping again?" Rarity said. "Honestly, for being the fastest flier and strongest pony warrior in town, she can be quite lazy."

She started turning back to the door. She had a lot of work to catch up on since she'd been asleep for so long. Though... perhaps this time she'd take it a little easier. There was plenty of time for both work and relaxation, and the last thing she needed was to collapse like that again.

"I know exactly what you mean," Lisbeth called as she left, returning to work herself. "I know an idiot just like that. Strongest swordsman I know, but the hopeless lout is always dozing off somewhere."

"Sounds like quite the frustrating guy," Rarity said with a smile, on her way out.

"In so many more ways than one," Lisbeth agreed as the door closed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Achoo!"

The sudden sound of a violent sneeze startled a young mare from a deep sleep. She suddenly bolted upright, eyes bleary as her heavy lids blinked. She lifted a hoof to brush her long white mane out of her face, looking around in a daze.

"Trikshie is awake! Trikshie did not fall ashleep!" she slurred out, rubbing her eyes.

The continuous rattle of wheels on a dirt road filled her ears as she looked around. She was inside her travel wagon, laying on her makeshift bed of blankets and pillows. Why was she here? Last she remembered, she had been pulling her wagon along the road.

A long yawn interrupted her thoughts, and the head of a man with short black hair poked in from the seat up front. "What's the matter Trixie? Did you sleep well?"

The wagon slowed to a stop as Trixie cleared her head with a vigorous shake. "Trixie was not sleeping on the job. Trixie was just resting her eyes for a bit. She did not fall under that infernal spell of yours, Kirito," she protested groggily.

"What spell?" Kirito asked, stifling another yawn.

A second head poked in through the front of the wagon, this one a young girl with long black hair. The child giggled and said, "It's your most powerful area of effect skill, Daddy. Whenever you nap, others around you fall asleep too. You even made Trixie fall asleep while she was pulling the wagon, hehehe."

"Pffft," he scoffed, giving his daughter a playful shove, "What's so wrong with napping anyway, Yui? Like I always say, naps are an important part of the Aincrad sword style."

How that even worked, Trixie would never understand. With how much this lout dozed off, he could almost be considered comatose at times. Still, his talent with a blade was unmistakable, even to her, and she didn't know the first thing about swordplay. Not only that, but though she loathed to admit it, his skills had helped tremendously in making her performances a huge hit. Her stage tricks and his blades dazzled audiences in every town they passed through.

Speaking of which, she had fallen asleep while pulling the wagon, right? "Who is pulling the wagon if Trixie is not?" she asked. She pulled herself up onto her hooves and stretched out before walking to the front of the cart.

Yui leaped back with a bright grin as Trixie climbed up onto the front seat, sitting beside Kirito. The young girl raised her hand and waved it around before standing between the posts sticking from the front of the wagon and declaring, "That would be me!" The harness that Trixie had strapped between the posts to pull with had been removed, and Yui placed a hand on each one, pulling the whole thing along as though it were nothing.

"Trixie is starting to think that this whole family must be secretly demons," she muttered in awe as Yui kept pulling them along despite the weight, which was far from insignificant. "There's no other explanation for why you two are so ridiculously strong."

"Haha, funny you should say that," Kirito laughed, his eyes glazing slightly in fond recollection. "There was one time in Alfheim that I cast an illusion spell on myself. It was supposed to make me look like a monster, and the type depended on my abilities. Wouldn't you know it, I turned into a giant horned demon and gobbled up my terrified enemies."

Sweet Celestia! Even a game he played considered him equal to a beast from the depths of Hades? For such a mild mannered and seemingly unreliable man, Trixie had to admit that she was coming to both fear and respect him in equal measure. It was fortunate that his fierce qualities seemed to be reserved for his enemies. She should probably count herself lucky to have him and Yui as friends and allies instead.

Kirito interrupted her wandering thoughts, asking, "So once we make it to Ponyville it's a short train ride to Canterlot, right? How long till we make it there?"

Oh right, he was traveling with her so he could find his wife, wasn't he? Pulling up the map from the menu, Trixie glanced over it, tracing a line across it with her hoof. "First we have to pass through Trottingham, and then Hoofington. After that, it's straight to Ponyville. Trixie believes that with the three days to perform in each town, we should be there in a little over two weeks," she estimated.

Kirito nodded, reclining back in his seat. "Guess it's gonna be a while before we see Mommy, alright Yui?" he asked.

Yui, skipping and humming a tune happily as she pulled them along, turned back for just a moment to smile and nod.

Trixie was starting to feel guilty that the child had been pulling them along this whole time while they had slept. She should be the one pulling her own wagon, just as she always had. Such a task was nothing for The Great and Powerful Trixie, after all.

"Hey Yui, why don't you come sit up here now? I want to see if I can shave a day or two off of that estimate."

Wait, did he mean he was going to--

"Alright, Daddy!" Yui beamed even wider, bringing the wagon to a stop and trading places up on the seat with Kirito. She sat down beside Trixie, clapping her hands in excitement.

Trixie, however, was in a panic. He was going to pull the cart. Kirito was going to pull. No, not again. Not after last time.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie objects! She can't handle this again, and she doesn't think the wagon can either," she attempted to dissuade him. "Trixie can pull it just fine."

Kirito chuckled and grabbed hold of each post, prompting Trixie to wrap her hooves tightly around Yui in fearful anticipation. "I thought you said that Mahogany Mend's Wagon of Wonders could handle anything?" he teased her. "We shelled out a lot of our profits for this thing, so it should be able to handle a brisk jog."

Gripping the posts tight, he dug his feet into the dirt, narrowing his sights down along the path. Without warning, he shot forward like a rocket, yanking the wagon along with him with a sudden, violent lurch.

The clattering and bouncing of the wagon, accompanied by a terrified scream and infectious laughter, filled the silence of the perpetual night as the travelling trio moved onward.

"Trixie will not forget thiiiiiiis!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Applejack sat behind the till at Agil's Everything Emporium, perusing a stack of papers in the late evening hours. After several long moments, she let out a long sigh and she straightened out the pile in front of her before reclining back in the soft chair. It had been a long day on the farm, and to top it all off, there were these.

The documents in front of her were records from the till at the emporium. She had agreed to help Agil by looking over his profit margins. She also looked over his stock of inventory and made notes of how much came into and left the store, and how frequently. Any influx well beyond the demand would be shipped to other territories by train to be sold.

It was a good experience. Reading all of this was very informative on just how the economy was changing from how it used to be. She would be able to take this information and apply it to her own business selling apples and apple products, and thinking on it, she could probably even predict which items were going to be trending soon. It felt like she was really coming into her role as one of Ponyville's economic advisers thanks to opportunities like this.

There was, however, one thing that she'd found that had her really concerned.

She was about to go to Agil with those concerns, when the front door was suddenly flung open with a loud bang. The sound nearly sent Applejack leaping right out of her fur, and she whirled to see... no one?

That was weird. Why would the door suddenly--

"Agil! Where's Mister Agil?!" two voices suddenly screamed from her side.

"AAAAH!" Applejack screamed back, teetering and crashing to the floor, chair and all. Catching up with her pounding heart, she calmed herself down and peered up to see the faces of two young fillies clambering to get their heads over the counter. Applejack recognized them as classmates of her little sister, Apple Bloom. "Diamond Tiara? Silver Spoon? Just what in tarnation are you doing out here so late?" she asked, getting up and setting the chair right.

The little fillies were on the verge of tears, much to Applejack's alarm. Diamond Tiara, a pink filly with a curly mane streaked with lilac and white, spoke up first. "We didn't mean any harm, Applejack. We didn't want anything bad to happen to them, we swear!" she bawled.

"Honest!" Silver Spoon agreed. The little gray filly bobbed her head up and down and sent her normally tidy light gray, braided mane into a frenzy. "We didn't want this at all!"

Applejack slammed a hoof down on the counter, startling the two into silence. "Now calm down a second you two, Ah can't make a lick of sense out of yer babblin'," she said calmly, waiting for them to ease up and speak normally.

"What's all this racket?" Agil's voice came from farther in the store. The giant of a man soon appeared from around one of the many shelves of product and came up to the till. His normally cheery expression turned to one of concern as he saw the fillies in tears. "I could hear the shouting from all the way upstairs. What's going on?"

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked between Agil and Applejack with looks of terrified guilt. They were silent for a few seconds, hesitant to speak, but finally blurted out together, "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo are trapped in an Everfree Dungeon and there are bad guys everywhere!"

"What?!"

"Mah sister?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Unbeknownst to those inside of the emporium, Spike and Kai huddled just outside of the front door, which was still open just a crack. "Did you hear that? Those girls are in trouble," Kai whispered, an excited grin spreading across his face.

"And that's good?" Spike said, leveling a flat look at his friend. "It wouldn't be so bad if they were defeated and respawned back here, but they could be captured and taken prisoner by Nightmare."

"Well of course that's not good," Kai agreed, turning more serious. "This is our chance, though; we've trained long and hard to prove ourselves as knights, and this is our moment. A knight will not stand idly by when there are maidens in peril!" He placed a hand on Spike's shoulder, getting the two of them pumped up.

"Right! We'll save them!" Spike exclaimed in as quiet a voice as he could manage. “Just one more step towards being strong enough to protect Twilight!”

Leaning in close to the door, Kai listened in for a moment more before saying, "They're saying that the dungeon is farther in the forest. To the north of the abandoned cottage."

"I think I know the area," Spike nodded.

A devious grin spread across Kai's face as he realized something. "Hey, isn't Sweetie Belle Rarity's sister?" he pointed out. No sooner did the words leave his mouth than Spike grabbed Kai by the wrist and bolted for the forest, dragging the cackling boy.

"We've gotta save them fast!" Spike shouted before he and Kai disappeared into the dark trees of the Everfree Forest just behind the store.

Author's Note

Whew, what a chapter! Definitely never gone through so many different scene breaks and perspectives in a single chapter before, but I had a lot of fun with this one. Can't wait to hear from my faithful readers, and I hope you're all chomping at the bit now, because the next chapter's gonna be the first truly action packed one.

What We Must Do; Part 2

~*~*~Earlier That Day~*~*~

The loud clamor of a crowd reached the ears of Apple Bloom, an earth pony filly with a yellow-cream coat red mane, and a large bow in her hair. Her ears perked as she trotted through the town square, having taken a longer route home from school today in the hope that she could avoid Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

The two classmates were relentless. They never stopped picking on her because she didn't have her cutie mark yet. What the hay did it matter anyway? It's not like she wouldn't get one eventually. Everypony gets their mark someday... Though this one was taking too dang long. Why couldn't she have it now?

She distracted herself from thinking about her blank flank, instead focusing on the noise coming from town hall as humans and ponies alike were gathering just outside of the building. Rather, they were gathering at a large board in front of the hall, several yards wide, which had dozens upon dozens of slips of paper pinned up on it. That had to be the Ponyville Community Quest Board. She hadn't been through the square since the game started, so she had only heard of the board from her sister, Applejack. She didn't understand all the details, but apparently when anyone needed something done that they couldn't do, or didn't have time for, they would just write up the task and mail it, in this case, to the town hall. From there the mail was somehow turned into a quest, which would show up on allied boards in the territory where the quest could be completed.

The crowd soon dispersed, everyone going about their business with only a few stragglers still examining the quests on display. Soon, even they were gone, with not a soul there.

"I wonder what that was all about?" she wondered to herself as she passed by. Everyone crowded it all at the same and then left just like that? It didn't make any sense to her.

"Come on, Sweetie Belle!" an excited voice called out. "The grown-ups are gone!"

Apple Bloom whipped her head around to see two other fillies running up from the same way she just came. One was a pegasus with an orange coat and a short, sporty, violet mane. The other was a unicorn with a white coat and a curly, two-toned mane of soft purple and pink colors.

They seemed to be her age, and looked a bit familiar too. Were they classmates? Apple Bloom wasn't sure. It was hard to pay attention to other students when you had two bullies constantly on your back.

The two galloped right up to the board, pointing to various slips of paper and talking quietly. It was then that Apple Bloom noticed something that brought an excited grin to her face; neither of these two fillies had cutie marks either. They were blank flanks just like her! Turning right about and running to the pair, she was soon able to hear their conversation.

"If we want to get our cutie marks, then the more dangerous the better," the orange filly said to her friend. "Spike and Kai take on rank one dungeons and monsters with the others like they're nothing, and we're still way behind them."

"Well, yeah, but the captains have been at it from the start, even before they made the training team," the white filly pointed out. She glanced nervously at the slips of paper. "Shouldn't we stick to rank zero until it gets easier?"

Try as she might, Apple Bloom couldn't make heads nor tails of their conversation. As she approached behind them, however, she felt a lump start to form in her throat. What should she say? To her, it was like they were speaking a whole other language, just like when her sis started talking about the game. The more she tried to think of what to say, the more flustered she became.

Her face was as red as her mane by the time she finally squeaked out, "H-hi there."

