Equestria Legends Online: Three Sides of the Coin

“Ugh, this is hopeless.” I slammed the desk, exhausted from the work in front of my computer. I've been trying to finish my programming homework for three hours, and noticed that I have barely started, only a few lines of basic code written on the computer screen. I had promised myself to do it a few days before the deadline, but never got to it after that, continuously procrastinating until the last day.

The concept of the app I was making was simple: it was supposed to create an advanced protected database, and edit it while using as little resources as possible. However, theory didn't equal practice, as I figured out.

I lazily stood up, outstretched my arms and glanced to my left, right at the shelf, where my digital clock was lying. It read 10:47 AM.

I still have a few hours to spare before I have to turn it in, I thought. Might as well go out and get some fresh air, staring at the screen won't help the slightest.

With a few swift clicks I hibernated the PC, knowing that I'd return to my work once I came back. Just after I rushed into the hall, I heard someone's knocking at the door. Without hesitation, I answered it. My neighbour's face greeted me.

“Good morning. The postman asked to give this package to you, since you were unavailable when he came by last.” I blinked. A package? Hmm... I accepted the box, having thanked my neighbour for holding onto it, closed the door, and rushed back into my room.

Now, where did I put it... I searched my desk for a pair of scissors, but to my disappointment, didn't find them. Frowning a little, I decided, screw it, I'll just tear it open with my hands. And so I did.

When I peeked into the box, my eyes went in surprise from seeing what was inside.

The box contained a Nervegear console, the one that was supposed to make the virtual world in games feel real by literally taking your own mind into the game and made it seem as if you were actually there, along with a Nervegear helmet and a lot of cables. I wasn't sure how exactly it worked, something about influencing the electrical impulses in your brain and thus, your five senses, so that you could feel everything happening in the virtual reality during playing, while keeping the body static. I didn't really care much.

That wasn't the whole content, though. Inside, I found a copy of, supposedly, the greatest brony game made of all time, or at least I thought; with epic weaponry, monsters, beasts, dragons and even parties: Equestria Legends Online.

“Yes, yes, yes, yesyesyesyesyes!” I repeated over and over, widely grinning. I have just put my hands on a console that was yet to be released in my country, and on top of that, I was going to play an awesome game.

The whole concept of Hasbro funding the MMO seemed way out of place for me, but when I had found out about the fact that the company actually decided to hire some of the best programmers in the world just to make this one game, I had known then that most bronies (including me) would have to get it sooner or later; even if it wasn't because of my passion for programming, I would have got it just for the ponies. And since the Nervegear helmet actually influenced the senses... it probably would make you a pony inside the game, or at least feel like one.

Most of the human population probably would ask themselves "what?" or "are you crazy?" or just facepalm when asked if they have wanted to learn the experience of being a quadruped. However, ponies and the show gradually became a hobby of mine, so I wouldn't really mind the people's reactions, I kind of would expect them to respond like that. You can't please everyone, they say... I'd always been wondering what it was like to be a technicolor pony, and I had just got the chance, so, obviously, I just had to take it.

The ELO servers were supposed to launch in a little over an hour, so I almost started setting up the whole system just to prepare for the grand opening. However, having remembered about my homework I was due to turn in by the next day, I calmed down.

Work now, fun later. Actually... What if I make a few comparative functions, implement sorting using these, and then focus on the GUI? That would work. I turned my PC back on, now full of ideas for my app.

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...so I put the text box here, assign the sorting function to this, and... done! I smiled, clearly proud of my work. Once I got a sudden surge of ideas, the programming turned out to be very simple. Putting together the necessary functions took around twenty minutes, and another half an hour to design the graphical interface. That left me a little over fifteen minutes to prepare for the ELO servers launch.

I peeked again in the box in search for the instruction manual. To my utter surprise, I found it, but it was written in Russian, and there was no English version.

Sigh... Could have been worse I guess, at least I can read it, even if not so quickly. I kinda wish the manufacturer would pay more attention to it, would save me a lot of work. Skimming through the manual, I worked out how to assemble the console, carefully plugging in the cables, as they were delicate. After about five minutes of fighting with the cyrillic letters, the whole system (including me and my helmet residing on my head) was prepared.

Looking to my left, I checked the time. It was 11:53 AM, which meant it still was seven minutes until the servers grand opening.

I would have waited it out, if I hadn't heard my stomach grumble loudly. Slightly annoyed, I untied the chin wrap on my helmet, slowly walked to the kitchen, which was, thankfully, opposite of my room, and checked the contents of my fridge. After a brief train of thought, I settled on some leftover mushroom salad, and quickly made myself a ham sandwich.

I'm not going to enter the game hungry, am I? Actually, can you feel hunger and thirst there, in the virtual world? I wondered a bit, before shrugging the thoughts off. I'd have to find that out myself sooner or later.

