Equis Art Online

Chapters

When Worlds Collide
MMO Tomorrow
Eqigard Terminus
Boss Battle-The Fireborn
First Steps
Train Ride to Destiny
Explaining a Few Things
Boss Battle-The Thousand Winds
The Sleeping Knight Awakens...
A Grand Galloping...Wait! Let's Get Ready!
Bedtime Madness-Girls
Bedtime Madness-Guys
A Wild Night Plus One!
Boss Battle-Gorefang
Boss Battle-Heathcliff
Epilogue-The Wintry Night

When Worlds Collide

As Twilight looked up from her studies, she turned her face towards the night sky. Gazing at the stars, she smiled before turning back to her work. As her right hoof gripped her pen, she wiped the sweat off her brow. She then resumed working on the order forms for the books she had lost in the Library explosion. She sighed and turned to her clock. A solid Eleven-Thirty. She sighed again, and looked back down at the paperwork, the battle with Tirek still fresh in her mind. As she finished a form, then set it aside, she looked at the stack of papers that still remained.

"Great. Still around...ten...fifteen...Twenty forms to go." she said, exhausted, as she leaned back in her chair. Soon, she heard light footsteps, and Spike jumped up onto the desk.

"Yawn...still working, Twi? I mean, you've been going over those order forms for like, six hours now!" he said, failing to stifle a yawn. Twilight smiled at the dragon, then turned back to the order form.

"Well, I really want to replace everything I lost in that explosion. I mean, the library exploded! No book can survive that!" Twilight said, then something caught her eye.

"Hold on...Spike? Is there a book or comic called "Legends of ALfheim" in your collection?" she asked, eyeing the strange title on the list.

"Nope. Not that I know of!" Spike said, looking at the paper. "Why do you ask?"

"Because it's right here, under the "Other Worlds" category. I mean, I didn't see a book like that all the time I lived there!" Twilight said, confused. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, write Celestia. She'll probably know." Spike said.

"Not at this hour. Luna's probably awake, but I'm not sure I can send letters to her, though." Twilight replied.

"Good point. Twi, get some rest. You can probably do all that in the morning." Spike said, stifling a yawn, and her began to walk up the stairs.

Twilight sighed and began to pack up her things. As she did, she failed to notice a small, dog-eared book, laying on the desk. Illuminated by the lamplight, the gold writing was not even faded, yet the leather cover was well worn and old. As she walked past it, the book glowed slightly. At that moment, a shooting star flew past. As Twilight checked her bag, she noticed she forgot her pen. As she went back to retrieve it, she noticed the book. Picking it up gingerly, she opened the cover. Skimming the title, she noticed a small photo come out of the book. As she picked it up, she noticed it was of two, no, three beings looking at a setting sun. As she looked closer, she could see the two beings on the left were holding hands, and the other was standing to the side, hands in the pockets of a white lab coat. Twilight smiled and put the picture back in the book, and as she walked back upstairs, she began to read. After around an hour, she stopped and began to think.

"ALfheim...Kirito...Leafa...Asuna...it doesn't make any sense! Who are these beings, how did this book get here, and what is this "Sword Art Online" thing they keep mentioning? What does "Online" mean? Why is Kirito searching for Asuna in the first place..." she said, but as she flopped back into her bed, she set the book on the nightstand. Letting exhaustion take over, she fell asleep quickly.

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Kazuto Kirigaya looked back at the computer screen and sighed. As his eyes closed, then opened, he yawned loudly. After a few minutes of silence, he looked at his wristwatch.

"Eleven thirty. Wow, time really flies!" he said softly, careful not to wake his sister, Suguha, who was currently sleeping in the next room. He smiled and turned back to his Mechatronics homework. As he continued, he sighed and fell back in his chair. As his eyes scanned the room as he spun around in his chair, they fixed on his wall calendar. Kazuto smiled at the piece of paper. Tomorrow was Saturday, a free day. He smiled at his NervGear and AmuSphere rigs, which were sitting next to the computer. He got up, and after changing out of his clothes and into sleepwear, he looked at the picture of Asuna on his nightstand, next to his clock and tablet. As he climbed into bed, he didn't notice a small and worn book peeping out from under his nightstand. The silver coloring was darkened from the lack of light, but a somewhat visible Legends of Equis was typed on it. Kazuto settled himself down, but as his hand drooped over the side of the bed, it brushed the book's cover. Kazuto jolted himself up, and reached for the book. As he skimmed the cover, a picture dropped out. Kazuto looked at it, and he furrowed his brow. A photo of five necklaces, each encrusted with a gem in different shapes, along with a tiara, were displayed on a black background. Kazuto frowned as he opened the book and he began to read. After a few minutes, he stopped.

"Man, this seems so odd, but a bit easy to relate to. I mean, basically one kid gets all the glory and honor, what do you expect the other's going to do?" he said with a smile, but something caught his eye. A small piece of writing on the back cover. Kazuto flipped through the pages until he reached it.

"Someday...what does that mean?" Kazuto said, frustrated at the single word written on the back cover. He sighed, placed the book on his nightstand, and he fell asleep.

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MMO Tomorrow

Earth

2026

Saturday-January 11th

Kazuto woke up to the sun shining in his face, and the birds were chirping in the trees. He smiled and began to stretch his arms. As he got out of bed and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, he smelled the aroma of eggs coming from downstairs. Smiling, he descended and took his place at the table. Sugu turned around and smiled at him, and handed him a plate of eggs and bacon.

"Morning." he said casually, taking a bite out of an egg.

"I got some big news for my big bro!" she said happily, and handed him her tablet. Kazuto read what was on the screen, and by the end, his mouth was shaped into an O.

"A new worldspace and hub area?" he said, shocked. "This is incredible!"

"Confirmed, big bro. We don't know a lot of the details, but only a few players are going to be able to access it. It's still in testing at the moment." Sugu replied.

"So, how are they going to select the players?" Kazuto said, rereading the article. 'You said that only a few will be able to access it."

"A random drawing. Only 10 players will get to test it and do the main questline. We don't know much more than that." Sugu said, sitting down at the table.

"So, counting me, you, Asuna, Klein, Shino, Rika, and Keiko, there's room for three more. That's assuming we get picked." Kazuto said, reading the details of the drawing, while counting on his fingers. "Says here that if you get picked, you'll receive a special rune that allows transport for up to a player and a navigation pixie. So, that means we can take Yui with us, like I said, if we get picked." Kazuto said.

"Yeah. It also says that each rune allows for a two way trip, but only once. Apparently once we complete the main questline for the new worldspace, we can travel back and forth as much as we want. So, we'll have to stock up on potions, bring excess gear, that sort of thing. And we won't leave the worldspace if we disconnect our NervGear. Basically, we can still log out into the real world, but we will still be in the worldspace." Sugu replied Kazuto tried to reply, but at that moment, Kazuto's phone rang.

"Hey, Asuna!" he said, cheerfully. Yeah, I've heard. You wanna join the drawing? Oh, sweet! I'm ready to dive when you are. Okay, see you soon." Kazuto said, and as he hung up, he smiled.

"I take it Asuna's already in the drawing?" Sugu said, as she chewed on a piece of bacon.

"Yep. So's everyone else in the team. So, I guess we're all set!" Kazuto said, leaning back in his chair. "We're diving in an hour, since that's when the drawing's taking place." At that moment, Kazuto leaned too far back, and his chair fell to the ground.

Sugu smiled and laughed, and as Kazuto got up and continued to eat, a small cloud passed by the sun.

====================================================================================================

ALfheim Online

Yggdrasil City

Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop

Kirito sat down next to Leafa in the waiting room of Lisbeth's shop, and as the members of the party filed in, he smiled at each member. As he walked in, Klein immediately started giving Kirito a noogie, with Kirito's protests giving the girls absolute fits of laughter. After Kirito freed himself from Klein's grasp, Klein immediately began to stare out the window and mope about the fact he had no soul mate. At that point, Silica and Leafa were still laughing out loud. Kirito tried to resist, but Klein's expression ended up making him laugh slightly.

"What's so funny, guys?" Klein said defensively, placing his hands on his waist. "So I haven't found my soulmate yet. So what?"

"Well, I guess the fact you fell in love with a guy in disguise?" Sinon said with an evil smile.

Klein's face went from stalwart to absolutely crushed. He started cowering near Kirito, which only made Kirito nervous.

"B...b...but I thought she was a girl...I thought...you know what...That...THAT IS OFF-LIMITS!" Klein stammered, then he began to yell, and Sinon put her hands us in defense.

"Hey, we all fell for it, so I guess we were all fooled!" Asuna said, walking in with two baskets full of potions. Kirito smiled and hugged her, which made Klein even more pouty. Kirito then felt a light tapping on his shoulder. He turned and saw Yui with a pleasant expression on her face.

"What's up, Yui?" he said.

"The Random drawing is starting in about five minutes!" she said. "Daddy, I really hope you win!"