The girls nearly jumped out of their skin, whirling around at the noise. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it was just another filly their age.

"Hey, I know you," the white unicorn realized, looking her over. "You're Twist's friend, Apple Bloom, right? You sit towards the front of Miss Cheerilee's class with her?"

So they were her classmates. Thinking about it, it was actually pretty embarrassing that she didn't even recognize them at all.

"Um, yeah, that's me," she nodded sheepishly. "Twist's got her cutie mark now, so I don't reckon she'll be wantin' to hang with a blank flank like me anymore."

The orange pegasus looked her over with concern before guessing, "Avoiding Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon by taking a different way home, eh?"

"What? How'd ya guess?" Apple Bloom asked nervously. It suddenly felt as though they could see right through her.

"We've been there," the unicorn filly assured her. "Who do you think those two meanies picked on when they weren't after you and Twist? Me and Scootaloo have been doing everything we can to avoid them."

Scootaloo dusted a hoof on her chest, grinning proudly as she declared, "Yup, Sweetie Belle and I use all the tricks: We show up at the last minute to school. We sit in the back of the class, so we're far away from them and the first one's out. We even take different ways home every day." She seemed to realize something, and bowed her head slightly. "Sorry about that, I guess that means they just picked on you guys more and more. Us blank flanks should be sticking together."

"It's okay, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom smiled, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. She was glad they'd said each other's names, so she could pretend like she'd recognized them from school too. Still, instead of their mutual bully problem, she'd much rather talk about whatever it was they were doing. "So why are y'all here at the quest board anyhow? And what was all that stuff about rank zero and one?"

"You don't know?" Scootaloo asked, genuinely surprised. "It's what everyone's using to tell difficulty or strength. If your weapon is still in the first stage, then it falls under rank zero. Once you get your Cast level and weapon skill to level ten, then you can upgrade that weapon to rank one." She turned and pointed to a quest on the board. "The same thing applies to just about everything. If a monster has techniques in the one to nine range, then it's a rank zero monster. If a dungeon has mostly monsters with abilities between ten and nineteen, then it's a rank one dungeon. The items those monsters and dungeons give are usually called rank one items. Get the idea?"

That sorta made sense. "Then a quest that needs ya to fight some big rank two monster would be a rank two quest? So if the highest level is s'posed to be a hundred, then that means the ranks go all the way up tah ten?" she asked, uncertain she was understanding this right. She thought she'd heard something like that when she'd listened in on her sister talking with Mister Agil or their new workers on the family orchard.

"That's right," Sweetie Belle nodded. "It’ll take a long time to reach the top though, since the the highest anyone’s gotten right now is around twelve, and it takes longer and longer to raise them with each level."

Really? Then by the end it could take weeks or longer just to get one level? Sounded to Apple Bloom like it would eventually turn into way too much work.

"Pfft, yeah," Scootaloo scoffed, giving Sweetie Belle a playful shove with her shoulder, "but all those fancy levels don't mean anything if you don't know how to use them. Rank doesn’t replace actual skill. We may be rank zeros right now, but if we keep going and getting better, we'll be able to take on stuff that's two whole ranks above us or more!"

"We were just looking for a quest to take," Sweetie Belle chimed in with a smile. "Do you want to join us? We could use another teammate."

Apple Bloom blinked in confusion. "M-me?" she stammered. "B-but, mah family won't let me leave Ponyville. Ah'm not even allowed to go to combat training."

Scootaloo only grinned and said, "Heh, you think anyone gave us permission? We want to protect everyone too, that's why a bunch of us fillies and colts have been training secretly with the human kids." Her eyes gleamed with pride as she continued, "We're gonna keep getting stronger and before they know it, we'll be fighting on the front lines to help beat Nightmare!"

Apple Bloom's eyes filled with wonder at every word. The confidence that Scootaloo showed was infectious, and the day to day life of going to school like a good little filly seemed more and more unfulfilling. If they could do it, why couldn't she? That was right, she could do something more! Maybe it could even lead her to her cutie mark.

Apple Bloom held out a hoof, a big smile spreading across her face. "Count me in," she said. "We can get our marks together."

"That's the spirit," Sweetie Belle cheered. She turned back to look over the quest board. "So how about we find a nice easy quest to start off? We can stick to rank zero until you get the hang of things and you have a chance to train with everyone."

Scootaloo glanced back at the board with a dejected look. "Dang, I was really hoping to try moving into rank one, but I guess it would be a disaster with a newbie," she grumbled in reluctant agreement.

That was such a relief to hear. The last thing she needed was to be thrown in up to her neck. Better to get her hooves a little wet first. She was even starting to get a little giddy with anticipation. These fillies were being so nice to her, and they were about to take her with them on a little adventure. She might have just made some great new friends if everything went right.

"Oooh, did you hear that, Silvy? Sounds like the blank flank losers are breaking the rules," an all too familiar, scathing voice cut in, dashing all traces of excitement that had been swelling in Apple Bloom's heart. "Looks like the noponies think they can be someponies by being delinquents."

The three fillies turned in a mixture of anger and apprehension as their mutual bully problem approached them with smug looks.

"Maybe we should tell their families on them," Silver Spoon suggested, a wicked smirk plastered on her face. "That'll get them in really big trouble."

Horseapples, why now? Why did these two have to show up now of all times? Right when it seemed like something amazing and exciting was going to happen for Apple Bloom, these two just had to take it away.

"Go ahead and tell," Scootaloo growled through clenched teeth, her whole body bristling with hostility. "It's not going to stop us."

Sweetie Belle didn't look so certain, saying, "Maybe, but I don't want my parents and my sister to worry. I want to be ready to prove we can do this."

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were both right. It would worry their families to no end if they found out, but if they wanted to go, they would go. There wasn't really anything short of captivity that could stop them.

"Now now, Silvy, maybe we shouldn't be so hasty," Diamond Tiara chuckled, something seeming to catch her eye. She brushed gruffly past Apple Bloom to look up at the board. "If the blank flanks want to play their silly game, then maybe we should let them."

All of them, Silver Spoon included, dropped their jaws in a unanimous reply of, "Eh?!"

"But DT, you said that--" Silver Spoon started to say.

"Just what the hay are ya up to?" Apple Bloom cut in midway, eyeing the spoiled rich filly warily. It just didn't feel right. She definitely had something planned.

Diamond Tiara turned about with an infuriatingly pleasant smile and said, "I have a deal for you; The three of you bring us the item needed to complete a quest. If you do, we won't tell a soul about your 'extracurricular activities'."

Getting what her friend was doing, Silver Spoon added, "We understand if you're scared, though. We'll just tell everyone what you've been up to and bust your whole group."

No. Not this time. She wasn't going to stand for it. "You're on, Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom said, stepping forward. She wasn't going to let them ruin this for her, even if it meant that she had to play along with them. "Just name the quest and we'll do it."

Sweetie Belle did a panicked double-take at the declaration and stepped hesitantly back. She was stopped by Scootaloo, who put a forehoof over her shoulders and beamed confidently.

"Yeah, if that's what it takes, we'll beat any challenge you can throw at us!" she declared with no shortage of pride.

Diamond Tiara's false smile only grew wider, which worried Apple Bloom a bit. She pushed that aside though as she braced herself for whatever was in store for them. Diamond Tiara wasted no time in pointing her hoof all the way up to the top of the board, where a letter stamped with a crimson wax seal fluttered. Curiously, none of the other quests had such a seal. They were all just marked with simple ink stamps.

"If the three of you can complete that quest, then we won't say a word to anyone about all of this," she said smugly. She chuckled as she stepped aside, letting the three fillies come closer to get a good look at the quest.

Looking over the details on the paper, Sweetie Belle voiced her surprise first. "My sister Rarity wrote this quest," she said with more than a little worry. She read over the rest of it before summarizing, "Looks like she's working on something special and needs something called Weiss Venom to do it."

Venom sounded more than a little concerning. What in the wide realm of Equestria could a fashionista need with a poison? Still, it was right there on the paper, and according to the information, it looked like the venom could be found in a part of the Everfree Forest called the Palewood.

Mustering up her nerve, Apple Bloom called up the quest's menu and tapped the button to accept it, Scootaloo and then Sweetie Belle following suit. They looked between each other, all of them nervous.

Apple Bloom was the first to speak, psyching herself up with rousing, "Let's do this, girls."

"Yeah, we'll show them what we can do," Scootaloo said, nodding in agreement.

"We need to get ready though," Sweetie Belle added."We have to get supplies, especially for Apple Bloom, and we need to show her how fighting works before we go. Can’t forget to decide which sub-class to set her up with, either."

Right. Preparations. Get supplies, and a little bit of practice, and then kick some flank. There was no time to waste. It was just as exciting as it was terrifying. Apple Bloom could hardly wait to prove herself in this new world they lived in.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Damn it all to hell. Why did it have to be the Palewood?"

Agil marched along a beaten dirt path in the Everfree, bearing due north. His hulking figure didn't falter even as a few stray branches poked, bent, and generally got in his way. The minor irritations were nothing before the storm of emotions that brushed them all aside.

Just a few careful steps behind him, Rarity, Applejack, and Lisbeth followed in growing concern. No shortage of profanities managed to float back from Agil as he led the way to their destination, and it did nothing for their already wavering composure.

"I don't get it," Applejack finally spoke up. "Why the hay are there Nightmare soldiers in the Palewood with the girls? Aren't dungeons locked out once a team enters?"

Lisbeth nodded in confirmation and pulled up an area map in front of her. On it, all of the explored regions of the forest were displayed, with many winding paths heading in all directions and broad expanses of dense woodland where all the real dangers resided. Many stretches of wilderness, where much more powerful creatures lived, were still uncharted, as was the entire area halfway to Nightmare's castle and beyond.

All over the map, countless icons showed; everything from resource gathering points to known spawning grounds of different creatures. With a few taps of the menu, they filtered out until all that remained were several arch-shaped markers showing the entrances to all the dungeons that had been discovered. One more tap on one of the northernmost icons brought up a list of details concerning the Palewood dungeon.

"Dungeons are supposed to only allow one team at a time; a maximum of six players. Maybe they just meant that Nightmare's soldiers were waiting outside to ambush them when they come out? Without teleport crystals, that's a dangerous situation," Lisbeth said, giving her opinion. She paused for a moment as she examined the info, noticing a distinct lack of, well, info. "Wait, why the heck is there so little data on this place?"

Though he didn't turn around, Agil was quick to explain. "That's because it was only just discovered two days ago by our scouting parties. We sent a clear team in, but they were wiped out before they could get very far in. Because of that, we only know a few things about the place. First of all, it's the only rank three dungeon that we've found yet in this territory."

"Rank three?" Rarity echoed in disbelief. "But most players have barely been able to break into rank one equipment and skills. Not to mention the fact that only the best teams have been able to clear the few rank two dungeons that have been found."

"Huh, you're more informed than I expected, considering this is your first time leaving Ponyville," Lisbeth teased her. "Heck, I don't even think you've attended one meeting since the first Ani held."

"Well," Rarity said, scoffing indignantly, "unlike someone I know, I can do my job without creating an infernal racket. It makes it much easier to have a pleasant conversation with my customers."

Before Lisbeth could give her fuming retort, Agil spoke again, "The real problem is that it's not just the first rank three dungeon found, it's also the first raid dungeon."

"Well damn, no wonder the clear party got wiped out," Lisbeth said, groaning in frustration. "And those fillies are in there by themselves? I don't even want to think about how many times they've wiped already."

"What's so special about these here raid dungeons?" Applejack asked, a touch of confusion in her voice. Info like this that she’d not heard of was concerning. "You've never mentioned this kind of thing when we've talked before, Agil."

Agil shrugged before pushing a rather heavy branch out of everyone's way. "It never came up because we hadn't found one yet, and so we didn’t know how they would work in this game. It's the first one found in Equestria, and Ani was actually going to attend a meeting in Canterlot tomorrow to discuss how we would handle these new dungeons due to the greater risk involved," he explained as they walked by.

"Wait, I get that they're more difficult, but why are they more dangerous too?" Lisbeth asked.

"Because a raid has to be cleared with multiple parties, and in this case, players from any and every alliance can run a raid at the same time. Up to two full parties per side. That means twelve players," Agil answered flatly, his brow furrowed.

Wait a minute, with that many players, then that meant--

"Then the problem's not that them girls may lose or get hurt," Applejack muttered, a growing feeling of dread filling her chest. "With that many enemies, there's a chance they could be taken hostage!"

Applejack couldn't see her own face twisting with worry, but she imagined it didn't look too different from Rarity's. They both stood to lose a sister, and the terror in her eyes reflected that. "Hostage?!" she tittered in a panic. "My little sister in the hands of those ruffians? Oh, I can't bear the thought! Mother and father would be absolutely devastated too."

Then something strange happened; something Applejack would never have expected from the fashionista. It was like a fire lit inside Rarity, and her eyes narrowed into a gaze of considerable fury. "If they hurt so much as a single hair on her precious little head, I'll rip them to pieces."