While munching on my sandwich, I glanced at the digital clock, only to notice that it was noon.

I flicked the power switch on. The glass panel in my helmet lit up like a computer screen. In a few short whiles, the game was ready, but I would be taken inside only if I activated the helmet with my voice.

Alright, here it comes... deep breath in, deep breath out...

“Link start!”

I waited for quite a good while, but nothing happened. I checked the cords; everything was set up properly. I tried again, “Link start!”, but the helmet refused to work like I had intended. I was about to check the instruction manual for any priceless information about this issue, but stopped.

“Oh, I'm an idiot.” I facepalmed, remembering that everything was in Russian. "This makes sense now, I have to say it in Russian…”

After a short moment of pointless thinking, I checked the instruction manual for the phrase I was supposed to say.

I'll have to switch the language... Now truly prepared, I said, “Начни соездинение.”

The inside of the helmet seemed to glow with a multitude of colors once I had said the command. Sometime during the startup, five text bars appeared:

Зрение: Ок

Слух: Ок

Запах: Ок

Вкус: Ок

Осязание: Ок

As quickly as the bars appeared, they disappeared. Suddenly, the space around me seemed to shift, as I was standing now in a black void. Another text box was now floating in front of me.

Язык: Русский

Логин:

Пароль:

I mentally slapped myself, suddenly remembering I had forgotten to make an account. However, the Russian captions irritated me more, so I proceeded to change them to English.

“Перемени язык из русского на английский.”

After a brief while, a success message greeted me, along with very welcoming English text.

Перемена успешна.

Language: English

Username:

Password:

Now I had to create an account, since I'd forgotten to do that on the Nervegear official website; otherwise the game wouldn't open up.

“Open account creation tab.”

Once I said that, my vision was filled with a form - sort of, since it required filling in just four pieces of information; short and suspicious, if you ask me - along with a virtual keyboard to type in my username, e-mail, password and country. I pondered for a while about what should be my nickname.

Hmm... Should it be the same one I use on most websites? My brony nickname? Or maybe something else? Suddenly, I've had a brainwave and came up with a creative answer to this question, which I instantly typed in. The rest of the form was very simple to fill.

Once again, having checked that everything was alright, I hit “Register”. A prompt appeared, asking to confirm my choice. I just jammed the OK button. Next, the web browser popped up and I quickly logged into my e-mail account. Inside the inbox there was a confirmation mail, which I hastily opened and clicked the link that was supposed to confirm my account. Right on cue, the browser closed and the system was finally logging me in.

Language: English

Username: Dvorakov

Password: ******************************************************************

I smiled, internally hyped for the upcoming gameplay. Soon I would be ingame, exploring Equestria as a pony.

The text disappeared, and another box popped up.

Welcome to Equestria Legends Online

I would jump in joy now, if I didn't feel my legs freeze when a spotlight began to shine down on me.

However, my delight ended as soon as I noticed what was written underneath.

The game servers are currently offline. Please check the official website for more information.

My face froze for a moment, trying to comprehend what was going on. The servers, offline? It was past noon, that couldn't be right.

“Open web browser.” In a flash the browser appeared before my eyes, along with a virtual keyboard. I quickly typed in the game's website address, wanting to check for any changes to the server launch date.

Looking at the news section, I noticed an announcement called “ELO servers starting tomorrow!” I clicked it almost immediately and began to read:

“We are happy to announce that the game has reached past beta testing stage and is finally finished! We'll host the server launch at 12:00 PM. Everyone that logs in during the first uptime hour will receive a unique “Early Bird” achievement, along with a VIP badge that allows access into the more restricted areas of the game. Stay awesome, bronies! Head Admin Jupiter.”  I blinked a few times. Whaat... It's already way past noon and the servers still offline... I was clearly confused by what was going on with the game, and felt obligated to find out why. Just as I was about to close the browser, a certain caption at the top of the site grabbed my attention.

Today is 22nd January, 2020

Current time: 06:24 AM

I stared straight ahead, unblinking, completely shaken by the information. The void around me seemed to echo my jumbled up thoughts, not helping in the slightest. The area began to feel cold and make me shiver. Right at that moment, I decided it was enough of the Nervegear for now.

“Link stop.”

The area around me faded into my room, the cold feeling lessening, the helmet strapped to my chin again visible. Since it was pointless to wear it, after a while it was lying back on my desk, me having taken it off. The sheer stupidity of the situation seemed to get to me, as I could mutter only one fitting thing.

“...fuck my life.”

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...maybe I haven't really mentioned it that much, but my life did hurt quite a bit.

I couldn't believe that I actually had overlooked such a thing, the difference of time between countries. Normally, detailed thinking was my strong side, but it tended to let me down on occasion, causing me to miss some basic information.