"Yeah. I hope so." Kazuto said, and Asuna smiled at him.

"You know, Kirito, that sometimes luck plays into you into its favor, not luck into yours." she said with a thoughtful expression. "Dad told me that at breakfast."

"Yeah, I can understand that. I mean, the odds of us getting picked are really low." Kirito replied. " I seriously doubt that all seven of us are going to be picked."

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and as Lisbeth answered the door, they could see the door open. The group could hear her talking to a player. After a minute or so, a Spriggan walked in, wearing armor similar to Klein's, only Silver, green, and brown, with armor and a chainmail vest. The draped sleeve was absent as well. The Spriggan had gray and brown hair, with a longsword and a parrying blade strapped to his back and side. He walked up to the counter and handed over his weapons , which Lisbeth took to repair. He looked into the room that the group was in, and he suddenly got an embarrassed expression on his face, and he began to back out.

"Hey, if you want to sit with us, you can. We don't mind!" Silica said, and the Spriggan poked his head back in.

"Thanks. I thought I stumbled into something private. I didn't want to interfere or anything." he said sheepishly.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it, come on in!" Asuna said, and grabbing his hand, she led the Spriggan in. After Asuna pulled up a chair for him, the Spriggan sat down.

"Thanks, by the way." he said kindly.

"No problem. I'm Asuna."

"Aries."

As introductions went around, the talk eventually settled on the drawing.

"You interested?" Kirito asked Aries.

"I really am. I know that I have like, a less than five percent chance of winning, but, I figured while I was at the market, I would get my gear forged and repaired, and restock on potions." Aries replied.

"Yeah, I can see why you would. So, what type of player are you?" Klein asked.

"I'm a Ranger. Quick and swift." he said, opening up his stats screen.

"Wow. Those skills are impressive." Kirito said, with the group crowding around. Aries's skills were nearly as good as his, only lower in each by around fifty points or so. Kirito noticed he had high skills in Acrobatics, Sprint, and most combat areas. What was more surprising was his affinity with Wind Magic.

"Thanks. I've been playing since the launch of ALO under Ymir. I've already got my sights set on being the best Ranger around. I still have a few Legendary items to go, though."

"That's even more impressive." Lisbeth said, walking in. As she handed Aries his sword and parrying blade, Kirito thought of something.

"Hey, Aries. If we win the drawing, do you want to join our party?" Kirito asked.

"Sounds good to me. I've mostly been grinding Yrd and raiding bosses in New Aincrad, so I guess why not!" Aries said, and as they shook hands, a screen popped up for each player in the room, showing a countdown. Yui cleared her throat from her perch on Kirito's shoulder, and she began to speak.

"Drawing in five...four...three...two...one...zero!" Yui said, and as she said zero, a message came up on each player's screen, emblazoned with "You have been selected to explore the Eqigard realm." Kirito blinked, and as he looked around the room, he could see that all his friends, plus Aries, had the same message.

"We...won!" Kirito said, and everyone began to speak at the same time. Kirito raised his hand for silence, and everyone quieted.

"Well, it seems that we all got picked. So Yui, do you know where this Eqigard is?"

"According to the instructions I was just given, we need to head towards a dungeon called the Eqigard Terminus. After we defeat the boss there, we should find the portal we use to head to Eqigard." Yui replied.

"Sounds easy enough. What's the boss?" Silica said, and Pina crowed.

"I can't tell yet." was Yui's reply, and everyone sighed.

"Well." said Aries, "At least we know where we need to go."

"Agreed. We should probably get going." Sinon replied, and as everyone agreed, Kirito smiled.

"Well then, let's get going!" he said, and everyone cheered. As they began to get their gear and weapons in order, far away, in the Eqigard Terminus, a player in a white lab coat watched as the portal opened. As he stepped through, he smiled. The small-frame glasses he was wearing reflected the rainbow light. A black sword and a Silver-blue rapier were strapped to his back. He sighed, and as he stepped through the portal, he chuckled a bit.

"We'll be meeting each other soon...Kirito and Asuna."

Eqigard Terminus

As the group flew over ALfheim, Kirito shivered a bit from the wind in his hair. He looked over at Yui, who was riding on Pina. He smiled, then called her over.

“Yui, are we close?”

“Yes, it’s that down there.” she pointed towards a large, ruined, gazebo-like structure in the middle of a forest. Kirito looked at the group, and as each member nodded, the group landed. As they split up to look around, Kirito went straight to the doors in the back wall. What looked like half a sun and half a moon combined were emblazoned in gold and silver on the door. As the group approached, the doors remained sealed and unmoving. As Klein walked up to knock, there was a loud roar, and he stepped back in shock.

“Well, how are we supposed to get these doors open?” Kirito said, echoing the thoughts of every group member at the time. As the group members gathered up around him, Aries held up his hand to his chin in thought.

“Dunno.” Aries said. “Besides, that roar did not sound friendly at all.”

“So, what now?” Klein said. “Who knows what could happen!”

“We wait. For the moment, We should camp out here. I mean, it’s only Nine o’clock, so we have time.” Asuna suggested, and as they sat down, Kirito got a closer look at the door. Writing, or what seemed to be writing, was inscribed into the sun and moon. Four deer-like creatures, or sculptures of them, rested on four pillars that bordered the door. But the strangest thing was the feeling Kirito was getting as he approached. He felt at ease, as if all his worries had been washed away.

“Kirito? Is something wrong?” Silica said as she walked up, which snapped Kirito out of his thoughts. He sighed and turned to face her.

“It’s just confusing, Silica. I mean, we come all this way to a locked door, and even though the runes we got are supposed to give us entrance, it’s not opening.” he said, frustrated.

“I understand. I mean, all of us understand.” Silica said, and Pina crowed in approval. At that moment, there was a low rumble, and the pillars sent out blasts of energy. As the energy solidified, it turned into four stags. The blast of wind that resulted knocked over Silica and Kirito in surprise. As the two of them stood up while the group rushed over, the stags began to speak in a melodious tone.

“We bid thee welcome, fairy swordsmen. Eqigard bids you welcome. But, be warned. Peril and evil await you, as well as companionship. Harmony must be sought if you are to triumph in your journey. We four cannot venture beyond Alfheim, but you will find one of our emissaries beyond the gate. Now, enter the Terminus. Begin your journey.” they said in synchronization, and as they disappeared, the gate opened slowly. Klein quickly recovered from the shock and smiled.

“Well, that solves that. Let’s get going!” He said, and as the group voiced their approvals, Kirito turned around and faced the group.

“So, we’ve made it this far. We need to keep going. Let’s do this and get ourselves on the pages of MMO Tomorrow!” he said proudly, and everyone cheered. As they went through the doors, Klein sagged in disappointment. A large set of stairs spiraled down into a dark pit. The group hesitated, but as Kirito took the first step onto the stairs, torches suddenly lit up, illuminating the area. Kirito gestured to the group, and as they descended the stairs at at quick pace, Kirito turned to Yui.

“Hey, Yui. Where’s Eqigard in the world tree? I mean, I haven’t heard of it in any Norse myth at all, so where did it come from?”

“I’m not sure, papa. I’ve analyzed the data I was given when we won the drawing, but nothing. My one hypothesis is that it’s from the developer’s mind, meaning it’s fictional.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“There is a boss on the final floor here, so we know it’s guarding something. Other than that, I don’t have much to give you, papa.” she replied, and Kirito nodded.

“Well, from what I know about this game, there’s always a mini-boss before each stage boss, so I wonder why we haven’t encountered one yet.” Aries said, and at that moment, they stopped at a large pair of double doors. As Kirito opened them, it gave way to a huge arena-like structure. What looked like worn stone seats circled the pit they were in. As the group entered, there was a low rumble that slowly grew louder.

“What’s that?!?!” Kirito said, and at that moment, a large gust of wind threw the group off balance, and the room suddenly became very warm. Asuna, thinking quickly, chanted a fire resistance spell. As the buff applied, there was a loud roar, and several large boulders dropped down from the ceiling. As the group tensed up, the boulders began to move. The boulders split and reformed into a clawed hand, then an arm, body, head, and legs. Then, a large pillar of flame dropped down, and struck the boulders clean in the middle, sending out jets of magma that covered the boulders. The magma then connected each boulder to the body. Blazing red eyes appeared on the head, and a mouth with jagged, black teeth formed. It roared, sending out flecks of magma in all directions. What looked like horns of flame came up next to the head, and it roared again, louder this time. Then, four HP bars appeared, along with a name and the boss marker.

THE FIREBORN-GUARDIAN OF THE EQIGARD TERMINUS

As the name appeared, it seemed to smile, before looking down at the group like a cat eyes a mouse. Kirito furrowed his brow. The group readied their weapons, as the Fireborn began to charge at them, spraying magma as it went. Kirito growled, then he launched himself at the creature, his blades ready to clash.