Applejack more than understood the feeling. If anything happened to Apple Bloom, then she would be madder than a rattlesnake in a stampede, and just as scared too. Still, to hear such a statement from Rarity of all ponies was a shock. Even Lisbeth and Agil were staring at her with stunned, stupefied looks.

"I get where you're coming from Rarity, believe me," Agil said after reattaching his unhinged jaw. "I'm just as angry and scared as though it were my own daughter out there. If I had known where they were heading, then--"

What?!

Applejack halted abruptly, turning a look on Agil that could set ice aflame. "If ya had known where they were headed? Are ya sayin' ya knew that the girls were going into the forest by themselves?"

Agil winced, clearly having said more than he meant to. Lisbeth also took a very immediate step backwards, shooting a nervous glance his way.

"Okay, yes, I knew that they were going to a dungeon," He admitted, trying to urge her along. "We don't have time to talk about this, though. The longer it takes us to get there, the bigger our already big problems will get."

Oh no, he wasn't getting off that easy.

Rarity stopped too and turned to Agil, confusion in her eyes. "Why ever would you allow children to do something so dangerous?" she asked. "They're only ten years old."

AJ had a good idea why, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt her anger starting to boil over. "Let me guess," she growled, still glaring him down, "y'all let them come out here just so you could line yer own pockets more, didn't ya?"

Confusion growing, Rarity looked to Applejack and echoed, "Line his pockets? What are you talking about, Applejack?"

Of course she wouldn't know. Agil was a smooth talker, and if AJ hadn't seen the paperwork herself, she wouldn't have guessed it either. "I'm sayin' that he's a swindler," she said, jabbing a hoof up at him. "I was helpin' him look over his profits, and found out that he buys materials for his shop at dirt cheap prices and then sells 'em back for four times what he spent. If that ain't enough, half of that money just disappears."

Lisbeth crossed her arms over her chest, glancing between Agil and Applejack. "Overcharging customers, then embezzling the funds, huh? Well, that's certainly what it looks like," she commented, her expression unreadable.

"You're really not helping, Liz," Agil shot back with an irritated look.

"I'd reckon ya don't need it," Applejack answered in kind, her glare not letting up. It was infuriating. Why in blazes would he take advantage of everyone like this? It didn't sound like the man she'd come to know over the last couple of weeks, but what she'd seen was undeniable.

"Look, I'm not going to just stand here and be accused like this. Especially when we need to get our asses to the dungeon. Now," Agil said, letting out a deep groan and pinching the bridge of his nose. "The most important thing right now is getting the girls back home safely." Ending the conversation there, he stormed past them along the path.

Frustrating as it was, Applejack knew he was right. There would be plenty of time to chew him out after they saved the fillies. This wasn't the end of it, though; not by a long shot. Biting her tongue, Applejack fell into step behind Agil, leaving a confused Rarity and exasperated Lisbeth in their wake.

"I just don't understand," Rarity spoke softly, the angry pair already out of earshot. Her gaze fell to the dusty, dirty path at her hooves. "Why would Agil do something like that? And how could he knowingly allow children to leave the safety of Ponyville? How could he be so cutthroat and selfish with the items and money that everyone else fights so hard to earn?"

Lisbeth sighed, giving a weak shrug, "I told him something like this was going to happen. I can't make any excuses for letting the kids fight, but his business practices aren't what AJ thinks they are."

Rarity looked up in surprise at Lisbeth, asking, "Then why didn't you say something to her? Surely you could have settled the misunderstanding."

"Yeah, I could have," Lisbeth admitted, shaking her head, "but Agil is a proud guy. I've known him a long time, so I know he'll set things straight in his own time. Till then, it's just not my secret to tell, so I have no business butting in. Understand?"

Rarity paused for a moment, staring down the dark, wooded path after their friends. After some thought, she started walking again. "I suppose I do," she acquiesced. "Come now, we don't want them charging into the dungeon on their own do we?"

Lisbeth nodded as she matched her pace. "You think you’re going to be comfortable with your sub-class and weapon types? There's going to be a lot of pressure on you since you’re the team's healer, and I can’t imagine a Booster and two Conductor type weapons are easy to adjust to."

"Yes dear, I set myself up with «Cleric» sub-class that you all suggested. Agil even lifted crystals from his shop that have different «Enchanter» spells in them. I'll have all of your backs, I guarantee it," Rarity said with no shortage of determination”

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Lisbeth asked, more than a little concerned. "Your weapons skills, sub-class, and Casts are all at levels one, two, or three, and we're heading into a rank three dungeon."

Rarity nodded, her eyes flashing with resolve, "As much as I hate to admit it, Rainbow Dash was right when she said that all one needed was the right reason to fight. I wish it wasn't like this, but I'll walk through Hades itself if it means protecting my sister." For a moment she looked down before adding, "Though I will need a nice hot bath once I get home. My hooves are already getting filthy, and I shudder to think the state I'll be in once we're done."

The statement brought a soft chuckle out of Liz. "When this is all over, how about Agil treats us all to a nice spa day? I'm sure that'll perk you right back up," she suggested.

The mere mention of it brought a blissful smile to Rarity's lips. "That sounds absolutely marvelous, but do you think he'll agree to it?"

Lisbeth grinned slyly, saying, "I get the feeling that when it's all said and done, he won't really have much choice."

"Who won't have much choice for what?" Agil asked from ahead of them.

Both of them looked up in surprise. They hadn't realized that they had already caught up within earshot of the others. Agil and Applejack were back in view, just a short ways ahead of them. The stubborn pair didn't share so much as a look between them, and the wide gap between them even though they walked side by side made it clear that they were still simmering.

"Oh nothing important," Lisbeth deflected with a wave of her hand. "Just a little girl-talk."

Applejack shot a skeptical look back at them, but relented. Rarity was sensible enough not to have a frivolous chat when her sister was in trouble. Whatever they had talked about must have been more than they were letting on.

Oh well, it didn't really matter. Especially since as she turned her eyes back ahead, she saw neat lines of trees come into view along each side of the path. What really caught her eyes was the fact that as the lines of trees went deeper, the bark started to grow progressively whiter. The discolouration started at the roots that dug deep into the ground and went up the trunk farther with each proceeding tree on the path. Far up beyond sight and further in, no doubt the blanching reached the very tops of the dense trees.

The four of them stopped at the first set of partly-ivory trees. This was it. The rank three raid dungeon; still undefeated.

"Can we really do this?" Rarity asked, echoing the doubts nagging at the back of Applejack's mind.

"We can," Agil asserted with a firm nod. "In this game, it should be possible for even a rank ten dungeon to be beaten at this point. It would just be extremely hard to do."

He was right. They just had to find the girls and get out of there. They'd have to fight some tough monsters and maybe even Nightmare forces, but then they could just double back to the entrance once they found the girls and everything would be over... Right? If worst came to worst, they had already sent Rainbow Dash to fetch Animus for reinforcements.

Geared to go, Applejack took the initiative by tapping her way through the dungeon’s menu. She stopped short at the last part and waited for everyone else to be ready.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” Lisbeth cheered enthusiastically, “I’ve missed the feeling of tackling a tough dungeon.”

Agil brought up the dungeon’s menu as well, a crease forming on his brow, and he noted something strange, “It looks like we aren’t the only allies that came here. It says that there are already six players in the dungeon.”

Applejack let out a little sigh of relief. The discovery was odd, but far from alarming. Whoever the other three players were, it meant that they had that much more help. They could already be protecting the fillies too.

“I reckon we’d better not keep’em waiting, right?” she said.

Agil nodded in agreement. With a single touch he confirmed their entry, and in a flash of light the four of them were teleported into the Palewood.

Author's Note

Okay, so I had been planning on this chapter to be action packed and full of fighting, and I have A LOT of that written now, but that's just it, the combat I have written is getting pretty dang long and all of this build-up was already large enough to be it's own chapter, so I decided to split it up. I've already got about as much written down of the next chapter as there is in this chapter, so Chapter 11 will be coming soon. I promise, no month, I will get it out to you all be Sunday the 31st at the absolute latest.

Hope you all enjoyed this, and I look forward to showing you all exactly how the fights in this story work. It's gonna be awesome. With the revamping and fine-tuning I've done to the whole story before this point, and the removal of the original Chapter 9 that was a flash-forward, I'm feeling better and better about the direction the story is going in.

What We Must Do; Part 3

The calm, calculating eyes of a timberwolf bored down with leering hunger. The creature, defined by its snout of pure white wood, paced a wide circle around its quarry. Its mouth hung agape and dripped with sap as its heavy paws padded silently along the grass.

Following its wide arc, the beast passed behind the ivory trunk of one of the many trees. Moments passed, and it did not emerge from the other side. It had vanished without a trace.

The prey stood fast. Succulent. Delicious. Tempting.

Second after agonizing second passed in utter quiet... until the inevitable attack came. With barely a moment's warning, the branches rustled from above, in the opposite direction. From their boughs, the timberwolf sprung, descending in an instant and sinking its splintered, gnarled teeth into the exposed prey. Without any mercy it ripped into its meal, sending streams of viscous, bright red fluid in all directions.

It wasn't long before the beast had consumed its prey whole, leaving no trace behind but a deep red stain on the grass. Nothing remained, until with a loud belch, a pie tin when skipping across the ground. Finally the timberwolf licked its syrup stained chops before loosing another contented belch.

The afterglow of a delicious treat was soon interrupted as three shadows leaped overhead. They fell upon the beast with a cry of "Bonzai!", and in a flash of steel, battle erupted.

Apple Bloom, leading the charge, struck first with a large circular spinner on her fetlock, much like a saw blade. It shot forward and dug into the side of the wolf, leaving a jagged line of red in its wooden hide.

The wolf howled in pain and turned its glowing, ethereal eyes on the little filly. It lunged forward to snap at her, only to be struck again across the face with her hoof and spinner.

"«Beast!»" she shouted mid-strike.

The moment the blow connected, a projection of a lion's head, accompanied by a roar, shot out from her weapon and struck the wolf hard. The force of the amplified blow sent it tumbling back, right into range of Scootaloo.

Blades cut into the earth as the pegasus skated around in a wide arc, propelled by the thrumming of her tiny wings. Casts gleamed on her back hooves and the blades flared with golden light, illuminating the excited grin on her face.

She kicked out, lifting upward and cutting deep into the exposed back of the airborne monster, eliciting another pained yelp. "«Tiger Blade»!" she shouted, reaching the top of her lift and bringing her other blade down in a deadly arc.

Bark and wood creaked under the force of the blade, sending the wolf crashing to the ground with a yelp. All the while, Sweetie Belle had landed farther back, watching and waiting for her chance. In her hoof she held a black metal staff that ended in a microphone. Her job was to watch and act carefully. She liked it that way.

Effective though they were, the two attacks had barely managed to take off a tenth of the Timberwolf's health. It began to push itself back up on its paws, turning its vengeful gaze to Apple Bloom, just as he was supposed to.

Apple Bloom's spinner weapon was a tank role, so the damage it dealt was minimal. However, as a Valiant type, it specialized in drawing a monster's focus on it and minimizing damage with special defensive skills. It wasn't as specialized as a large shield in raw defensive power, but it was speedier to compliment the armor she wore. It was a heavy type comprised of an equal balance of thin metal plating and sturdy, reinforced leather. Unlike the full plate armor most defensive tanks had, this armor didn't have as many penalties to speed.

Scootaloo, on the other hoof, was practically the opposite. The skates on her back hooves were a control role, focusing on battlefield control. Since they were a Dancer type, they specialized in skills that dealt moderate damage while also manipulating her position on the battlefield. They also made it easy for her to zip around with the thrust of her tiny wings, even without the use of skills. With her skates, the whole world was her personal ice rink. The light type armor she wore, a sturdy leather jerkin, with matching bracers and greaves, allowed her a full range of movement for her high mobility weapon.

Sweetie Belle watched carefully as the timberwolf targeted Apple Bloom, stalking forward. Now was her turn.

Her weapon was a long metal pole with a microphone on the end like a rounded box. This weapon also belonged to the control role, and was a Booster type. As such, her specialty was skills that assisted her allies, enabling them to do their job better. This role kept her out of the thick of the fighting, which was good, since the frilly, soft lilac robe she wore wasn’t very strong on defense.

Lifting the microphone just in front of her lips, she focused and gently spoke the words, "«Rhythmic Future»."

Glowing a pale blue, a low, pure tone rang out from the microphone. Her voice echoed into the sound and turned it to a steady beat, causing the glow to pulse in and out. She aimed her microphone at the timberwolf, let the skill reach its peak, and released a dull sonic wave at the creature. The wave of bright, rippled air washed over its rough hide ineffectually, only spreading a brief glow.

The wolf stopped mid-stride as the skill hit it, and turned its glowing yellow eyes to Sweetie Belle. She couldn't take it on in a fight, she knew that. Thankfully, she didn't have to.