After half an hour of meaningless tapping with my finger on the console, I thought it would be a good idea to have a long nap. The servers were to open at noon, and I had a bad habit of undersleeping a bit every day, so I figured a few extra hours of sleep wouldn't hurt, but help a lot. It would also relieve some of my stress from my recent situation. So over the next hours, I napped. Very creative way to pass time, eh?

Still, it worked nicely. I woke up, now more conscious of what was happening around me. While shrugging off the sleep, I remembered that I slept a bit to pass the time till the servers launch, so I glanced to my left to check the time.

5:53 PM, so the server time is 11:53 AM... Oh boy, seven minutes! I really wanted to be one of the first to log in, but also wanted to take it somewhat easy. Slightly hesitant, I turned the Nervegear on, put the helmet on, strapped it to my chin and said, more enthusiastic than usual, “Link start! Open web browser. Reload last session.”

The sense hooking system worked its wonders, as I noticed five (now English, not Russian) lines of text.

Sight: Ok

Hearing: Ok

Smell: Ok

Taste: Ok

Touch: Ok

They soon were obscured by a web browser window appearing before me. Once again, I accessed the ELO website in search for any changes or last minute announcements. I found one, though it had minor contribution to the servers start. It said about the removal of the first hour login reward. Nothing else was touched.

Perfect, no more silly mistakes. Now that I knew what I was getting into, I could finally start playing.

“Close web browser. Start Equestria Legends Online.”

In a flash everything faded from sight (save for the beam of light above me), being replaced by the standard ELO startup text.

Welcome to Equestria Legends Online

You must create your avatar. Select which pony race would you like.

Underneath, there were three options to choose from.

- Earth Pony

• Pegasus

- Unicorn

They could add a “Random” option, I'd definitely press it, hahaha... I tapped the “Unicorn” button. The ability to fly was awesome, but so was magic, and of the two I preferred magic. It's like having hands, while not having hands, I thought.

The next choice I had to make was whether I wanted to use my OC as my avatar.

What would you like your avatar to be?

• Ponified self

- OC

Since I didn't have an OC, I hit the “ponified” button. The text disappeared, leaving room for another text box.

Please hold still.

The beam above me turned a purplish-blue colour, and smoke began to form around my body. I shuddered a little as the smoke began to form into a shape of a unicorn stallion right before me, like a demon would transform. It was weird, and a bit of creepy as well.

I was relieved when the smoke dissipated, revealing a dark gray pony with perfect black mane and deep purple eyes, wearing a calm expression. He didn't have a cutie mark, I figured while looking at his flank. Maybe it will appear once I achieve something in the game?

Although my ponysona wasn't especially handsome, I still liked it.

Suddenly, a prompt popped up in front of me.

Please make your cutie mark.

Oh, never mind, I thought I'd be a blank flank for a bit... Under the prompt appeared a translucent box, along with some basic tools, like the colour palette, the select tool and numerous brushes on the sides; it reminded me a bit of the GIMP interface.

I wasn't an expert in art, but I didn't have much trouble making my cutie mark. It was a ball of goldish light, surrounded by eight same-coloured wisps, arranged to resemble the sun.

I pushed “OK”, and the mark glued itself to my future flank. I stared at “myself”, admiring the look.

Once again, the interface changed.

Is this design acceptable?

I almost jammed the "Yes" button, but then an idea formed in my mind. It wouldn't work if my legs were still frozen, though. I tried to move from my standing place, but my legs had second thoughts. That motivated me even more to push forward, still trying to reach the unicorn. However, it was fruitless, so instead, I tried to reach out with my hand. I was nearing the stallion's head, but my arm couldn't extend any further, so I gave up.

Dammit, I wanted to give him a small ear scratch... Since my wish couldn't be granted, I pressed “Yes” on the interface.

A voice echoed in the distance, giving me the creeps. “Now that you've chosen your pony, you may now enter Equestria.”

The area around me seemed to brighten gradually, before flashing and blinding me for a good while. I heard the voice say, "Good luck", before I hissed loudly in pain. Then, everything went black, and I swear that I could hear the voice muttering, “you will need it.”

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When I woke up, I found out I was sprawled out on the ground, my mind still fuzzy and unable to comprehend what had happened. I must have fallen asleep and dropped from the bed, or something. My whole body was sore, I had little to no feeling in my legs and arms, and my neck seemed to bend in a completely different way. Not only that, I had a splitting headache, like somebody stabbed my skull with a pointy spear, and felt a disturbing sensation between my legs.

All things considered, I was definitely in very good shape.

The ground is really comfy, but I can’t lie here all day… I opened my eyes, only for the sunrays to blind me and force them closed again. Every time my eyelids lifted even for a little while, the sunlight was shoved into my face.

Easy there... I wasn't going to let the sun make me lie here all day, so I forced my eyes open, struggling not to blink. Surprisingly, it worked, and my vision cleared.