Boss Battle-The Fireborn

As Kirito launched himself at the boss, The Fireborn drew back its head and sprayed a massive gout of magma at him. As he dodged the blast, Sinon shot an Ice arrow straight into the boss’s face. It roared in frustration and focused on Sinon, drawing back for another blast. Kirito seized the moment and slashed twice at the boulders making up the left arm of the boss. The telltale red gashes appeared, and Kirito grinned. Suddenly, the boss swung its right arm around, straight towards him. Kirito slammed his legs into the boss’s clawed fist, and he propelled himself backwards. Taking a chance, Leafa ran straight towards the boss, jumping into the air and landing a fierce blow on the left leg. As the boss roared, Leafa suddenly pivoted her left foot, and using her momentum, threw herself back at the boss. But this time, it was ready for her. A clawed hand swiped, and Leafa was sent flying into the stands. Kirito clenched his teeth and he landed back on the ground. As Asuna chanted a healing spell, Klein and Silica rushed forward, with Kirito close behind them. The Fireborn roared and sent a clawed swipe their way, Klein jumped and pushed off the boss’s hand. Slashing with all his might, he landed a blow on the boss’s face. Silica weaved up the boss’s body, landing slashes with her dagger as she went. Kirito looked over at Leafa, who had gotten up, and then at the monster’s health bars. The boss still had two and one-third bars left. He growled in frustration.

“How are we supposed to beat this thing!” Klein said, bracing his Katana against the boss’s heavy fist.

“Kirito! His physical resistance is higher than it was before! Something’s changing his stats!” Aries yelled, while he ran past, his longsword and parrying blade held in a battle stance. As he ran toward the boss, he jumped and cartwheeled, leaving a gash down the monster’s back. As the monster’s tail slammed into him, it launched Aries into the back wall.

“How’s that possible?” Leafa said, getting up from the stands and landing next to Kirito with her sword ready. “I mean, the only thing in here is the arena and the massive amount of sand. Nothing adds up here!”

“I second thaaat!” Klein said as he was thrown straight into the wall of the arena. Silica, taking notice, leapt backwards and out of the boss’s attack range, and she landed next to Sinon.

“This guy’s gotta have a weakness. Every problem has a solution!” Aries said while he ran along the monster’s back, all the while slashing with his sword, while the boss tried to brush him off.

“I know that, Aries!” Kirito said, rushing forward. As he triggered a Sword Skill, his left blade became cloaked in flame. As he dodged a swipe from the boss, he jumped and thrusted his sword deep into the Fireborn’s forehead. Pulling up and out, he cut a long gash straight up the boss’s face. He growled, and his second sword encased itself in a bright blue aura. As the monster tried to land a ground slam with his fist, Kirito slid under the fist, just barely avoiding being crushed. He pivoted on his foot, and he spun like a top, landing three sharp blows, which were quickly covered in ice. Running out from underneath the monster’s belly, he watched as the monster roared, and the fist simply exploded into fragments, leaving nothing behind. The Fireborn roared in agony. Kirito watched as half a bar of health depleted. He smiled, and as the rest of the group pressed the advantage, Sinon drew an Ice arrow and fired. The shot went straight into the gash that Kirito had made. It exploded into frozen fragments, and the boss roared once again, the rest of the second health bar depleted. Now down to less than one bar, It roared. Suddenly, wings of magma and rock appeared on it’s back, and it took to the skies. Breathing in deeply, it suddenly exhaled and massive cone of magma and stone. As the group dodged, almost being incinerated in the process. As the group recovered, the boss summoned several floating stones. As it launched them towards the group, they suddenly exploded. All eyes turned to Sinon, who had a furrowed brow. As she nocked not one, not two, but three Ice arrows, she smiled.

“Party’s over!” she said as she shot them. All three impacted the boss’s chest. As the boss roared, the last vestiges of its health bar depleted. As the boss roared for the final time, it exploded into the familiar blue and green particles. As the message of “Congratulations!” appeared, the whole group began to cheer and check the loot they had received. Kirito smiled, but then he looked at Aries, who looked like he was in a state of thought.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering how you managed to do that thing with your sword skills. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“It’s something I call “Skill Connect.” I just rapidly chain sword skills to avoid the stun penalty. It’s nothing important.”

“Nice. Wish I could do that.” Aries said, and as they both laughed, the four stags suddenly appeared in the back of the room. As the group walked up to them, the stags seemed to bow to them.

“Well done, fairy swordsmen. You have defeated the Guardian of the Terminus. You are worthy to enter Eqigard.” they said, and a massive arch came out of the ground. The stags turned and shot four blasts of energy into the arch’s open space. A massive rainbow vortex appeared, and the stags turned to face the group again.

“Enter, and begin your journey.”

As the stags disappeared, Kirito turned at looked at the group with a smile.

“Let’s get going!” he said as he dived in. As the group followed him, light filled the arena, and all was silent.

First Steps

As the flash faded, the group saw they were in some sort of ancient ruin, bordered by a large forest. Moss covered the walls. The remains of tapestries hung listlessly in the wind. As the group recovered their senses, Kirito turned to Yui, who smiled back.

"Yui, are we?"

"We are in an area know as the Everfree forest. The main questline starts when we reach the hub area, which is due south of here. We reach there, we start the questline, which will eventually send us home, Papa." Yui said, landing on his head from a flying position.

"Well, that solves that problem! Let's get moving!" Lisbeth said, but Asuna held her back.

"I'm not sure we should just head out blind, Liz. I mean, who know what could be out there?"

"You're right. Besides, it's almost nighttime, so we should probably get some rest. Somehow, I'm feeling rather tired." Silica said, noticing the sun setting, and Pina crowed sleepily. As the group settled down, Aries pulled the hood of his cloak and a cowl over his face.

"Where you going?" Klein said, stifling a yawn.

"Off to do some scouting. I'll make sure the area's safe." Aries said, pulling away.

"Fine. Just be back soon." Klein said, before walking over and sitting down next to Kirito and Asuna. Aries smiled, and as he pulled his cowl over his mouth, he turned invisible.

"Sure thing, Klein." he whispered to himself. Then he received a notification that popped up in front of his face. Aries read it, then he smiled and closed it.

"So I can fly here. That saves me a lot of time." he said, and as he leaped into the air, he activated his wings. As he spiraled into the sky, he smiled. He then stopped and looked around. The forest seemed to border several large mountains, and in the distance, he could see what looked like a city built a mountainside. He looked further, and he saw a small town on the edge of the forest, with a golden, four pointed arrow marking it as the hub area.

"So that's the hub space. I'd better double-time it." he said to himself. As he soared towards it, he failed to notice a faint glimmer of light in the city on the mountainside...

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As Princess Celestia scanned the night sky with her sister, all was at peace. Luna had talked her into stargazing with her sister, and she had accepted. Quality time was rare now, ever since Tirek was reacaptured. She sighed at the being that had sent her, her sister, and Cadance to Tartarus. Just as she was about to curse him, Luna walked up.

"Luna, what is it?" Celestia asked, noticing the worried expression on her face.

"I have felt something...odd." she said.

"Odd how?"

"Eight strange pulses of magic have appeared in the Everfree. I do not know what it means, nor do I know what caused them."

"Eight? Seems like a bit much." Celestia mused. "Is it possible we have...visitors?"

"I do not know. We should investigate...what was that?"

"What?"

Luna suddenly grabbed the Telescope and pointed it towards the direction of Ponyville. She frowned as she looked through.

"I saw a mirage or something of the like heading towards Twilight's castle. I think it was one of the pulses I felt."

"Maybe it wasn't a mirage. Maybe one of our...visitors...can turn invisible?"

"Possibly. We should get moving. We do know exactly know if our visitors are friendly."

"I agree. We do not have much time." Celestia said as she summoned a pen and paper...

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As Aries landed in the hub area, he could see that most lights were off, but the crystalline tree structure in the middle of town, near the remains of what looked like a tree was still vibrantly lit. As he flew up towards the top, he saw an open window. Stepping in silently, he looked around.

"So I'm in someone's bedroom." he thought to himself. "I should probably go." As he slipped back out the window, he heard the door open and close. Thinking quickly, he dived to a prone position, obscuring him from view. He heard light footsteps, and he heard the window close above him. As he looked back in, he could see a small, purple, lizard-like creature had closed the window, and was now reading...wait...was that a comic book?

Aries swore, and then he saw a second light further up the tree. He looked in and swore again.

"What the hell is that?" He mouthed. Turning to fly away, he sped off with a small whoosh, and a small flash of light illuminated the air.

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Twilight looked up from her book in shock to see a small flash of light from the window. As she walked over and opened the window, she looked around. Nothing. As she turned and closed the window, she sighed.

"Memo to self-Write Celestia about seeing weird flash in middle of the night." she said as she tore off the piece of paper and stuck a thumbtack into it, she placed in on her bulletin board. As she walked downstairs, she noticed a light was still on in Spike's new room. As she peeked her head in, she saw Spike reading a comic book, as usual. She rolled her eyes and turned to leave. Then, she heard a knock on the door. As she answered it, she was shocked. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Armor were standing there, along with a few Solar and Lunar guards. As Twilight and Cadance greeted each other, Celestia and Luna, followed by Shining and the guards, walked in.