Before it even had a chance to step in her direction, Apple Bloom thrust her spinner forward. The weapon rotated at high speed and lit with red light that shot out in a ghostly trail of translucent energy.

"«Screaming Line»!" she shouted.

The attack also merely washed over the wolf, but that was the point. This was how the system that the humans called 'aggro' worked. Sweetie Belle's «Rhythmic Future» wasn't a damage dealing technique, but the sound and effect it placed on the target drew its attention. To counter this, Apple Bloom had followed with «Screaming Line», an attack that also did no damage, but completely drew the aggro off of Sweetie Belle. Now it was time for the real fight to begin.

Its focus now locked on Apple Bloom, the timberwolf struck. Its gnarled claws flashed a sickly green and it leaped forward. It swung its paws in a flurry, but despite its efforts to strike its prey, Apple Bloom swerved, ducked, and dodged every last attack.

This was the effect of «Rhythmic Future», a technique that infiltrated the body of the victim. When the afflicted tried to attack, then its target would see a before-image of every move it made, allowing them to dodge effortlessly. The effect lasted for three minutes, which would be more than enough time for them to finish this. The drawback was that it could only be used again six minutes after it was cast, twice the duration of its effect.

Sweetie Bell had to admit, she was really impressed with Apple Bloom right now. Even with the advantage of seeing every strike ahead of time, it wasn't easy to dodge them like she was. She even had the sense to use her spinner to block certain blows to make evading the next easier. With instincts like that, it was hard to believe that she'd only just started fighting today.

Just watching wasn't going to help anything, though. It was time to hit hard while the beast's focus was on Apple Bloom.

"Hit it from above!" Sweetie Bell ordered, knowing Scootaloo knew just what to do. At the same time she concentrated as hard as she could, mustering up power in her horn.

The pegasus filly grinned wide and glided across the dirt and grass, her skates cutting into the earth. Right when she knew she was in range, she thrummed her wings as hard as she could and shifted herself forward on her skates.

"«Shave»."

Barely a flicker of light was visible before she vanished, reappearing in free-fall above the timberwolf.

Sweetie Bell had practiced this combination dozens of times already, and moved on reflex. She spoke the words "«Resonance Beat»" into her microphone, causing another melodic tone to start building up. It reached its apex quickly, and she released it onto herself, letting the music and magic flow over her. In the next instant, she aimed for the timberwolf and released the spell building in her horn, shouting, "«Fireball»!"

Just as the name implied, twin fireballs shot out from her horn, arcing to either side before turning in towards the wolf and striking it full on the side. It wasn't over though, as magic surged through Sweetie Belle and in less than a second the same spell shot from her horn. The second duet of fireballs struck the wolf once more and kicked up a cloud of smoke and dust around it.

This was the power of «Resonance Beat», which allowed the next magic spell used by the target to be recast instantly.

Next was Scootaloo, descending from above. With a shift of her back hooves, her Casts began to change. The skates grew until they merged into one large blade protruding from the bottom of a large board, much like a surfboard, that manifested under her back hooves. The blade ran all the way from front to back, arching farther out closer to the back like a razor sharp dorsal fin.

Flames wreathed the blade beneath, and with a graceful flip, Scootaloo brought the weapon down like a meteor. She fell into the cloud of smoke surrounding the beast, and another wave of heat and dust was kicked up as the blow connected.

"«Burning Havoc»!"

The fittingly named bladeboard was Scootaloo's Ravager type weapon. Belonging to the damage, or DPS, role. Ravager weapons focused on huge, raw damage. From powerful physical attacks to strikes amplified by elemental forces like flame and lightning, they were the heavy hitting weapons, and balanced out their dynamic as a team.

So far Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had only gotten comfortable with one of the three weapons available to them. That limited their options, but they still could accomplish a lot with what they had. Apple Bloom could keep an enemy's attention and keep herself alive as the party's tank. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo could set the stage to their advantage with their control type microphone and skates.

That left the damage role and healing. Sweetie Belle had set her class to Sorceress, the offensive magic role, and Scootaloo had learned how to use her bladeboard to up their damage. For healing, all three of them had a bunch of crystals and potions to help with that. They had all of their bases covered.

"Think it's nearly down?" Sweetie Belle asked as Scootaloo flipped out of the plume and into place beside her. She noted that the pegasus had already shifted back to her skates.

"It has to be hurting, but it isn't down yet," Scootaloo sighed. "If it gets a howl off, we'll be in big trouble."

Right. This weird, white nosed type of timberwolf was definitely strong, but between the three of them they could handle it easy. The real problem would come if it managed to call more of its white-nosed pack. They'd have to run like bats out of Hades to avoid a painful death and respawning at the beginning of the dungeon.

They'd already experienced that unpleasantness three times today by recklessly rushing in, but this ambush strategy had improved their odds.

A new green light shone from within the dust cloud, the tail of the wolf standing straight up like a beacon, and suddenly Apple Bloom made a mad dash for her companions. That was worrisome, especially since Apple Bloom was the member of their party that had set the Analyst class. An essential part of any team, an Analyst's abilities allowed it to read information on players, monsters, and items in far greater depth than normal.

"AoE! Get behind me!" she shouted, skidding to a halt in front of them.

No sooner did the words leave her mouth, than Sweetie Belle saw the danger. Hundreds, no, thousands of transparent red lines lasered out from the green light in the smoke. The bright lines fanned out in all directions, forming a dome of effect that utterly eclipsed them. An 'Area of Effect' attack.

This was the forewarning of her «Rhythmic Future», and it showed with unmistakable certainty that the timberwolf's attack was utterly unavoidable. A certain hit. There wasn't enough space between the lines to dodge until several yards further back, and easily a hundred or more of the lines would hit each of them at this range.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo moved behind their new friend without question. They trusted she knew what she was doing.

"«Counter Rotation»!" Apple Bloom shouted, acting quickly. She lifted her spinner up in front of her and ran it at top speed. The weapon whirred loudly, glowing white, and suddenly the light expanded outward, creating a huge spinning barrier in front of her.

Moments later, thousands of razor-thin wood splinters shot outward, piercing through the veil of smoke and dust. Thanks to Apple Bloom's quick action, everyone headed their way merely stopped dead against her barrier. It wasn't without cost though, as her health, already nicked down to seventy five percent, suddenly plummeted into the red zone, under twenty five percent.

Sweetie Belle pulled a long crystal from her inventory. She only briefly examined the runes decorating it to make sure it was the correct one and pointed it at Apple Bloom, calling, "«Healing Radiance»."

A soft green glow shined out from from the crystal, the runes most of all. The light spread over Apple Bloom, and steadily filling her HP up to right around ninety percent.

Crystals were one of the most useful supporting items to have, especially for a unicorn. They were capable of storing a spell based on the runes inscribed on them, and held multiple charges per stone. There was an upside, which also served as a downside for using crystals.

For healing crystals, instead of a set amount of points being recovered, the strength of the spell was dependant on the stats of the user, just like it would be if a unicorn was casting the spell themselves. The same applied for damage of offensive spells in crystals. The SPI, or spirit, stat determined the strength of healing and the duration of beneficial effects; buffs. Inversely, INT, or intelligence, affected the power of attack magic and the strength and duration of debilitating effects; debuffs.

These were the highest stats for most unicorns, so they were obviously most powerful when used by them. The fact that they required no MP to use added to their utility, so while earth ponies and pegasi couldn't get the most out of them, it was still good to have a no-cost spell tucked away for an emergency. On the other hoof, while a potion was cheaper with a guaranteed healing value, it took a longer time for the full recovery to take effect.

Right then, in the middle of battle, the safest bet had been the crystal. Rarity probably would have done the same, careful mare that she was, always measuring twice and cutting once. Not that she’d ever be caught dead in a battle. Sweetie Belle knew that with friends like hers, she needed to be that sort of careful thinker.

"Thanks for the heal," Apple Bloom said with a grimace as the pain ebbed. Her hp restored, she let her defense fall and peered into the dissipating smoke.

"We should be thanking you," Scootaloo disagreed with a chuckle. "There's no way we could have survived that if you'd only been using «Rhythmic Future's» predictions. Your Analyst class and quick thinking saved our flanks."

Apple Bloom silently accepted the praise and said, "We've almost got it now. Here comes the hard part."

She was right. The lower the hp gauge, the tougher an enemy got. The red zone was where the desperation attacks came, like that needle shot it just used. When the smoke cleared there was nothing there. The wolf had disappeared, just like when it had attacked the pie, and they couldn't spy twig or leaf of it as they scanned the area. Good thing they were ready for this too. It had taken a scary and painful experience, and a respawn at the beginning of the dungeon, but they knew what to expect now.

They moved into formation, with Sweetie Belle at the back and the other two in front of her. They knew how it would strike, and they were ready for it.

What they weren't ready for was the wait. Seconds passed by, stretching well into a minute. Still no attack came.

"Did it run away?" Sweetie Belle wondered aloud.

Scootaloo shook her head, her eyes darting back and forth. "It's out there. It's moving around a lot, though. At my level, I can only find it for a second before it slips away again," she said.

With her class set to Hunter, Scootaloo's words were undoubtable. A hunter's detection skills were another near necessity on the battlefield. Being able to find monsters as well as being the ideal countermeasure against stealth players and ambush attacks. Their night vision was also enhanced beyond other players, making the night as clear as day to them. With a high enough level, a hunter could track down anyone or anything.

Unfortunately, since this was a rank three dungeon, and since Scootaloo had only just broken into rank one as a hunter, this was the best she could manage.

It didn't take long for Sweetie Belle to realize why the enemy was waiting to strike. "It's waiting for «Rhythmic Future» to wear off!" she told her friends. "That makes it tricky, and we have to counter as hard as we can, since it's bound to regenerate a chunk of its HP while it waits too."

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nodded in understanding, and kept watching for the inevitable attack.

As expected, the attack came well after the music's effect had worn off. The only warning was the slightest shaking of leaves behind them. Sweetie Belle immediately spun herself around and leapt back as Apple Bloom stepped in to take her place.

"«Counter Rotation»!" she shouted again, calling out the huge spinning barrier which halted beast's claws and fangs. The price she paid was a mere fifth of her health, and the force of the blow rang out powerfully in the air.

It was simple to predict that Sweetie Belle would be the one targeted. She had dealt the most damage with her doublecast fire spell, so the aggro had fallen on her. From that it had been a simple matter of limiting the enemy's options. They left their backs exposed, with Sweetie Belle behind her friends to present a clear target. Clever as the rank three monster was, it still fell for the bait and attacked exactly how they had wanted it to. Its fate was sealed now.

With a grunt, Apple Bloom pushed the timberwolf back and nearly knocked it off of its paws.

"«Shave»!"

Scootaloo appeared behind the wolf, several feet away, and shifted back to her bladeboard.

That was Sweetie's queue, and she raised her microphone up for her part. "«Critical Crescendo»!" she shouted, and a glowing red dome of sound pulsed out and washed over the three fillies. The power condensed down over their Casts and left a menacing glow as it took hold.

Apple Bloom charged first, bringing the barrier from her spinner to bear. The timberwolf swiped a claw, only to be blocked once more. This time, however, Apple Bloom followed up with a new technique. Once the blow chipped away another tiny sliver of her health, the spinner immediately began rotating in the opposite direction, and the barrier condensed down into a crimson energy saw.

"«Counter Rotation; Reversi»!"

She lunged forward, cutting right across the timberwolf's ivory muzzle. She kept moving, slicing a line along the side of its face and down the length of its body. «Counter Rotation» was a move that reduced and absorbed the damage dealt to the user, converting it into power. That power was then unleashed with «Counter Rotation; Reversi», which could deal as much as thirty percent of Apple Bloom's HP in damage. The only thing was that while it could defend against ranged attacks, it could only activate Reversi when blocking a melee strike.

As expected, the damage was tremendous. With the boost from «Critical Crescendo» the attack sent the wolf's HP, which had recovered over halfway, all the way back into the red zone.

Stumbling back from the blow, a dull yellow glow began to spread over the creature's body, and it braced itself against the ground with its head lowered. This caught Apple Bloom's attention and she shouted, "Scootaloo! Finish it!"

With a hard push off of the ground, Scootaloo flipped into the air and swept her board around in a wide arc in front of her. As the blade cut its swath below, it formed a wide sickle of air pressure along its path.

"«Tempest Kickflip»!"

The timberwolf lifted its head, just barely managing to let off a howl for a split second before the sickle of razor winds cut through it from tail to head. It traveled back down the path of Apple Bloom's attack from the other direction, and silenced the howl to nothing more than a pained yelp as its HP dropped down to zero. For a second the beast's body hung there, nearly frozen in time as the two halves of its body started to come apart, and in the next it burst into thousands of glowing shards.

"Woo! We did it!" Scootaloo cheered. With a thrum of her wings she lifted up and gave a showy flourish on her board.