I inhaled deeply, noting the air was unusually clean, without the industrial smell. Shaking heavily, I tried to stand up, only to fall on my fours.

Wha-... I was about to panic and shout and scream like a madman, but stopped, having remembered that I was just playing on my Nervegear. A wave of calm washed over my body, me no longer shivering from the overall weirdness (though it was more eerie than weird, I thought at first) that happened over the last few minutes.

Switching from full panic to complete calm mode in a jiffy, I could easily say I won the grand prize for being the most erratic pony in the universe. Or maybe not, Pinkie Pie would win that one.

I hadn't had a proper chance to examine my surroundings since I woke up, so I glanced around. My eyes were greeted by wooden houses with thatched roofs all around the main square, the Ponyville town hall, and a few other familiar places, like the Sugarcube Corner and the Golden Oaks Library, all stretching straight ahead in the distance. To say it was nice would be an understatement...

It felt... kind of nostalgic, maybe because it reminded me of Season 1, and also somewhat peaceful, with players already trotting around the place, chatting, and preparing to depart for their first adventures. Nonetheless, it was a very beautiful sight, and I was happily wagging my tail, watching in awe.

The views are awesome... I swear I could feel my eyes twinkle at the display before me, serious. I'd better start playing, or I won't catch up to the others... With that in mind, I arranged what would be my next course of events.

First, I was going to grab some weapons, preferably a two-handed sword or a crossbow; but if I couldn't find anything interesting, I would just buy anything close, if I had some starting money, that is. Next, if anyone wanted to tag along, I'd definitely invite them to my party. Strength and safety are in numbers, after all. Finally, and that was inarguably the best part - I'd kick some flank.

Now that I had a plan that I could stick to, I took a step forward... and having forgotten I was a quadruped now, tripped and faceplanted into the ground, dirt getting into my mouth.

Dammit, should have figured how to walk first... I stood again up. But how? Maybe a guide?

Only when had I thought that, and flicked down my hoof in annoyance, I noticed a menu popping in front of me, where I could open the backpack, access player info, or even logout. A squeal escaped my lips, me already checking the contents of my backpack. Apparently, everyone started with two hundred bits, possibly to buy some gear, a basic guide to magic and a general game guidebook. I chose to read the latter first. Fumbling with my hooves, somehow I managed to materialise it before me and skim through the contents, finding nothing of real value, just some general tips, so I moved on to the magic guide. Magic was sick, walking could wait.

Let's see what do we have here... Flipping the book to page 3, I found some instructions on how to channel energy into my horn and do a basic illumination spell, so I read.

Your magic behaves like a muscle; putting a strain on it will cause magic energy to flow through your horn. The illumination spell is the simplest one to cast: all you have to do is let the energy flow through your horn. Your magic meter will not deplete while using this spell, unless you decide to make the light very bright.

This is the basic spell every unicorn pony has to know, it is written here... I decided to give it a try, softly tapping my gray horn for emphasis. A few sparks flew out, I giggled because it tickled a little.

Alright, time to try this out... I inhaled deeply, and focused. Instantly, my horn flared with energy, sending a wave of heat across it and making it glow purple.

“Hey, that was easy!” I grinned from ear to ear, proud of my small achievement. I thought I got the “portable flashlight” spell down, so I continued reading.

What catched my attention next was levitation.

The levitation spell will enable you to carry any object with magic. When used on smaller items, your magic meter will not deplete as it would with other spells. To use the spell, focus on the object that you wish to levitate. You need to know what object you are levitating, and where you want it to go. Concentrate on these two aspects, and the spell should work easily. Keep in mind that when the object is heavier, it will take some physical strain on yourself, as well as drain your magic meter.

This one shouldn’t be hard too, I think… I raised my eyebrow in slight suspicion. Were all the spells in the game this easy?

I concentrated on the book, willing to lift it up in the air. And so it did, now hovering close to my face. I tried spinning it around, and so it did.

I can’t imagine how am I supposed to wield a weapon with my not-so-dexterous hooves. This helps a lot. I thought it was enough of magic for the moment and stashed the guide back in my inventory.

However, one thing bugged me. Was the part about the magic meter not depleting actually real? I checked my player info, and yeah, my mana was full, wow.

I couldn’t say the same about my health, which was at four fifths full.

What…Could it be because I woke up all sore? Hmm… I remembered again about the pain when entering Equestria, unsure of its cause. Everything since I’d started playing went quite smoothly, except for this. It was definitely odd…

I shook my pony head. There was no point in contemplating about that now. It would have to wait. I had a much more urgent thing to do: explore the town.

Hesitantly, I took a step forward, and another, and another, this time being much more careful not to trip over. Soon, after a few stumbles on the way, I figured out how a pony should walk, and soon sped up my pace to a trot. It was official now.

I was coming onward, to Ponyville.

And I was going to kick some flank soon.