"So what's going on?" Twilight asked Cadance.

"I dunno. We just got teleported out of bed straight to Canterlot by Aunt Celestia, told about eight strange magical pulses over the everfree, and then we get teleported here, so I pretty much know as much as you do." Cadance replied.

"Yeah, I second that." Armor said, stifling a huge yawn.

"Sorry about that. Twilight, have you detected any strange occurrences tonight or at all?" Celestia said, sitting down at the table.

"Two things. One, I found a strange book called "Legends of ALfheim", and I don't know where it came from, classified under the other worlds category. Still don't know. where it came from, and neither does Spike. Two, I was re-re-re-rereading it to see if I missed anything, and I see a small white flash out of the corner of my eye. I look for whatever caused it, and whatever it is, it was gone." Twilight replied.

"Interesting. Can we see this book?"

Twilight nodded, and she set it down on the table. Celestia picked the book up with her magic, and as she flipped through the pages, her brow became more furrowed with each passing page. Finally, she set it down and sighed.

Twilight, I do not know where this book came from. It is a complete mystery to me. I did receive a guest the other day, a stallion who called himself "Heathcliff." He said he was from a world called "Aincrad," but I have heard of no world like that. he is extremely intelligent, and he brought with him two swords. I do not know how he came here, but I do wish to find out."

"This Heathcliff, what does he look like?"

"He has a pale coat, with black hair. He never goes anywhere without a lab coat, similar to what out scientists wear."

"Okay, because in the book, it says that he also goes by Akihiko Kayaba, and he's apparently supposed to be dead."

Celestia gasped, then she frowned down at the ground.

"What's wrong?" Cadance asked.

"It's nothing. But this "Kayaba", are you sure it is Heathcliff?"

"Yes. Apparently Heathcliff is a pseudonym of some sort. It's referred to as his "Admin ID." In the book, Kirito uses something called "The System", a "Pain Absorber," and a "System Login" to defeat the being known as "The Fairy King, Oberon", who had kidnapped 300 people, including Asuna, all the while her friend Kirito was searching for her, with the help of a fairy named Yui, and another named Leafa. Thing is, I have no idea what this all means, and it references something called "The Seed" that Kayaba gave Kirito, calling it "The beginnings of a new world." Apparently, Kayaba's body is dead, but his mind is still alive."

"How...how is that possible?" Luna said, shocked.

"I don't know. They must have powerful technology if they are able to preserve the mind, even after death. But, we haven't a spell to do that!" Shining said.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling that Kayaba knows how to. He's got secrets. I just know." Cadance said.

At that moment, Aries was watching from the window. While he watched the ponies talk, he grew more and more confused.

"So Asuna was a victim of the SAO incident, and so was Kirito. I know Leafa and Yui, but how do they all play into this? And how did Kayaba succeed in copying his consciousness to the net? It's a one-in-a-thousand shot!" he said to himself, but then he noticed the sun rising in to the sky. He swore promptly, remembering he promised to be back by dawn. He took off, leaving a large puff of smoke and a small poof, the ponies inside took no notice. As they continued to talk, no pony or fairy noticed the large, red dragon coming over the mountaintop with the sunrise. As Aries flew past it back to their camp, he noticed smoke rising from the camp. As he landed, he could see the group warming themselves by a fire they had made. Aries walked up and sat down. Immediately, Klein started to chew Aries out about getting too close and potentially ruining their cover, but after Aries explained himself (With a little help from Asuna and Kirito) he calmed down.

"So, watcha find out?" Silica said eagerly.

"A lot of things." Aries said, and turning to Kirito and Asuna, he frowned.

"Kayaba's here."

As expected, there was a reaction. Kirito recoiled in shock, and Asuna put her hand to her mouth in surprise. After explaining what he overheard, everyone had the same reaction.

"So, they know everything that happened when I was searching for Asuna in old ALO?" Kirito said, pulling Asuna close.

"Yeah, They don't know anything about the SAO incident, or how Kayaba played into that, but I have a feeling they'll learn soon. I think it's better that they learn about it from us, rather than him." Aries said, and Asuna nodded.

"How do you know about Heathcliff?" Kirito asked.

"I know someone who died in SAO." Aries said simply. "Moving on. We shouldn't stay here long."

"I agree. If they know about how I helped Kirito find Asuna, there could be trouble in store for us." Leafa said, staring at the ground. "How'd they find out?"

"Some book one of them found called "Legends of ALfheim." Dunno how they got it, but I'm not a fan of letting them find out any more about us. We should head over, and explain." Aries said. "Maybe, they have some explanations for our questions...At that moment, there was a load roar, and the group turned to see a large dragon assaulting the hub area. Aries then turned to Kirito.

"What should we do?"

"Once everyone's recovered their HP and MP, we move in." Kirito said. "Whether or not its a boss, we're still going to defeat it. Who's ready?"

There was a resounding "Yeah!" from the group members, and after Aries told them how to fly in this world, the group took off at high speed. After five minutes of flying, they settled themselves on a rooftop to check things out. Suffice to say, things were going badly. A pony with a white coat was shielding a pink pony and a purple pony, who was not moving. Two other ponies, one white, the other dark blue, were holding up some sort of shield to protect them. Kirito noticed a few dozen ponies in armor with spears were trying to fend off the dragon, only to be roasted or slashed by the dragon. Kirito smiled, then he began to yell.

'Hey! Idiot Dragon! Think you could leave us out?"

The dragon turned, and smiled.

"So, little fairies from ALfheim think they can defeat me." It said in a deep, hoarse voice. "I shall enjoy feasting upon your bones!"

"We'll see about that!" Kirito yelled, jumping off the roof and simultaneously drawing his swords, readying them for battle.

SEVEN MINUTES EARLIER

Twilight and the princesses sighed.

"We've gotten nowhere." an exhausted Cadance said.

"Ditto." Armor said, yawning.

"Why are the books shaking?" Luna said, and indeed they were. Suddenly, screams of sheer terror could be heard form outside, and as Twilight ran to the door and opened it, she screamed, causing the Solar and Lunar guards to ready their spears.

"What's wrong?!" Armor said, running towards his sister.

"D...D...DRAGON!" She screamed, and indeed, there was a huge red dragon with black scales assaulting the town. Ponies were screaming, running, or screaming and running at the same time. Twilight and the other princesses ran outside, and the dragon turned to face them.

"I AM FAFNIR!" It roared, before landing on all fours and glaring down at the ponies. "I AM THE RED DEATH!"

"LEAVE NOW, FAFNIR!" Celestia roared in the Royal Voice, and the dragon simply laughed.

"You do not scare me, little alicorn. Only one has been able to defeat me, and he is long dead. Now, I shall enjoy roasting your flesh!" It cackled, before readying a stream of flame. Twilight threw up a shield, and the impact of the flame upon it knocked her unconscious. Armor shielded her and Cadance before ordering the guards to subdue the dragon. As they tried, thrusting spears at Fafnir, he simply cackled and slashed with his tail, sending the guards flying. Suddenly, something began to yell.

"Hey! Idiot Dragon! Think you could just leave us out?"

Everypony present, including the dragon, turned to the voice, and saw eight winged and bipedal beings standing on a rooftop, looking down at the dragon. What seemed to be a small dragon was circling around them like a close friend. Most carried swords, but a few carried either a bow, mace, or a dagger. The strange thing about them was that they all seemed to be of different kinds or races, judging by their varying clothing and hair colors. Two of them had ears like a cat, and they even had tails to match. They were all in battle stances, with weapons drawn. Nopony spoke or did anything due to shock, but then the dragon spoke, as if he had seen them or their kind before.

"So, little fairies from ALfheim think they can defeat me." it cackled. "I will enjoy feasting upon your bones!"

One of them, clad in a black coat, smiled and laughed a little.

"We'll see about that!" it yelled as it ran and jumped into the air, with weapons drawn. As the other 'Fairies" jumped down as well, they grouped up into a formation,. Then, two green bars materialized near the head of the dragon, and a strange red object floated above the bars for all to see. Then, writing came up above the bars.