They sure had. Even now, it still surprised Sweetie Belle how strong they were even though they were just little fillies. Granted, her power was in support, but before ESO started she never would have been capable of the kind of magic she could use now. Heck, before all of this, she couldn't even manage a decent telekinesis spell.

Not just her, even Scootaloo was on a whole other level. Granted, she still wasn't able to fly with her tiny wings, but her already impressive skills on a scooter were now downright incredible with how she used her skates and bladeboard. Apple Bloom's strength and endurance were nothing to scoff at either. The three of them were a great team.

All of them were so much more now than they had been, and there was still so much room to grow too. It was actually exciting! Sure, it was also dangerous and painful, but it was strangely addictive. Every time a level went up, for Casts, weapon skill, or class, they got more abilities to work with. The more they fought and practiced, the better they got at using those abilities. The more they fought together, the easier it became to work as a unit with barely a word.

Scootaloo had understood this excitement almost instantly. Sweetie Belle, on the other hoof, had taken a bit longer to come around, but she couldn't deny how much fun she was having now.

The only worry she had now was what their families were going to think. There was no keeping this secret anymore.

The fillies all slumped down together on the grass with weary sighs. The dungeon was really giving them a run for their bits. More than any of them had expected.

"So that there was fifth one, right?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle nodded. "That's the fifth Whitenose Timberwolf that we've beaten."

"Those suckers are a lot tougher than the normal breeds," Scootaloo groaned as she stretched her forehooves over her head. "That's rank three for you, though. If just one enemy takes that much work to beat, then we definitely wouldn't stand a chance against the raid boss."

"Ya think?" Apple Bloom said, rolling her eyes and smiling. "If'n this dungeon lets twelve players in per alliance, then there's no way just the three of us can beat it."

It was true, they had no hope of clearing the dungeon on their own. Still, they had decided to press forward no matter what, and they weren't about to turn tail and run.

"I still can't believe we fell for their little trick," Sweetie Belle grumbled, kicking a pebble. "They never intended to keep our secret."

Scootaloo crossed her forehooves over her chest and nodded, "I completely forgot that a quest item is bound to the one that grabs it. They might not have told on us if we got the Weiss Venom, but we would have had no choice but to turn it in to Rarity."

Apple Bloom tapped a hoof on the ground and shook her head. "None of that matters now," she said. "They're gonna go get Agil, and we've got to be as far into the dungeon as we can get afore he gets here with help."

"They did look really sorry too," Sweetie Belle pointed out.

Scootaloo shrugged, casting an irritated look around them. "Well, I can't believe we had to give those bullies our only two teleport crystals," she grumbled. "How could they be stupid enough to leave town without their own?"

All that the other two could do was offer a shrug.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had each given up the crystals they had bought before they left, and Sweetie Belle had leveled her Sorceress class enough to unlock a basic home teleport spell. Fortunately it had been an easy rank zero spell to obtain, but it was supposed to be able to transport more players as the class leveled up. Unfortunately, self-teleportation was her limit right now.

There was no way the three of them were going to split up, and they had no way of knowing if there were extra Nightmare forces waiting outside the dungeon if they turned back. The only thing they did know was that there were enemy soldiers in the dungeon with them, but the girls had been able to avoid them.

The quiet moment was interrupted by a rustling in the bushes. Right on time. The fillies turned to see a large, hairy, white tarantula leap out of foliage and scurry over to the spot that the timberwolf had been defeated. It leaned down and picked up the last traces that remained of the wooden foe, the ivory sticks that had made up its nose. Gathering them all in its mandibles, the arachnid turned its unblinking, many-eyed stare back on them for only a moment before letting out a menacing hiss and leaping back into the underbrush.

"A big centipede, giant moth, two groups of ants, and now a tarantula," Apple Bloom said, listing off every kind of insect they'd seen. "Why do ya'll reckon these bugs are takin' the pieces of white wood? Hay, for that matter, why don't the white wood explode with the rest of the timberwolf?"

"No clue," Scootaloo shrugged. "Some dungeons just have weird little gimmicks like that. We can't stop it from happening either, since the pieces of wood won't go in our inventory, and a new bug comes if we kill one."

"Hehe, yeah, sorry about freaking out and roasting that first centipede," Sweetie Belle apologized with a violent shudder. "I can't stand bugs."

"I ain't no fan of 'em either. Don't worry about it," Apple Bloom assured her. "What we need to worry 'bout now is going deeper in. If we are close to the boss by the time the grown-ups arrive, then they'll have to take us to fight it! Even if the secret is out, what better way to prove we can handle ourselves than helpin' to clear this here dungeon?"

Nodding to each other, the fillies pushed themselves back to their hooves and looking deeper into the dungeon.

"So is it all clear?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking to Scootaloo.

The pegasus scanned the area around them, her eyes glowing from the activation of tracking skills. The light faded as she pointing a hoof off to their right. "I think there are Nightmare forces off that way, but they seem to be moving deeper in instead of our way," she informed them. "I couldn't see any timberwolves in my detection range, but there are a lot of insect monsters all over this place. I'll tag them for Apple Bloom."

Hunter skills really were impressive. Being able to sense so much hiding in the dense forest around them. And with the ability to mark anything they could sense clearly, they could reveal those discoveries to their teammates. This worked especially well with an Analyst. Apple Bloom began scanning as dozens of icons started to pop up in the distance around them.

"All the bugs I'm seeing are rank one," she said as her own eyes began glowing.

"That's up one rank from the ones near the start of the dungeon," Scootaloo noted.

Apple Bloom only nodded before continuing, "They're all docile in nature, and will not attack unless they're struck first. They're all weak, though, even for their rank. There's no benefit in attacking them."

"That's all you can see for now?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Another nod, and the glow in Apple Bloom's eyes faded. "Yeah, since their rank is above my Analyst level, I can't get a read on their weaknesses, drops, or special attacks they can use. I don't think there's that much to see anyway, even if my level was high enough."

"Alright then," Scootaloo said, taking the lead as they headed deeper in. "This dungeon seems to revolve around those Whitenose Timberwolves, so we need to take down as many of them as we can."

Sweetie Belle felt a slight tingling on the back of her neck. She looked around cautiously as she followed Scootaloo and asked, "Speaking of the wolves; you don't think that howl the last one did managed to call any others, do you?"

"Always gotta worry, don't ya Sweets?" Scootaloo said with a sigh, scanning around again as they walked.

Honestly, somepony had to. Sweetie Belle knew that Scootaloo wasn't the cautious type. She was the gung-ho type.

"Better safe than sorry, Scoots," Apple Bloom agreed, bringing a swell of pride to Sweetie Belle's chest.

Scootaloo stopped abruptly, her ears standing on end.

"Oh n--!"

A loud bang cut her off. A yelp followed after, and the sound of dirt and rock scraping came from right behind the three fillies.

They turned back to see a large timberwolf, twice as big as any of the others they'd fought. Though instead of standing over them at its full height, it was now slumped against the side of a tree, its whole body crackling with golden arcs of electricity. Another bang followed soon after, and the fillies immediately leaped back behind cover for their own safety. Following the sound, a dense mass of icy magic struck the wolf full in the side, spreading a light frost over every wooden piece of its body.

"A-an Alpha Whitenose?" Apple Bloom gasped. "It almost ambushed us?"

"Who attacked it?" Sweetie Belle asked cautiously, looking the way the shot came from. "Is it an enemy?"

"I don't think so," Scootaloo said. "Look at our party's HP bars."

A quick peek in the upper left corner of her vision revealed to Sweetie Belle that three more HP bars had appeared under theirs in the display. However, the names of these new additions were pixelated and unreadable. That had to mean allied players were nearby and the parties were being merged!

The girls watched as the timberwolf tried to push itself sluggishly upright. The lightning running up and down its body the frost coating it were slowing it down significantly. It only just managed to get up on its paws before another shot, this one a fire element, struck it hard and set its mossy twigs aflame.

Three rapid shots rang out, and bright white bolts of light were the next to pelt the monster's side. With its health chipped down to near half, shock and chill effects began to wear off, leaving just the flames licking at its body. The beast snarled and bared its fangs, facing the unseen attacker. Its feral posturing was cut off midway as a bright, narrow, violet beam pierced right through its head.

Just like that, it was over. An stronger, elite version of a monster that had given the three fillies a tough time was defeated in a mere seven successive shots. Never even having a chance to counterattack, it burst into shining shards and was gone.

Stepping out from behind cover, Sweetie Belle and her friends looked down the way the shots had come. Dense brush and wide tree trunks blocked the view from their angle, but they soon heard the sound of hoofsteps, with an accompanying mixture of snapping twigs, scuffing dirt, and two pained shouts.

"Ow! Ow! The frills! Easy on the frills!" one of the voices whimpered.

"Spike?" Sweetie Belle said, one eyebrow shooting up.

"Hey! Ow! You trying to rip my ear off?" the second voice protested.

"Kai?" Scootaloo said, her own eyebrow rising.

Finally their savior came into view, stepping out from around a nearby tree. An unmistakable lavender cloak fluttered along the body of the identically colored mare, and the look in her eyes was one of profound irritation as she turned a withering eye on the fillies.

"C-commander Twilight," the girls stuttered in unison as the three pixelated names on the new HP bars came into focus. Every last bit of excitement they had wilted away under her stare, and they all turned their eyes to their hooves.

Right behind her, being yanked along by the violet aura of her magic, were the previously identified Spike and Kai, who both nursed aching ears. Each were clad in simple sets of light plate armor that offered no salvation from the persistent yanking of their ears. They looked apologetically from behind her, but remained silent as Twilight marched them forward.

"Do you five have any idea how much trouble you're in?"

Author's Note

And lo the promise was kept! I told you I'd have this chapter out to you, and I even managed to make it a day before the deadline I set! Welp, I hope you all enjoyed this. I've worked very hard to make it, and have dealt with some difficult work days that made it hard to find the time and energy for it.

Anyway, forgetting that, I have a question for you readers regarding the next chapter. I am giving you all a choice. Would you rather the next chapter be:

A. Continuing the next chapter as normal, which might even end up being the end of the What We Must Do arc.

B. A fun little PSA style chapter where the cast of the story will explain the systems of combat in more depth? Such a PSA chapter will showcase every role and type of weapon available to players, along with examples of what weapons typically fall under each and who has them. Many different classes might also be explored as well, showing more of the abilities that players can choose from to compliment the capabilities of their weapons.

C. Finish the story arc, and save the PSA chapter for after it's finished.

Cast your votes, my readers, and look forward to the next chapter!

A Changed World

No. No. No no no no no!

Twilight Sparkle dashed around a tree, leaping over a mass of tangled roots. Her body was a blur as her forehooves, covered by bright silver gauntlets, struck the grass and pushed her forward at full speed. A long lavender coat fluttered in her wake, the tail whipping violently in the wind. Her body didn’t scream from the exertion, nor did her lungs burn for more air. Still, her breathing remained labored out of habit. She gasped in each breath of air as she turned to look back for a second.

Behind her, the shadowy, dense trees gave only the faintest hint of her pursuers, shadows flitting between the thin rays of light. She scanned quickly before returning her gaze to her front and narrowly avoiding a thick branch that stuck out in her path. Ducking down, she slid along the grass and dirt, then put on an extra burst of speed. She couldn’t let herself get caught. She was strong right now, but a dozen of them were chasing her. It wouldn’t matter how strong she was with those kinds of odds, they’d definitely kill her. She could not let that happen.

If she could just get to Ponyville, and out of the Everfree, she’d be safe. But she was still a good five minutes away from the edge of the forest at this speed. A quick glance back again confirmed her suspicions. They were gaining on her. And here she’d thought she’d done a good job improving her running skill. Still, she had some tricks that could probably buy her some time. Taking another quick look, she saw one of the dark figures start to close the gap, surging ahead of the rest of the group. With a glow of her horn, Twilight yanked one of the tree branches back in her magic and released it. A loud yell of vulgarities rewarded her ears as the victim took the backlash of the stiff appendage. That would probably do a decent bit of damage, but would be easy to recover from. The delay was what she needed, and another peek showed that the other eleven shadows stopped to help the wounded one, but it took only a few moments before they gave chase once more.

Only a few seconds, but a few seconds could make all the difference, couldn’t it? Hopefully so. She couldn't afford to be distracted. As the trees whipped by, she dodged left and right at full throttle. Her vision narrowed, with the rush of the wind on her muzzle, she could see lights through the trees. She was almost there! Almost to the safe zone!

She could make it.

She had to make it.

She couldn't die before she had accomplished anything.

Just as she reached the edge of the forest two shadows fell from the treetops, landing in her path. The moonlight streaming from the edge of the treeline cast sharp silhouettes of their forms. The slender, bipedal shapes, clasping weapons in hand, were unmistakable. Above each of their heads a glowing, diamond shape icon appeared, glowing with a deep sapphire that nearly matched the night sky. She inwardly cursed her foolishness at letting herself be so easily routed into an ambush.

She didn't stop.