FAFNIR-THE RED DEATH

Fafnir roared and sent a massive gout of fire towards the beings. The beings jumped out of harms way, and then they began to charge, with two staying back in support positions. One of the two in the back began to chant in a strange language, and odd particles appeared around the other beings. Twilight immediately recognized what she was doing. She was using magic, or a form of it. As the other beings kept charging at Fafnir, it tore up pieces of earth and threw them at the beings. They easily dodged, but one, the black-haired one, sliced through the earth with his swords as if they were pieces of butter. It smiled, and its swords began to glow a vibrant orange and a bright blue. As it got closer, it jumped, and with the orange sword, now cloaked in fire, it sliced a deep gash where the right front leg met Fafnir's body. Then, spinning like a top, it thrust the blue sword, now cloaked in ice, into the dragon's neck. It then pulled it out upwards, leaving a huge cut. Fafnir roared in agony, and as it tried to fend off the black one, it failed to notice the yellow one charging closer. As it leaped into the air, its sword became covered in a gale of wind, and it sliced down the length of Fafnir's left front leg. The dragon screeched and let loose another blast of flame, but when it connected, some sort of red shield covered the yellow being and protected it. Then, the first cat-eared one came ever closer, and it leaped up and cut across the body of the dragon, leaving a huge gash down Fafnir's side, which was quickly covered in Ice. The ice then exploded, causing the bars to drop from green to yellow, then to red. Then, another being, wearing a green, black, and grey coat, along with the red one, rushed the dragon, launching itself into the air. It then drew a longsword and swung it behind its back, then it launched a heavy slice that went all the way down the dragon's body. Then, a massive cyclone appeared around the dragon, causing it to roar in pain. The red one then covered its sword in fire, then it slashed in a similar manner, engulfing the cyclone in fire. The first bat went from red to nothing, and the dragon screeched and dispelled the cyclone, causing the beings to flinch.

"YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME!" it roared, then it charged the beings, ready to kill. Then, the second cat-like being jumped and slammed its legs into the dragon's face. Using the blow as propulsion, it flipped and fired an arrow cloaked in ice straight into the dragon's face with expert accuracy. Then, the final being, the blue one, summoned a sword, seemingly out of nowhere, and it rushed Fafnir. It jumped into the air, and with the black one, crossed their swords into an X pattern, then slicing up and down the dragon's body, the second bar went from green to red, then to nothing. The dragon roared like never before, and it began to dissolve into blue and green particles. As the beings regrouped, the dragon exploded into nothingness. Then, as if out of nowhere, a large message displayed itself for all to see.

CONGRATULATIONS!

The beings cheered, and what looked like transparent tablets appeared in front of each member, and they were inscribed with a strange language. The ponies watched all this in sheer silence. They were scared of the dragon about to destroy their town, and they were grateful to the beings for destroying it, but who were they? Do they eat ponies? Where are they from? They contemplated all this in silence. Until one of them, wearing a black, gray, and green coat, spoke up, somehow in fluent Equestrian.

"You know, all this silence is really creeping my out. We save your town from a killer dragon, risking our lives in the process, and we get silence as a reward? I mean, the loot and XP was good, but the silence is really starting to scare me. I know your kind can speak, so, anyone talking?" apparently HE said in a kind tone. Murmurs erupted through the crowd of ponies, and the guards started to relax, but they kept their spears up. Twilight, getting up and brushing off her brother and sister-in-law, walked over to the beings. She was immediately noticed by the blue being, who tapped the black being on the shoulder. Twilight started to speak, stopped, then she mustered the courage required.

"He..hello?" she said timidly, not sure of the reaction.

"Hey. You know, for an NPC in a VRMMO, you're not acting like one I've seen before." the black being replied, with nods from the group.

"NPC? VRMMMO? What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight said, curious. "I've never heard of those terms being used anywhere."

"Well, NPC is Non-playable character, meaning any in-game entity that functions by the computer. You're on, for example." the yellow-haired one said.

"I'm not functioning by a computer, or whatever that is. I'm a living, breathing pony." she said.

"That's kinda hard to believe." the black-haired one said. "We're playing a game right now, so finding an NPC that claims not to be an NPC is like I said, hard to believe."

'Wait, game? Like a board game?" she said, confused.

"No, a video game. A VRMMO." the brown cat-like one said. "These are just our in-game avatars."

"Video game? Avatars?" Twilight said, even more shocked.

"Okay, I think we're not getting anywhere, so I think we should go somewhere private. Maybe we can get some answers if we start from the beginning." the black-haired one said, extending his left arm. "I'm Kirito."

"Kirito?" Twilight said, shocked. Pulling out the Legends of ALfheim book, she handed it to him. "As in the Kirito in this book?"

Kirito looked through it, surprised, and when he closed it, he sighed.

"Yeah, that's me. The blue one here is Asuna." he said, shrugging.

"That's Asuna? She looks a lot different then what she looked like in the book." Twilight said.

"The reason I look different was because that was a converted account from Sword Art Online. I got rid of that Avatar as soon as I could."

"Converted account? Sword Art Online? and Why'd you get rid of it?"

"You read chapter 24?" Kirito said, looking through the book quickly.

"No, I feel asleep halfway. Why?"

"If you had finished reading it, you would have found out." Kirito said with a sigh, and Twilight thought she saw an expression of "I would rather not be reminded of that." but she dismissed it. Then, Kirito sighed again.

"Look, can we go somewhere private? All of these ponies watching is creeping me out."

"Sure." Twilight said, and as she escorted the group inside the castle, with the other Alicorns following, they sat down. Kirito handed Twilight the book, and by the time she was finished, she was close to tears.

"This Sugou...or Oberon...he really did that to you?" Twilight said, shocked to her core. Asuna nodded sadly and she put her head on Kirito's shoulder and cried a little. Kirito hugged her close, and Twilight gasped. "That's...just horrible!"

''I know. He used to be my fiance', according to my father." Asuna said, still crying.

"He was your fiance'?" Twilight gasped.

"Yeah. It was all decided while my consciousness was trapped in ALO. Sugou's branch of RCT hosted the servers that held my consciousness. He blackmailed my dad using that as leverage. He's in prison now. WHERE HE BLEONGS!" Asuna nearly screamed, ponies flinched.

"Prison? On what charges?" Cadance asked.

"Kidnapping, sexual assault, attempted murder, and more." Kirito said, looking at Cadance, who gasped.

"But, Asuna, what did Sugou exactly do to you?" Armor asked. "I'm confused."

"When he stole my consciousness, he found out I was one of the ones he kidnapped to perform experiments. He kept me in a cage like a pet bird, like I was his trophy or something. After Kirito made his way to me, he teleported us to his realm. After pinning Kirito to the ground with Gravity magic, he played with his sword and the pain absorber, before impaling him so it would be hard for him to get up. Then, well, he abused me. Kirito eventually got up and suffice to say, made him pay." Asuna said, her old sense of pride, thought extinguished by Sugou Noboyuki, was burning bright.

"Please not the kind I imagine it was." Luna said, and when Asuna nodded gravely, Luna looked to the floor.

"How horrible."

"Thing is, I wasn't directly affected, since it was my avatar. But it felt like it was real. When my father found out what he did, after resigning as head of the company that supervised Sugou, he went to the police. Suffice to say, he was indicted on around ten different charges, I believe. around three of them were based on what he did to me, and the other seven were based on the testimony of 300 SAO players he performed experiments on."

"What...kinds of experiments?" Celestia asked.

"Suffice to say, he was delusional. He wanted to basically turn himself into a god or something like that. the "experiments" he performed on the players were simply put, horrifying and completely inhumane."

"That's...insane, to say the least." Celestia said, holding back tears.

"I know. Thing is, he treasured me like some sort of pet. He never performed any of the experiments on me, though. He's now in prison, like I said, serving a couple life sentences."

"That's good to hear. He should have died, in my opinion, for what he did." Armor said.

"Yeah. Thing is, when I was holding a knife, Sugou's knife, to his throat after I slammed his head into a car door, I thought about doing it. What he did to Asuna, right in front of my eyes, was simply unforgivable. But something made me spare him. It's as if he deserved to die, but I shouldn't be the one to do it. I decided to leave him for the police and to head to where Asuna was. Thing is, I heard that at the trial, one of the SAO players he performed experiments on told a couple of reporters that he honestly wanted him dead for what he did. The judge kept him alive, but he'll never in his life be able to do what he did ever again. Thing is, I've learned to move on. I think it's time we get off this subject. I think Asuna's had enough." Kirito said, noticing Asuna shedding tears freely. "Anywhere she can get some rest? She's pretty exhausted from the battle, and this is only making it worse."

"I'll help with that." Twilight said, and as Kirito escorted a crying Asuna upstairs, followed by Twilight, Cadance turned to the remaining players.

"So, uh, care to explain what exactly led to all this happening?"

'May take a while, but I think we should take a break. Probably it'll be easier to explain when Kirito and Asuna are present. Besides, I know my brother, and he really cares about her." Leafa said, and Yui, who was sitting on her shoulder, nodded.

"You're Kirito's sister?" Celestia asked. "You don't...well..."

"It's fine, and yes. My name's Suguha, or Sugu, in real life. Kirito is just my brother Kazuto's avatar name. Here, or in game in ALO, I go by Leafa, he goes by Kirito. We all go by nicknames when we're in-game. It's pretty much universally accepted digital etiquette. Sinon here (She pointed to the blue cat-like one) is Shino Asada. Lisbeth (She gestured to the pink one) is actually Rika. Silica here (Motioning towards the second cat-like being) is Keiko. Klein here (She motioned to the red one, who smiled.) is Ryotaro. Asuna used her real name for her avatar, so in both worlds, living and digital, she's Asuna. Yui here (She motioned to the small being, who smiled.) is a program brother and Asuna adopted when they were stuck in SAO. She managed to stay with Brother after he searched for Asuna in the old version of ALO. Now, she's a navigation pixie. She really helps us out, in more ways than one."

"Interesting." Armor said. "You all go by aliases when you are, so you say, "In-game?""

"Yes. Using your real name for your avatar in any game is generally regarded as a bad decision. It could give away info that you'd want to keep private, such as your real name, phone number, home address, anything like that you'd want to keep private. But hey, we're all tired, so, can we get some sleep?" Leafa asked, with nods and yawns coming from the group.

"Sure, I got a spare bedroom up here. Asuna and Kirito are already there, so you can sleep there if you like." Twilight said, as she had just come down from upstairs. As the fairies walked upstairs, Armor motioned to Cadance.

"They are pretty interesting. I think there's a lot we can learn from them."

"I agree. C'mon, let's head home. We can always come back here later."

As the two of them teleported out, Celestia turned to Luna.

"We should go, sister. Like Cadance said, we can always drop by later."

"Agreed."

As they teleported out as well, in the spare bedroom, Twilight was helping Klein with a few sleeping bags. Kirito, meanwhile, was sitting next to Asuna, who was sound asleep. As he got up to sit next to Leafa, he smiled.

"Maybe tomorrow we can learn more." Kirito said, and as he was drawn into the conversation between Klein and Sinon, Twilight walked out, and as he looked back into the room, she smiled.

"That went well..."

"WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?" said a shocked voice.

All eyes turned to the small dragon in doorway. Twilight facepalmed, and the dragon passed out. Kirito began to laugh, and it spread rapidly. Soon, the dragon woke up.

"Okay, what's so funny?"

Train Ride to Destiny

As Twilight woke up, instinct drove her to look out the window. She sighed. Nothing out of the ordinary. Guards and townsponies were repairing the damage done from the battle. As she walked out of her bedroom, she could hear talking coming from the guest bedroom. As she poked her head in, she rolled her eyes. Kirito and Asuna were sitting together on the bed, with Asuna's head on Kirito's shoulder. Leafa, Sinon, Klein, Lisbeth, and Silica were chatting, while Aries watched while he read a book. Twilight looked in a little more, and she saw Spike sleeping on the bed, completely conked out from last night.

"Morning." She said, and everyone looked her way, and they smiled.

"Morning." Asuna said, wiping her eyes. "How are you doing?"

"Fine. What happened to Spike?"

"Oh, he passed out after we told him what we were. Rather hilarious." Aries said, shutting his book and walking over.

"That's good to hear." Twilight said.

"You know what? I'm actually pretty hungry." Klein said, and his stomach growled, giving Kirito an apprehensive look.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"You don't know how much Klein can eat in one sitting." Asuna said, chuckling a bit. "We found that out the hard way."

"Hey! I thought that party was forgotten about!" Klein said indignantly. "I thought you guys forgave me for that!"

"Not on your life, sport." Lisbeth said, "Anyways, should we get a bite?"

"Yeah. Twi? Any recommendations?" Aries asked.

"Sugarcube Corner is around the block. It's my friend Pinkie's bakery. Believe me, she knows how to bake."

"Sounds good to me." Kirito said. "We should put our weapons in our inventory. Just so we don't frighten anyone."

Everyone nodded. As they made a strange motion with their hands, the strange white tablets appeared. They tapped them a few times, and their weapons disappeared into blue energy. Twilight was dumbstruck.

"What was that?" Twilight said. "Another In-game skill?"

"Nope. We just put our gear in out inventories. Just item storage." Silica said, and Pina crowed and flew up onto her head.

"You never actually told me what that is." Twilight said, and Silica laughed.

"This dear here is Pina, my Familiar. I met her in SAO. I'm a Beast Tamer, and my race, the Cait-Sith, are naturals in that aspect. He's a little cutie!" SIlica said, and Pina gave her a little lick on the cheek, which made her laugh.

"That's adorable!" Twilight said, and Pina crowed in response.

"I know that this is fun and all, but we should get moving. Twi, what's this Pinkie pony like?" Kirito asked as they walked down the stairs.

"She's a party planner to the 999th degree. She has a cannon that shoots out confetti and balloons everywhere. I still don't know how it works. Thing is, she's always rambling, doing something, eating, baking, or all of those at once. She'll probably throw you a party when we get there. She's that kind of pony." Twilight said, walking out the door, with the group following. After a brief walk (with a few stops to respond to grateful ponies thanking them for getting rid of the dragon) they arrived. As they walked up, Klein suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"It just seems that house was made by a insane gingerbread man. Or something like that." He said, with his eyes bulging. Even as the group walked forward, Klein stayed still. Even after a few attempts to snap him into reality, they failed.

"He's shocked still!" Silica said, doubling over in laughter.

"Yeah. I can see why." Aries said, and he promptly slapped Klein across the face, snapping him about of his stupor.

"OW!" he yelled, and Aries cracked up, and so did most of the group. After dodging a few punches, they walked in. Ponies whispered and murmured as they sat down. As they took seats by the window, Kirito turned to Asuna.

"So, get any feeling this is similar to Agil's bar back IRL?" he said, and Asuna smiled.

"Yeah, I'm getting that vibe." Asuna replied, and they hugged again. Lisbeth shrugged and as Klein sat down, still mumbling about getting payback for the slap, Pinkie arrived to take orders. Seeing the group of fairies, she gasped rather loudly, causing a few ponies to cover their ears. After some unintelligible ranting, she ran off. Then she came back, this time with a steel gray cannon that intimidated a lot of the group, save Twilight

"Brace yourselves." Twilight said, and the group took her advice. As Pinkie fired, a boatload of confetti, streamers, and a Vanilla creme cake flew straight into Klein's face. As the cake and decorations slid off, Pinkie (Now carrying a platter) caught them as it fell, and somehow now holding a washcloth, wiped Klein's face rather vigorously, despite is muffled protests. As she finished, his face was red, although clean.

"That...was unexpected." Sinon said flatly, echoing the thoughts of every group member.

"Imagine her at the party we threw for you for escaping SAO." Asuna said fondly.

"Yeah. Even without Pinkie there, it was enough for me. Even the drinks." Kirito said, sighing. "Not sure how Agil would react to having a hyperactive pink pony racing around his bar."

"Yeah, I don't think he'd be rather fond of that." she said, and as they conversed, the group was suddenly bombarded by a barrage of balloons. As they sat dumbfounded, they eventually looked up, to see Pinkie dumping a crate-load of balloons on them.

"Wait, she was on the ground literally ten seconds ago. How'd she get up there?" Aries said, exceptionally confused.

"It's what we refer as Pinkie being Pinkie." Twilight said sheepishly. "She's always like that. Hyperactive and hyper-fond of new ponies, or in your case, fairies/humans."

"Yeah. I can see where that came from." Asuna said, while Kirito laughed. At that moment, Pinkie came back, this time on roller skates, carrying a load of pastries and cold/warm drinks. As she handed Twilight the bill, the others dug in. Suddenly, a scroll popped up right in front of Twilight's face. As she opened it, she smiled, then raised her eyebrows, then frowned.

"What's up?" Klein asked.

"Celestia wants to bring you all to Canterlot for a conference or something like that. Apparently a few nobles have heard about your "heroic" deeds, and they want to reward you, thanks to Celestia. Plus, I think I'm due for a trip to the capital. Just be warned. A few nobles there aren't exactly "welcoming" to unfamiliar things, such as extraterrestrials." Twilight said. "And, you can explain a few things on the ride there."

"Okay. How are we getting there?" Aries said.

"Steam train." Twilight said, and Aries hardly suppressed a giggle.

"What's up with that?"

"We stopped using the steam engine in the 1800's. It's currently 2025. We have bullet trains that can reach a few hundred miles per hour faster than a steam engine's top speed." Aries said.

Twilight was genuinely shocked. "For 200 years you haven't used them? The steam engine was one of our biggest innovations!"

"Just like the gasoline engine was for us. Or the tech we need for magnetic levitation. Very long story about both." Aries said noting Twilight's shocked and curious look. "We should get moving."

"Agreed. If I ever go to your IRL world, I should probably read up."

"Yeah." Aries said. After Twilight paid for their orders, they walked outside. As Twilight ran up to them, the train arrived. Suddenly, Twilight gasped.

"Be right back!" she suddenly said, and there was a bright flash. After around thirty seconds, she was back, this time with a bunch of ponies. They were assorted as the loot in a New Aincrad dungeon. One of them, a Rainbow colored one, saw them and got into a charging position. Then, it a blitz, she charged Kirito. Kirito sidestepped and elbowed the pony to the ground. Before anything else could happen, Twilight's magic aura covered the pony and dragged her over to Twilight side.

"Friend of yours, Twilight?" Kirito said angrily.