She kept going full gallop.

"Looks like the Teleportation Nullification Crystal did the trick," one of the shadows said with a vicious chuckle before charging forward. A long silver blade glinted with moonlight as it swung the broad, two-handed weapon down over its head.

Instinct kicked in. An instinct she still wasn't used to, but had nevertheless honed in the last month. The metal of her gauntlets shifted and flowed like liquid, and an opening formed at the front of her forehoof, aiming down. Mid-step, she angled a hoof to the side, and --

Bang!

Her body was violently pushed to the side and she rocketed out of the way of the sword, which crashed uselessly into ground. She had evaded by a wide margin, but she wasn't done yet. The instinct boiled again. That unnerving but exhilarating instinct.

Her killer instinct.

She didn't like it, but she needed it. Well, maybe that wasn't quite right. It really was exhilarating in a way she never imagined, but at the same time her morality rebelled against necessity.

Shifting her hooves once more, she flicked her gaze to the side as the second shadow came right at her and pushed a broad shield forward for a bashing strike.

Not fast enough.

Bang! Bang!

With one burst, her body shot straight into the air, the ground beneath her caved inwards from the force striking it. She rocketed up and over the shield that tried to ram her, and with the second impact, she flew over the attacker's head. Tumbling back down to the ground, she gritted her teeth against the mild pain as she tumbled and slid into dirt and grass. She tried to right herself, but before she could her back slammed violently into the unyielding bark of a tree. She gasped as a more intense wave of pain wracked her body, but it was still duller than it should have been. Her back might have been broken normally, but it wouldn't be.

A light pinging rang in her ears, making her eyes instantly rivet to the upper left, to the bar that rested in that corner of her vision. In a bar labeled with her name, a strip of green began to slowly tick down in time with the high pitched ringing in her ears, growing deeper as it depleted. Below that was a full blue bar, and off to the side was an icon of a sealing glyph.

Her HP was dropping way lower than it should, and the pain in her back spread into her side. Looking down, she saw the cause, a thick, broken branch sticking out of her side. She must have impaled herself on it when she hit the ground. She would have been more worried before, but things had changed.

Instead of blood pouring from her wound, tiny red motes of light lifted up from the gash in her body. The bright red mark on her side, with the branch sticking out of it, denoted the inflicted damage. This was the way the world had become. She still didn't understand all of it, but it was a heck of a lot better this way than having actual internal organs to puncture and bleed out.

Her horn lit up with magenta light and she grasped the intruding object. Pushing herself onto her hooves, she braced herself and clenched her teeth, yanking the branch free in one hard pull. She resisted the urge to scream as the signals of pain shot through her. She didn't let herself, though. It was only half as intense as it should be, at least supposedly. She wouldn't let herself be so weak as to be bothered by something that was only half as painful.

"Looks like the little pony took some nasty damage just trying to get away," a new voice called out to the side of her.

Whipping around, Twilight lifted her hoof and pointed it towards the source of the voice. The weapon on her hooves aimed at the figure. The gleaming metal gauntlet wrapped elegantly around her hoof, the metal seeming to writhe as it transfigured, opening up a cylindrical barrel that contracted and narrowed out. Her horn lit up, and the same light shined brightly in the barrel of her weapon, her Casts. Embracing that exciting, uneasy instinct, she fired.

A beam shot from the barrel, more finely focused than her horn could produce. The magic of her basic telekinesis spell, the easiest magic for any unicorn, amplified and funneled. The beam splashed against a raised shield, and the defender was pushed back as tiny beams spidered out, digging into the earth below and shredding through leaves above before dissipating. A wasted attack.

Desperately looking behind her, she saw the edge of the forest only a few yards away, and beyond that, the flickering lights of Ponyville. She was so close, but she hadn't gotten far enough.

She heard the clattering of heavy steps and shuffling armor as the shadows that had been pursuing her caught up with her, quickly surrounding her and blocking off her line of escape. Each and every last one of them had the same sapphire icon over their heads; proof that they were her enemies. It wouldn't be easy to get around them. That crystal item they'd used on her had disabled all of her teleportation spells, both long and short range. Without those, she was likely to get herself killed trying to break through their line. She returned her gaze to her HP gauge. 426 out of 685 left. That was over a quarter lost.

She looked left and right, front and back, but all fourteen of her attackers left no opening, all of them baring their blades at her, but keeping their distance. Smart on their part. Her magic power was already well known, so they knew that if any of them got too close, she could finish many of them with a deadly combination of spells and shots. Unfortunately, they would resurrect if they were killed, while she wouldn’t. To make things worse, she could only cast so many spells before she’d run dry. With this many enemies, she'd run out of MP well before she could kill the last one.

"So this is how I go, huh?" Twilight growled, swinging her hoof around and pointing it back and forth at all of her enemies. "I won't just lay down and die to you humans."

One of the men stepped forward into a ray of moonlight, revealing gaunt features and shaggy black hair. In one hand, a Cast took the shape of a small kite shield. In the other, a Cast-formed short blade Twilight recognized as a gladius stuck out menacingly from his clenched fist.

"No hard feelings, Twilight Sparkle," the human said, his face betraying no emotion besides grim determination. "But in order to get back to my family, you need to die. Defeating you will bring us one step closer to beating this game."

"Well, I'll be taking as many of you down with me as I can. Even if I can’t kill you permanently, I will make sure it’s as painful an experience as possible!" Twilight tensed up and aimed at the man, fear of her inevitable death rising within her, but the fighting instinct in her compelling her to keep up her strength.

With nothing more to be said the man angled back, arm crooked and blade pointed forward. Yellow light wrapped around it as a skill activated, building up and ready for release. He didn’t get a chance to strike, as in a flash, a blue, crescent blade wrapped around the man, from shoulder to hip, causing him to freeze as he quickly realized what was coming.

The new blade lit up with a brilliant crimson glow as a voice behind him spoke, “«Bloody Lead».”

The execution was over in an instant, the blade pulling back into the man’s torso and cutting clean through him. His body was cleaved clean in two, and his face twisted in pain for the brief moment before he burst into thousands of aqua-tinted shards.

Standing behind the rising fragments was a new man. This man wore bright colors which stuck out even in the dark nighttime of the forest. A light sapphire coat, riveted with alabaster white bolts around the shoulders, which reached down to his ankles. Beneath that he wore a matching white breastplate that reached nearly to his waistline, where a cream shirt poked out underneath. His lower half was covered by a dark blue set of pants with a white stripe running along the outside of the legs, and lastly, a pair of brown boots. The whole set coincided with his uneven, hanging strands of bright white hair, and his light sapphire eyes. The bright color of his outfit belied the vicious look of his weapon. The long black pole of the weapon leading to the gem-like, azure blue blade of his scythe. Only a faint huff escaped his lips as he hefted the weapon's shaft onto his shoulder, the enormous blade curving behind him like a menacing scorpion's tail.

The icon over his head wasn’t like the other humans’. Rather than the dark sapphire hue, his reflected a dazzling gold as rich as sunshine. Still further, the shape of the icon was not that of a diamond, but instead was two swords crossed in an x-shape. The symbol of his status and allegiance was a welcome one in this dire moment for her.

Shock kept the remaining thirteen humans frozen in place as the human stepped through the remaining shards of the defeated enemy. Twilight wasn't intimidated by the newcomer. She loathed to admit that she was actually relieved to see him right now, even if she didn't trust him. She even felt the urge to smirk, which she repressed, when she heard one of the enemies mutter, “The Azure Reaper.” She quickly banished the impulse, though. She had to stay focused.

"I didn't ask for your help, Animus," she grumbled, eyes darting back and forth, expecting the shock of the attackers to wear off any minute and they would start attacking.

Reaching her side, Animus flicked the scythe back off of his shoulder, spinning it on his fingers in a blur before brandishing it at the enemies surrounding them. "Still not going to just call me Ani, huh? And here I thought we were becoming friends."

"Forget it, Animus, we could save her flank every night and she'd still tune us out," a female voice called from above. A rustling of leaves gave way to a streak of cyan and rainbow, a pegasus mare descending to a hover just a few feet off to Twilight's other side. She held up her hooves as her Casts manifested the twin triangular blades of katars. Above her head the golden, diamond shaped icon of their alliance spun slowly.

The foes around them started to stir once more, readying their weapons and coating them in various shades of colored light as skills activated and started building up. The two ponies and their human ally took a ready stance, their own weapons lighting up as they did the same.

Wicked grins started to replace panicked frowns as the enemy humans eyed the trio they still had surrounded. “Come on, guys!" one of them roared as he hefted his weapon. "Today’s our lucky day! Twilight Sparkle and Animus! If we beat them, Ponyville will be ours!”

"I think we'll have to talk about our debatable friendship after we get out of this," Animus remarked, his eyes almost glowing from the light that bathed his own weapon. "These guys are bound to have enough bits on them to treat us to a few rounds of cider."

Twilight could only roll her eyes in frustration as the pegasus, Rainbow Dash, chuckled, "We'll see, but if they don't, you're picking up the tab! I'll drink you into bankruptcy!"

"Bring it!" Animus shouted as they and their enemies charged in unison. Whether or not he was speaking to Rainbow Dash or their enemies was a moot point as they began yet another fight for their lives.

“«Dance Macabre»!”

“«Sword Rain»!”

“«Volt impact»!”

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What the hell were you thinking going all the way up to the castle on your own?" Animus scolded the defiant unicorn between deep drafts of cider. "You may be a pretty good at fighting solo now, but Nightmare Moon's soldiers are particularly targeting us! Celestia would probably be appalled by your reckless behavior."

"You have no business telling me what Celestia would think, Animus. You don’t know her," Twilight shot back, slamming her hoof on the bar the three of them sat at. Her untouched mug of cider bounced slightly at the strike. "As Princess Celestia's pupil and protegee, it is my responsibility to try to rescue her from Nightmare Moon!"

"And that close connection with the princess is making you act irrationally and irresponsibly!" Animus countered, pressing a finger against her chest, only for her to swat it away. "Your status as her pupil won’t mean anything if you get yourself killed. You can’t afford to go out whenever you please like the others can. We’re in charge here, and our burden is greater than any of the other players because of that. We need your help here with making sure all of our fighters get stronger. We can’t afford to fall behind Nightmare and her soldiers. Now, I have been doing what I can to organize the everyone here, but I can only do so much. The only pony I have helping me on the military front is Rainbow Dash, since she’s the best fighter we have, but she’s not that great of a teacher. No offense, Dashy."

“None taken, dude,” the pegasus gurgled through her mug, gulping down her fill of cider. “I just use my instincts, and I can’t teach that.”

Twilight's eyes fell to the floor. Why did she have to listen to this guy? And why did everypony in town trust him so much? He had made it clear to her what his position was, and if he had no intentions of helping her, then she had no reason to help him either. After all, over half of the humans that had been pulled into Equestria, ones in every town and city all over had been lured by Nightmare Moon's promise of a way home, and taken her side. Why should she believe that Animus and the other humans that stayed behind would be so selfless as to take sides against their own kind and fight them instead? It just didn't make any sense.

"Just forget it, Animus. You’ve been trying to get through to her for a month now, and she hasn't budged. She's more stubborn than Applejack, and I thought she was as stubborn as they came," Rainbow Dash muttered dryly before downing her umpteenth pint in one gulp.

He had a point, but she didn't trust him. All he wanted was to get out of Equestria, and his talk about caring about this world was nothing just that; talk.

If she was wrong, though, she was effectively excommunicating herself from all of them for no reason. She'd always been on her own, aside from Spike, so it was all she really knew. But she wasn’t being given much of a choice, was she? She was given this role before she could even think about it, and her instincts were now conflicting all over the place.

On top of that, if Animus and Rainbow Dash hadn't shown up, she almost certainly would have died. Her HP would have hit zero, and she would be gone forever. Not able to save Celestia, or stop Nightmare Moon, or anything. With the tension of battle gone, the terror of that thought struck her full force.

As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to believe that she could trust him.

Sighing, Animus stood from his seat, Rainbow leaping down after him as he tossed a bag of bits back to the bartender, who had been silently going about his business while their argument had gone on. After Rainbow trotted out of the bar, the man glanced back from the doorway and left his final thoughts with her.

"You know, nobody ever accomplished anything great alone. No matter how much skilled and powerful you become, you’ll need to work with us eventually," he said simply before walking out and closing the door behind him.

Frustration building, Twilight doused the embers in her by chugging her entire mug in a single draft. Hanging her head, she whispered softly, "What should I do, Celestia?"

Author's Note

Okay, this should be the final draft of the first chapter/prologue. It's mostly the same, but some changes and additions have been made throughout that hint at the plans I have made for the progress of the story. They are important, meaningful changes, and my complete restart of the story after this point will reflect that. My first attempt to progress past this point was horridly under prepared, and I apologize for how bad it was. It really was. I hope you all like the alternate path I've taken with the start.