"BUCK YOU, ALIEN!" the pony roared.

"In case you didn't see it, WE got rid of the dragon that was attacking the town. Notice that, little miss attack-everything-in-sight?" Klein said jokingly.

"So what? You got rid of a dragon? nnniiiccceee." she said sarcastically. "You are nothing more than...mrph!" Twilight's purple hoof had been shoved into the pony's mouth.

"Sorry about Rainbow." Twilight said. "She's egotistical and a bit hostile to things she's unfamiliar with." A loud "MRPH!" from Rainbow only reinforced that.

"Ah second that." a tan pony said, and she extended her hoof in greeting. "Applejack. Sorry about Dashie, friend."

"No probs. I'm Kirito."

As introductions went around, Rainbow tried, many times, to break free of Twilight's aura to get at each group member. She failed every time. As the conductor yelled "All Aboard!", they boarded the train and found seats for themselves. Twilight released Rainbow and quickly regretted it as she instead of going for Kirito, she charged straight at Asuna. Kirito launched himself at her, and as they grappled, Lisbeth sighed.

"He'll do anything for Asuna. You should have known that."

"Hmph!" was Rainbow's reply. After three minutes of wrestling, Kirito had Rainbow pinned to the floor. After some rather rude remarks from Rainbow, she agreed to stop. Kirito released her, and she flew as far away from them as possible and began to pout.

"So, ready to explain?" Twilight asked.

"Hope you're ready for a very long story." Kirito said , with a small laugh.

"Let's get started."

As the train began to move, the conversation began.

Explaining a Few Things

As the train began to move, the group began to make themselves at home. Asuna and Kirito immediately curled next to a window. Aries and Leafa began to chat, and the rest started do their own thing. Twilight looked at the group with interest. Deep interest.

"They're so tight knit, those two." Twilight thought. "But why?"

"Well, I guess we should start explaining a few things." Kirito said suddenly, and Asuna nodded. "Well, what's first?"

"What's the "Sword Art Online" you keep mentioning? Is it another game?"

When they heard this, everyone looked down at the ground. Kirito sighed, and he began to speak.

"Sword Art Online was in fact, another game. It was one of the most hyped games ever. But it held a deadly secret."

"Deadly?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Yes. Once you logged into the game, you couldn't log out normally. The only way to get out of the game was to die. And before you asked, there was a penalty to dying. The penalty being you died. In real life. Permanently." Kirito said, and everypony in the room gasped.

"How many died?" Twilight asked.

"10,000 started, barely half survived." Asuna said sadly.

At this, there were severe reactions. Fluttershy began to sob wildly, and Pinkie's mane deflated. Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack's jaws dropped in a severe state of shock. Twilight just stood there dumbfounded.

"Who...who would do something like that?" Twilight said, now filled with rage.

"A man by the name of Akihiko Kayaba. I respect him, for a different reason. In the book, it says that "an old friend" gave me Heathcliff's ID. In reality, that friend was Kayaba. he also brought Asuna back to life after she sacrificed herself. And me as well." Kirito said.

"And there's another thing. the now-deceased Absolute Sword, who I knew as a close friend, her life was kept going by Kayaba's technology. I just learned that from the hospital staff." Asuna said.

"Absolute Sword?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. Yuuki, or Absolute Sword, was an exceptional player and swordsman. She was the second of a group known as Sleeping Knights. IRL, they were terminally ill medical patients who were playing ALO for medical and rehabilitation reasons. She even beat Kirito, before I dueled her. That match ended in a draw. We had a lot of fun together. When she as about to die in the real world, we logged her in to ALO as a tribute. She died in my arms, viewed by thousands. I still have her original sword skill, Mother's Rosario, with me. In a way, I'm her legacy." Asuna said.

"May she rest in peace." Twilight said, and the group bowed their heads in respect.

"Yeah. She called me her older sister a few times. But, let's get off this. subject. I'm not sure I want to end up like I did last night." Asuna said, and as they continued to speak, Aries noticed Rarity's suitcase was moving, and he drew his longsword, drawing everyone's attention.

"Aries? What's up?" Pinkie said, somehow now holding a pie like a weapon.

"I saw that suitcase move. Stand back."

Aries opened it, and to his surprise, three fillies were in there. They each had very frightened expressions on, and they were even more frightened by the longsword Aries was wielding. They started to stammer wildly, but a wave of Aries's hand silenced them.

"Okay. I can tell you are friends with Rarity, so...WHY DID YOU SNEAK INTO HER LUGGAGE!?" he yelled, and they flinched.

"Misterwedidn'tmeananyharmonlywantedtoseethealiensthatgotridofthedragonintownandscootaloothoughtitwasagoodidea!" the first one, a tan yellow said, and at the last few words, they began to argue.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault! Sweetie was the one that wanted to sneak out!" "Scotaloo" said angrily.

"HEY! You were the one to think it was a good idea to sneak out using my sister's luggage! And besides, Applebloom was the one to tell us about the dragon!" "Sweetie" said furiously.

"HEY!" "The first one to speak said, and they began to argue even more furiously. As the ponies facehoofed and the fairies groaned, Klein immediately burst out laughing, much to Twilight's perplexion.

"What's so funny, mister?" they all said simultaneously, glaring at Klein.

"You three are just the weirdest ponies I've ever seen. And that's saying something." Klein said, wiping away a tear.

"Nevertheless, you three are in BIG trouble. Ever since you got your cutie marks, you've been acting all high-and-mighty. I told you TO STAY HOME. EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!" Rarity said sternly.

"Well, we wanted to meet the aliens that saved the town from that dragon, so we went over to Twilight's place to see them. Problem is, you had already left for the train. When we tried to convince Rarity to take us with her, she refused, saying it wasn't our business. So we, well, you know the rest. We snuck on in Rarity's luggage." they confessed.

"You three, as I said, are in BIG trouble. Find a spare bedroom and STAY THERE, and you DO NOT want to find out what happens if you eavesdrop on us. Understand?" Rarity said, and the three of them walked out sadly. After they closed the door, the ponies all sighed.

"What was all that?" Aries asked.

"Oh, just Rarity and AJ's little sisters and their friend. They hadn't received their cutie marks until recently. Before that, they were always pulling off insane schemes to get them, often failing. Just so you know, the cutie mark is what shows a pony's special talent. You get them when you find it here." Twilight said.

"Okay. So, back to SAO. After Asuna, myself, and the other players escaped, we had a lot of things set up by the government for us to make our transitions easier. Thing is, Asuna went missing. I didn't know she and 300 SAO players had been captured by Sugou. The book you found, Legends of ALfheim, is basically what happened during my search for her. It doesn't go into much detail of about what happened in the real world. After I reunited with Asuna, the police came and arrested Sugou. When he was in custody, he denied everything and tried to pin everything on Kayaba..."

"That's so WRONG! He knew what he did! Why would he deny it?" Twilight yelled.

"Dunno. But, as I was saying, after they questioned one of the people that Sugou employed, he confessed. When this became public, there was a HUGE outcry. The branch that preformed the experiments was forced to shut down. And the head company, RCT HQ, also took a big hit. With all the other VRMMOs in the pipe for development, their days were numbered, due to all the negative press and public outcry. Thing is, after I visited Asuna at the hospital, I took "The Seed" over to Agil, one of the SAO survivors, and a close friend and expert programmer, and he analyzed it. Turns out, it was a full-dive MMO that he developed, based off a stripped-down Cardinal system that had run SAO. He had modified it so anyone with access to an ordinary server could run it and easily make their own virtual world. That was exactly what the dying genre needed to be revived. ALO was revived under a new company, who decided to keep it up and running. Ymir is still updating it regularly, with a bunch of stuff from SAO, including the floating castle, Aincrad. Aincrad being the castle we had to conquer to escape SAO. A bunch of people we knew attending the opening ceremonies for the game, and it has not disappointed since. But, after a bunch of time had passed, I was asked for help by the Japanese government."

"Why?" Rarity asked. "Why would the government asked you for help?"

"Because there had been a string of deaths attributed to a player named "Death Gun." Basically, they were diving, or playing games with the NervGear, when they died without any known cause. They had recently died in the VRMMO known as GunGale Online, where if they were shot by Death Gun's pistol, they died in real life too. Basically making an atmosphere of fear. Since no one took them seriously, they decided to televise them during the BulletOfBullets tournament, which Sinon and I were participating in. I found out that they were members of the guild called Laughing Coffin, who in SAO, murdered other players. We raided their base, and a lot of them committed suicide rather than face judgement. Even though they were wiped out, a few survived and formed Death Gun. They had killed two people and attempted to kill us during the BoB, but we escaped. After a showdown with the in-game DeathGun, I killed him, and the second one, IRL, tried to kill Sinon. I managed to fight him off, and she escaped. We later found out they were using a drug that stopped the heart instantly, even with a tiny amount, to commit the killings. The founders of DeathGun were caught and arrested. So, whey won't be harming anyone soon." With this, the ponies sighed in relief.