Commanders

"So this menu is for forming parties? What's the purpose for that?" Twilight asked as she tapped a hoof on the menu button.

A window popped up in front of Animus in response. The invitation had been sent to him since she had been facing him. He tapped the confirmation button, and the window vanished into thin air. As proof of their party, her Hp and Mp bars appeared just beneath his in the upper left corner of his vision. "Being in a party has a number of advantages. For one, you and your fellow party members can see each other's condition at all times. If you're in trouble and taking damage, your allies will know right away that they need to rush to your side," he explained. "Then there's drops. When you fight monsters and other players, and defeat them in battle, they drop three different things, items, money, and experience points. Those are divided amongst the party, and while you don't get as much, you can fight tougher monsters in larger groups when you are in a party."

"Experience Points?" Spike asked from his seat beside the two of them.

"Experience Points are a numerical value of growth. Stronger enemies give more experience points, which in turn will increase a player's strength in the form of 'levels' when certain amounts are collected," Animus explained as he flicked through the menu and tried to find the player stat screen. Finding the right menu, he opened it up and gave it a quick look over.

"Sounds like those tabletop adventure games that my brother used to play when he was in school," Twilight compared, bringing a small smile to Animus as he browsed. It seemed there were some surprising similarities between this world and his. They even had their own sort of D&D nerds.

The first thing that he noticed was there was no level indicator on his character data. Scanning the rest of the information, he also couldn't find any of the usual equipment information that should have been there either. He could see stats, and another health indicator. The most interesting part, however, was the solitary piece of equipment listed next to that.

Lvl 1 Casts - Lance Reaper.
Next Level: 1250

Beneath that was a list of skills.

Spear - Lvl 1/100
Glaive - Lvl 1/100
Battle Scythe - Lvl 1/100
Light Armor - Lvl 1/100

Huh. That was interesting. When he had played SAO, he had been a spearman, so seeing a spear skill wasn't that surprising. In that game, however, the skills had ranged from one to one thousand. If even this was different, then there were likely a lot more that was different from SAO.

This singular piece of equipment was really the most curious part, though.

"What's this here? It says that I have some sort of equipment called Casts. Never heard of them before," he wondered aloud.

"Casts?!" Twilight said in surprise. Mimicking him, she went through to the same menu. "Casts were the name of special magical weapons created thousands of years ago. They were made by taking a special metal with certain properties and placing countless enchantments on it while forging it into a gauntlet. The results were nearly indestructible weapons that took the shape of weapons most suited to their weilder." The menu popped up under Twilight's hoof, and Animus took only a quick glance at the backwards letters from where he sat.

Lvl 1 Casts - Spellshot

His gaze went back to his own menu as he scrolled through as many different windows as he could. He still listened intently as Twilight entered what he had quickly come to call Lecture Mode. He had found out the hard way that not listening resulted in a smouldering glare whenever the obsessed unicorn caught his attention wandering. "According to the books I've read on the subject, Casts bind to the latent magic in their wielder. The magic that flows naturally through them shapes the weapon, and they will always form weapons that perfectly suit the abilities of the user," Twilight explained without looking up from her own window. "Though I don't know what these other details are. Bracer Beam? Impact Cannon? Bunker Spine?These names mean nothing to me. At least cloth armor makes some sense, though Casts are supposed to just be weapons."

"Well, those guys, Discord and Yuto did change a lot of things. Maybe they turned Casts into something that generates both weapons and armor?" Animus offered the explanation that made the most sense to him. "There are no spaces for armor shown on the equipment menu. If you combine that with the level display next to the Cast name, that leads me to only one assumption."

"And that would be?" Twilight asked.

"Evolving weapons," Animus said simply. "Instead of experience points going to the player themselves and making them stronger by leveling up, the points go into the Casts and your weapons and armor evolve and grow stronger with use. If that’s the case, then actual character growth will likely be minimal. That sort of structure would support skill and proper use of techniques over simply overpowering your enemy."

"Sounds complicated," Spike muttered, flicking his own claw through the air and giving the menus a try for himself. "I'm already getting lost in all the mumbo jumbo the two of you are spouting."

"You should get used to it if you put it to use often enough," Animus assured him. "The way this looks, it seems like it is blending the leveling system many games use with the hardcore, skill focused structure. I've heard that a lot of games adopted that structure because it favors actual growth of player ability over just gaining a bunch of levels and gaining false strength that way. You can get stronger by fighting a lot, and gaining a lot of levels for your Casts, but if you fight someone who is flat out a better fighter than you, you will still get your ass kicked."

A sharp smack of telekinetic magic to the back of his head followed his assessment. Animus let out a small yelp of pain at the assault, but held his tongue as he got reprimanded for using such language in front of a baby dragon. After closing up his menus and glancing over the lines and lines of notes Twilight had jotted down continuously, he took a look out the window. The sun was well past high noon, and in only a few hours nightfall would come. With what they had found out earlier, they would need to get moving soon. Plus, he really wanted to see what was happening to this world. They had stayed shut up in this study since he’d gotten here. While it had been a welcome chance to get his bearings, he couldn't stay there forever.

Standing up and stretching out of reflex, Animus said, "I think that's enough for now. We need to tell someone about what we learned about Nightmare Moon coming back tomorrow. She's likely the commander of the other faction that those two mentioned."

Twilight nodded in agreement, sweeping up her notes and several books she'd gathered and started placing them into her item storage one by one like he had taught her to. As each item was held up to the menu, they vanished in turn, with an effect that looked as though they were compressing into a cloud of blue pixels that was suckex into the item menu.

He had to admit, for a magical pony in a seemingly technologically inferior world, she was learning pretty darn fast. Still, learning how the system worked was one thing. Whether or not she would be able to fight well was another.

"I have to say, this game system does make carrying things a lot easier. No need for saddlebags or anything," Twilight commented. Once she had everything put away, she turned to the door with Spike in tow. "We'll go to the castle and see if my brother is there. He's Captain of the Guard, so if there's anyone we should talk to about what we learned, it would be him."

Animus gave a low whistle as he opened the front door, fairly impressed, "You're the direct disciple of your princess in the study of magic, and your brother is Captain of the Guard? Prestige and talent must run in the family." He withheld his snarky impulse to comment on the fact that a tabletop nerd became a high rank soldier.

A faint sign of a blush appeared on Twilight's face. "Thank you. I guess I have been lucky."

"Oh brother," Spike grumbled, hopping on her back. "Don't sell yourself short to this human. You and your brother worked hard and have lots of talent that got you where you are."

"This human has a name, you know?" Animus said as they made their way down the winding staircase.

Bickering persisted between the human and dragon until they finally reached the front gate. Two ivory ponies, pegasi from what Animus had learned, stood at rapt attention on either side of an enormous pair of doors. When they spotted the human walking alongside Twilight, they lowered into what looked like battle stances. Flashes of light strobed on their hooves, revealing gleaming silver gauntlets on their hooves. In the next moment hard metal plates of armor and long spears of a fairly simple design seemed to spring forth from them in a flow of enchanted steel.

Forgotten instincts kicked in, and Animus mirrored the two ponies. He took a ready position with his shoulder narrowed and his knees bent. It had been a long time since he had last fought, but his virtual body remembered the motions. The battle instincts flaring in him were a trigger, and just like they had for the pegasi, twin gauntlet appeared on his hands. His casual clothing was quickly covered as, with an odd tingling sensation, the magic and code in the Casts created pieces of dark brown leather armor. A leather cuirass, greaves, and bracers took shape, and were accompanied by a long shaft extending from his clenched fist. From the end of the pole, a crescent scythe blade curved in a reflective arc.

So Casts were activated when the will to fight surfaces? That was good to know. He had been worried about not knowing how to bring them out when he hadn't seen anything in the menu.

"Twilight Sparkle, step away from the human," one of the guards nickered. "We don't know his allegiance, so we cannot let him pass. Please come with us, or he may hurt you."

With a concerted effort, Animus slowly straightened himself out. His Casts remained active though. No way was he letting himself be defenseless, but loosening his posture was as much of a show of goodwill as he was willing to show.

Much to his surprise, Twilight stepped in between him and the guards, holding up a hoof. "He's with me, please. He's been helping me figure out what is going on here, and we have important information to share with my brother," she explained with an imploring look. "Shining Armor is the one that is in charge with Celestia missing, right?"

The guards shared a skeptical look and eased up ever so slightly. However, rather than granting passage, they pulled their spears up and crossed them in front of the double doors.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sparkle, we still can't let him into the castle," the same guard said, shaking his head. "You are right though, Shining Armor is one of the ones in charge right now."

Twilight's head canted to the side. "One of them? Who else is there?"

The guardspony shot a suspicious look at Animus and said, "Commander Shining Armor is working together with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to get the Royal Guard back in order and restore peace here in Canterlot. The human commander has been a help too. She taught the soldiers what she knew about this accursed game."

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" Twilight parroted.

"Commander Shining Armor?" Spike echoed from his seat.

"Human Commander?" Animus joined in the cacophony of repetition.

"Shining Armor and a human girl have been designated by the system as the commanders of the Canterlot forces," the second guard explained.

Twilight looked up at the castle that towered before them. "Well can you at least bring my brother out here so I can talk to him?" She waved a hoof back at Animus and added, "I'm not letting him out of my sight for the time being."

"Hey, its not like I'm going to run off and get myself in trouble," Animus defended his pride. "I have self control and common decency."

"So says the guy that scarfed down a huge bowl of salad and four pieces of toast for lunch today like a ravenous manticore," Spike quipped with a smirk.

Animus' face showed his mild irritation as he crossed his arms in front of him. His scythe leaned lazily to the side in his grasp as he grumbled, "Studying makes me hungry, and when I get hungry, I get hungry. So sue me."

Ignoring the bickering human and dragon, the guard shook his head at Twilight, "I'm sorry, but he isn't here right now. Both of the commanders went into the city to calm the panicking citizens and new arrivals. Humans and ponies were practically at each other's throats in the hysteria just a few hours ago. Thankfully, reports seem to indicate that things have calmed down quite a bit since they went out there, so they should be back fairly soon."

Twilight nodded in understanding, and was just about to thank the guard when a voice called out behind her. "More like right now."

Both soldiers went rigid at attention at the voice. Animus and Spike, however, ended up kissing the floor in unison as a happy purple mare whirled in place and bowled the two of them over in order to hug her brother. Said brother was a broad shouldered unicorn with a nearly gleaming white coat and a short but well groomed blue mane. Above his head, spinning slowly, was something much different though. Rather than the golden gem everypony seemed to have, his icon was two golden swords crossed over each other.

"Shining! How's my BBBFF? I'm so happy to see you!" she giggled happily.

"BBBFF?" Animus questioned almost inaudible through a face full of cobblestone road.

"Big Brother Best Friend Forever," came the answer of a similarly afflicted Spike somewhere off to his side.

"Ah, gotcha."

Shining Armor laughed and returned the hug, patting his little sister on the back. "Calm down, it's only been two days since you last saw me.” Gently pushing her away to regain his composure, he smiled and said, “I'm doing fine, Twily. I was actually more worried about you. Though from the looks of things, the human you met isn't so bad."

He wasn't so bad? That had to be the nicest thing any of these ponies had said about him since he got here. Animus had decided; he already liked this Shining Armor guy. Even if his sister was an academic fiend that would have made this human's strictest teachers quake in their boots, Shining was already Animus' favorite pony in this whole place.

"Finally someone gives me a vote of confidence!" Animus declared as he pried his face from the ground. "Gotta say it was worth the wait to be treated like more than a danger or annoyance."

"You can't really blame them, can you?" a strong but gentle female voice asked him. "I mean, how would you feel if they were the ones to drop into our world?"

Twilight tilted to the side to look past her brother. Standing just behind him, in a simple but elegant combat skirt, was a woman with a tender expression. She had beautiful amber hair that flowed down around her face, complimenting the subtle off-white hue of her clothes, which was further offset by small portions of deep scarlet. Just like Shining Armor, above her head was a golden icon resembling crossed swords.

Looking over the woman briefly, Twilight asked, "Shining, is she that human commander?"

Shining nodded, giving a polite gesture to the woman as he introduced her, "Yes, Twily, this is -"

"Asuna?!" Animus blurted out, still rubbing bits of dust and dirt off of his face. He could scarcely believe it. She looked older, like she was in her early twenties, but it was undeniably her. "Holy crap, it's really you. You're Lightning Flash Asuna!"

Her presence was like a little flame of hope that lit up in Animus. With someone like her here, things might not be so bad.

All eyes turned to Animus as he gawked at the swordswoman. Expressions ranged from surprise, to confusion.

"I haven't been called by that particular title in a long time," Asuna noted. Clasping her hands behind her back, she leaned forward to examine the young man. "Do I know you? My friends are the only people I know that still remember that I was ever called that."

"Well, yes and no," Animus said. He pulled himself up with the support of his scythe. Looking at the weapon, he figured it was no longer needed, and in an instant his Casts, and everything that had come with them, vanished. "You probably won't remember, but we met seven years ago in the Town of Beginnings. I fashioned the necklace made from Yui’s Heart." It was a small memory, probably not much but it meant a lot to him.

A look of surprise spread across Asuna's face as she looked close at Animus. "You're that little boy from the first floor?! Really?! Kirito said he was going to be meeting you today, before all of this happened. I can't believe you got pulled into this too."

"Who's Kirito?" Twilight interjected curiously.

"Oh, sorry. Twilight, right?" Asuna addressed the mare. "Kirito is my husband."

"Yeah, Lightning Flash Asuna and Kirito the Black Swordsman are practically legends. Their skills with a blade are among the very best," Animus explained excitedly. "Though I gotta say, I don't know if I should hope that Kirito is somewhere here in Equestria too."

Asuna nodded with a weak smile, "I know what you mean. I want him to be with me, but I don't want him to be in another dangerous game like this."

Twilight looked between Asuna and Animus with a mixture of confusion and interest. There was something that happened a long time ago, but every time she heard Animus allude to it, he just as quickly dropped the subject. Shaking her head, she spoke up, "Sorry to interrupt, but there are important things we need to discuss. Animus and I did a little research this morning, and we figured out what's coming tomorrow that marks the beginning of the game."

That got Asuna and Shining Armor's attention. Pleasantries were quickly dropped as Shining asked, "So what exactly is coming?"

"Nightmare Moon," Animus said bluntly, "Or as I hear she's more commonly known, the Mare in the Moon."

Shining Armor stiffened noticeably. The name carried weight with it among ponies. An enemy strong enough that their princess, powerful enough to raise and lower the sun and moon, had to use an outside source of powerful magic to defeat her. That source was the Elements of Harmony that Discord and Yuto had supposedly deleted. The only known method of defeating the Nightmare was gone permanently, and the pony that defeated her was nowhere to be seen. The prospect of her returning now had to be terrifying.

"Do you remember what day it is tomorrow?" Twilight asked, her expression growing more and more serious as she looked to her brother.

Realization dawned on Shining as he confirmed what they had learned. "It's the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration."

"Yup," Spike piped in as he climbed up on Twilight's back again. "And according to the legends, on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aide in her escape."

Asuna listened on in silence. Every once in a while she would give a short nod of understanding. She had to be organizing the new information in her head. The mark of any decent gamer was learning as much about a world as possible with every little bit of info you can get, and filling in the blanks with the most likely possibilities. It was also a common skill of anyone that read or watched lots of fiction.

"I think its safe to assume that the game system is moving the sun and moon automatically, with Celestia missing," Animus gave his best assumption, "but I wouldn't be surprised if once Nightmare Moon returns, she'll be able to freeze the cycle in eternal night, like the legend says."

"There's one good thing though," Asuna offered. "With the game system in place, there is a good chance that a long period of night won't have the catastrophic effects it should. Climate should stay the same. Crops should still grow. That's one blessing we have. Even if she does impose eternal night until she is defeated, we won't be on a countdown to total catastrophe."

"But if none of this happened, then Celestia would still be around, and she could use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon again," Twilight pointed out with a poorly hidden note of frustration.

"Not our fault," Animus muttered. "We're just as much victims as you are."

Both Twilight and Asuna gave him a light glare, making him cringe involuntarily. "Being snide and combative doesn't help anyone, Animus," Asuna scolded him.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Animus sighed. As well as he felt he was handling this situation, he couldn't deny that the stress was having some effect on him. He was only human, after all. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he kept the conversation rolling.

"Right now, my biggest concern is finding out where she will show up. I want to see what the deal is with this other faction," he explained.

"What?! Don't tell me you're thinking of joining up with Nightmare Moon?!" Twilight barked, her eyes narrowing at him.

"I'm not saying I will, but I'm not saying I won't!" Animus shouted back at her with equal volume. "I want to go home! I have a life to get back to! I don't know how I intend to beat this game yet, but I won't make that decision until I know what the sides are in this game. If I have to, I'll make my own allegiance! "

Twilight took a step back at the ferocity of his retort, and he could see the guards at the door start to tense up. Undeterred, she raised a hoof to object, but was cut off as Asuna stepped forward, looking him straight in the eyes. Her razor sharp brown eyes stared into his with an frightening ferocity. He could almost see all the incredible battles she had fought reflected in them. There was no anger in her eyes, but it felt like she was going to bore a hole into his soul. He felt strangely naked under her gaze, but he met it as unflinchingly as he could. After a while, her look softened, and a small smile graced her lips. Turning away, she looked to Twilight and Shining and said, "Let him do as he pleases. He's not being malicious or dishonest. If he does end up on the other side, then I won't hold anything against him."

Shining Armor gave a nod of understanding, but Twilight didn't seem quite as convinced.

She spoke out again, but curbed the edge out of her voice. "But why? Why would you just let him go and possibly join up with Nightmare Moon?"

"Because it is his decision to make," Asuna said simply. "How would you feel if someone tried to talk you into taking a side you didn't want to?"

Twilight lowered her eyes, ears wilting slightly as the truth of Asuna's words sank in. She looked to Spike, sitting on her back, who nodded to her. A reluctant sigh puffed from her muzzle, "Alright, I understand."

"Thank you very much," Animus thanked Asuna with a short bow. "I guess it's to be expected of the former second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath."

Asuna gave a nod in answer. She really was every bit the leader that tales told of back then, and just as intimidating too. Her beauty and ferocity were legend, and the ponies were lucky to have her.

"If you're really set on this, I think I know where you should go. Command Menu; display territory map," Shining Armor announced, and at his command a large map popped into the air in front of him. Floating as though resting on a table, the map showed what had to be the nation of Equestria. Dark border lines cut the map into pieces, each denoting a territory that had at least one town or city in it, but as many as three at most.

"Here," the pony commander indicated with his hoof. The map zoomed in on two areas, one dominated by a large mountain with a large dot on the side of it labeling the city of Canterlot. Just to the south, in the next territory, were two smaller dots. One, set inside a large forest called the Everfree, was marked as the Palace of the Royal Sisters. Just on the edge of the forest was the second dot, which was a town called Ponyville.

"This palace is in ruins now, but it was where Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. If I had to guess, I would say she is most likely to appear in Ponyville, just to the northwest of there. Given its close proximity to the palace, and the fact that Celestia was going to be raising the run from there this year, that makes it the ideal place to look," he explained.

The info did add up. If there was anywhere that was most likely to be her first appearance, it would be there. From the looks of the map, Ponyville wasn't all that far away. There was even what looked like a train line running between here and there. He could be there well before nightfall if he left soon.

The map vanished and Animus knelt down to grasp Shining's hoof in both hands, giving it a firm shake in gratitude. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

The unicorn commander gently withdrew his hoof and said, "Think nothing of it."

Straightening himself up on his feet, Animus could feel a touch of tension in the air. He wasn't making things easy for anyone, he knew, but he couldn't just make a rushed decision on something like this. There was a lot at stake, without even taking his life and future into account.

"I should go then," Animus said with a sigh. Turning to Asuna, he added, "It was wonderful seeing you again. Give my best to Kirito if you ever see him, and if I come across him, I'll send him your way."

Asuna reached out and took his hand, giving it a firm shake. "It was good to see you again too, and I hope we meet again soon."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Animus' lips. Turning around, he looked to Twilight and Spike. "Thank you both too. You were hospitable when you didn't have to be, and helped me learn a bit about this world."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you thanking us like you're saying goodbye? We're coming with you," she declared with a matter of fact huff.

Both Spike and Shining Armor gave a start at the proclamation, both shouting in unison, "What?!" Spike was so surprised that he teetered off of Twilight's back and hit the ground again with a thud.

Grasping his little sister by the shoulders, Shining shook her lightly while questioning, "What are you talking about? There's no way I could let you go, Twily! It could be dangerous!"

Twilight shrugged out of his grip and pulled Spike up onto her back again with her magic. The look she gave her brother undeniably said that she had made up her mind and nothing was going to change it. "Just about everywhere is dangerous now," she said with conviction, "and I'll go stir-crazy if I just sit around here doing nothing but reading books, as much as I love them. I want to do everything I can to defeat Nightmare Moon so that we can get Celestia back."

She bumped Animus with a rough nudge in the side. Then, with the kind of look he had seen her give a book she was reading, she added, "Besides, you still need to tell me a lot more about these kinds of games. Like all that stuff I saw in the menu about sub-classes, maps, and messaging. But most importantly, you're going to show me how to fight."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Shining Armor let out a long, frustrated sigh as he made his way into the throne room with Asuna. The soft blue glow of his magic surrounded the large doors and swung them closed behind them. The gentle swordswoman rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting smile.

"You're worried about your sister?" she asked knowingly.

Yet another sigh forced its way out of him. She had hit the nail on the head, but really, it wasn't that hard to guess in the first place. "Yes," he admitted. "Even if Ponyville is the closest town to here, I can't help but worry about what could happen to her, and I wouldn't be able to do anything. This is war, and I'm not sure she fully understands what that means. Humans and ponies will die before this is over. I don't want her to be a part of that."

Both of them stopped and bowed before the throne as they raised their heads to see an alicorn with soft pink coat and beautifully curled, multicolored mane and tail sitting in elegant regalia. The young Princess Cadance rose from her seat and walked over. Dipping her head, she nuzzled against Shining's cheek and motioned for both of them to rise. "Please, no more bowing, both of you. With everything that is happening, the last thing we should worry about is formalities. Plus I'd rather have my fiance standing beside me than bowing before me."

Both rose and nodded in understanding. Shining took the hint and happily moving to stand beside his beloved and return an affectionate nuzzle to her.

"So I take it Twilight has gone blazing down some path her heart is set on?" Cadance asked them. A small smile appeared as she recalled the strong will and passion Twilight had, even as a filly, back when she was her foalsitter.

"Yeah," Asuna confirmed, "She should be on her way to Ponyville right now with an old acquaintance of mine. We believe that is where Nightmare Moon is most likely to appear first, and they insisted on going."

"I really wonder if I should have told that boy where it was," Shining worried aloud.

"You made the right choice," Asuna assured him. "You saw it in him too, didn't you? He doesn't want to choose a side until he knew both. He won't accept any allegiance that he doesn't believe in, and won't let anything sway that resolve. That is the kind of determination that inspires those that see it. He has the qualities of a leader, and when he does choose a side, I have a feeling he will draw others to him, and become a commander. That's why you told him about Ponyville, isn't it? So far it is the only territory that doesn't have at least one commander on our side established."

Shining Armor nodded, though he didn't seem all that convinced by her words this time. "I just hope he chooses our side. The fewer we have to fight and kill to win this damn game, the better. And he had better not harm a hair on Twilight, or I'll make sure he regrets it."

"I'm sure Twilight will be fine, Shiny," Cadance said with a light peck on his cheek. "She's strong, like her big brother, and you know even better than me how useless trying to stop her would be."

"That's what worries me," he explained. "She may think some things through to ridiculous degrees, but when her emotions get the best of her, she gets reckless. Don't forget how antisocial she can be. Once she gets into her head that she has to do something herself, it's almost impossible to get her to accept help."

Asuna walked over to a nearby wall and looked at a gorgeous piece of stained glass depicting the two royal sisters sealing away Discord. Looking over the scene, she said, "Well if there's one thing I learned about these games, it's that they have a strange way of bringing people together. I have faith that everything will turn out for the best."

"Yes, as do I," Cadance agreed, walking up beside Asuna to admire the artwork, "and I really hope I get to meet your husband someday. I can tell that you love him as dearly as I love Shining Armor."

"Trust me, if he's here, you'll definitely get to meet him," Asuna laughed. "That bonehead would and has fought against an enormous army all by himself just to find me."

Cadance laughed and cast a glance over to where Shining sat fretting over every little worry that popped into his head. "Sounds like something my Shiny would do too."

Author's Note

This was a pretty fun chapter to write. Figuring out and building on the dynamic Animus has with Twilight and Spike is fun to do, and I addressed a concern of one of my commentors. This game doesn't have a traditional level system, and is more liks Alfheim Online. Skill levels give bonuses to performance, but when you get down to it, you could have great armor and weapons and skill levels, yet still get trounced by someone in basic gear if they just plain outfight you. I believe relegating levels to evolution of their weapons and armor, and using Casts as the medium for that serves as a great way to show player growth without automatically making it that anyone with say, Level 70 Casts would be.invincible against someone with Level 30 Casts. And on top of that, I hope I made it obvious that every last player has their skill levels down to 1
.
And whee, Asuna makes her appearance! I felt like she would be the type to quickly take charge and side with the ponies, and I could think of no better human to show in the commander position. I have made allusions to Animus having met Asuna, obviously connected to the snippet at the beginning of the second chapter, and while I only had it vaguely spoken of for now, I do plan to have various flashbacks of important moments in Animus's life in Aincrad as they become more relevant to the events unfolding.

Hope you all look forward to the next chapter!