"That's savage!" Rarity yelled.

"Yep. It really is. After that, Sinon and I became friends IRL. When, in ALO, a few people reported they had gotten a quest for powerful weapon in the game, the holy sword Excalibur, we had to get it. After getting a strange quest from a NPC, we completed it. Klein fell for a guy during that adventure. The girl we knew as "Freyja", from ancient Norse myth, was actually a disguised Thor, the ancient Norse god of thunder, who was represented in game via computer tech. Klein totally fell for her/him."

At this, Klein's face went crimson red.

"Heh. Anyway, I got the sword, thanks to Sinon, who inspired me to keep it. It's in my inventory, so I have it with me." Kirito finished, then he sighed in exhaustion, before leaning back on the sofa and passing out. At this, every pony and fairy in the room laughed. After the laughter died down, Asuna asked how much longer it would be to the capital.

"A few more hours. It's almost nighttime, so we should get some sleep." Twilight said, and as Asuna woke Kirito, the group walked over to the bedroom car. As they slid the doors open, with Asuna bunking with Sinon, and Kirito with Aries, the ponies waved goodnight. But outside, the wind whistling in it's ears, a monster watched from the windows. It's two blue eyes gleamed as it found its targets. As it snarled and flew off, a storm cloud gathered over the train...

Boss Battle-The Thousand Winds

As the train rolled slowly into the station, a few ponies were starting to notice the stormclouds that were gathering. As the group and the ponies woke up, they walked out onto the platform. By this time, it had begun to rain heavily. Several ponies were now ducking inside, and Asuna had to chant a water resistance spell to keep the group from being soaked. As they walked into the train station, they were greeted by Celestia, Luna, Armor, and Cadance, who had a nice reunion with Twilight.

"You sleep alright? You looked pretty torn up when I last saw you." Armor said to Asuna, who shrugged.

"Nothing a good night's rest won't fix. To answer your question, I slept fine."

"Sounds good, Asuna, was it?" Cadance asked.

"Yes. How'd you know my name?"

"Twi sent us a letter with a list of your names, just so we could skip introductions." Armor said, and Asuna nodded, seeing the point. Aries turned to Celestia.

"Those storm clouds don't look friendly. Seems like a hurricane's brewing to me. And trust me, IRL, we live in a rather storm-prone nation."

"The Pegasi can handle it. They usually are able to control the storm clouds..." Celestia started, but at that moment, a Pegasi pony in blue clothing flew in, followed by two others in similar clothing.

"Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot. What happened?" Celestia asked, shocked The ponies's uniforms were drenched, and they looked rather winded.

"Those clouds. We couldn't move them at all. It's like they didn't exist. Whenever we got close to them, the winds intensified. Almost like they were alive!" the lead one said, taking off her glasses, revealing a bright orange coat and red hair.

"Interesting..." Luna said, then the winds intensified, and Aries sped towards the window for a better look. The group of ponies and fairies then heard an audible screech over the gale, like metal on a chalkboard.

"What's that?" Fluttershy stammered.

"TORNADO! Headed right for us!" Aries yelled. As the ponies hid, the group stayed in the open. Asuna chanted resistance spells, and as the buffs took effect, the Tornado reached the city limits. Then, Silica cried out.

"IT's GROWING ARMS!"

And sure enough, two separate cyclones formed and quickly turned into skeletal, wind-covered limbs. Then, a massive vortex appeared in the front of the tornado, and what looked like a jagged mouth and eyes appeared, gleaming obsidian black. It opened its mouth and roared a deafening screech. Then, the cyclone exploded around half-way up, revealing a skeleton like body, with two tornadoes for legs. As the storm started to intensify, it reached the train station, and grasping the roof, pulled it clean off. Roaring at the group, it raised its hand, ready to crush them. Twilight shot a bolt of magic at it, but it simply dissipated due to the sheer power of the winds. Kirito growled, and summoning his two longswords, sped outside, followed by the group. Staying inside the station, Sinon readied her bow while Asuna readied her sword in one hand and her staff in the other. As the group prepared themselves, three HP bars and a boss marker appeared, followed by a name.

THE THOUSAND WINDS

As the ponies gasped at the boss, it roared once again. Kirito growled and he began to charge straight at it, readying a fire sword skill. The boss scowled and drew in a deep breath. It exhaled, sending a massive vortex of air towards him. Kirito was thrown backwards, sending him through the window. Leafa yelled and charged at the boss, slicing a gash straight across the boss's face. It recoiled in shock, and seizing the chance, Klein, Silica, and Lisbeth charged as well. Silica leaped off the wall of the train station, then she sliced clean down the boss's front. Lisbeth charged a sword skill and slammed her mace straight into the boss's right arm, impaling it in the process. Klein jumped and slashed straight down the boss's left arm, cutting a huge gash. The boss roared, its first HP bar depleted. Yui then cried out form her perch on Asuna's shoulder.

"Cyclone storm attack in three seconds!"

Kirito growled.

"Two!"

The group readied themselves.

"One!"

The Thousand Winds sucked in a huge breath.

"ZERO!"

The boss exhaled violently, causing a massive vortex of air to speed straight towards the train station. Celestia shot a pillar of light into the sky, and a shield came up, only to be smashed to pieces by the attack. As the building collapsed, Kirito and the others stood in shock, only to hear a "pop!" and the ponies, Yui, Sinon, and Asuna were standing outside, with a severely exhausted Twilight.

"Did she just teleport them out?" Aries said while he braced his sword against the boss's right fist, which was about to crush him.

"Yep." Twilight gasped out before she collapsed. Armor and Cadance's horns glowed, and the wreckage formed into a U-shaped wall. Armor yelled over the din.

"She's fine! Kill that thing!"

Kirito gave Armor a thumbs-up, and he smiled.

"With pleasure."

As the group charged again, the boss roared, and sent two separate tornadoes hurtling towards them. Kirito, leading the group, slashed through them, and continued to charge. Readying his left longsword, he cloaked it in flame and thrusted it several times, before slashing a horizontal cut deep into the boss's body. Then, channeling a second skill, he jumped up and slashed down the boss's spine. As it roared in Agony, it raised its hands above its head, and a huge vortex appeared. Then, lowering it like a cannon, aimed it at the fairy swordsmen. Growling, a horizontal blast of air sent the group flying backwards, dealing severe damage to them. Then, a stream of fire arrows impaled themselves in the boss's forehead. Sinon charged and jumped, climbing the boss's rib-cage like a ladder. Leaping to the nape of the boss's neck, she readied an Ice arrow. Shooting it straight through, she leaped up and over the boss's head, landing next to Kirito. The boss roared as the ice surrounding the wound exploded, dealing massive damage and draining the second health bar. Kirito looked to the group, and yelled.

"Hit it now! Hit it as hard as you can!"

As the group charged, Asuna drew her sword and sped towards the group. Leaping, she drove her blade straight through the Wind's face. Pulling it out and spinning at the same time, she split the boss's face in two, followed by a cone of yellow energy enveloping the boss. Leaping back, she watched as Silica drove her dagger three times in successive thrusts into the boss's legs. As the boss toppled, Leafa slashed five times, followed by a large thrust that impaled the boss's spine. As it tried to stand up, Lisbeth dove in from above and slammed her charged mace deep into the crack generated by Leafa's thrust. Roaring louder than it did before, it tried to stand up again, only to have three repeated slashes from Klein's katana carve themselves deep. As the boss reached the last sliver of health, Aries rushed forward suddenly, and jumped into the air. Then, he began to slash, carve, and gouge with blasts of wind echoing the damage. Then, he dived and drove his sword straight into the crippled boss. As the boss roared even louder, Aries twisted his sword and pulled up and out, slicing the spine in two. As the boss's last sliver of health disappeared, it disintegrated into the familiar blue and green particles. Then, the clouds began to clear, and the message of CONGRATULATIONS! appeared, the group celebrated;. Klein stormed his way over to Aries, who was sheathing his longsword.

"What the hell was that?" Klein said, drawing the ponies's and the group's attention. Aries sighed.

"Do I really have to explain? That, my friends, was my most powerful Original Sword Skill, Wind's Edict."

"Wind's Edict?" Klein said, stammering.

"Yep. Long story abut how I did it."

"That had to be AT LEAST 7 hits! That was INCREDIBLE!" Silica said, and Pina crowed approvingly.

"9, actually." he said sheepishly.

"Regardless, that was impressive. So, what now?" he said, turning to the ponies that were walking up.

"We head to the palace for the conference. I think the nobles are now EVEN MORE in debt to you." Celestia said, and the fairies laughed, along with the group. As they departed, a familiar face watched from a castle window. A white lab coat complemented his tan coat and black hair. He smiled at the familiar faces of the group.

"Guess we'll be meeting sooner than I thought, Asuna and Kirito." he smiled, then he walked off the balcony and towards the conference room.

The Sleeping Knight Awakens...

As the group filed into the conference room, Kirito smiled at the design. Plain stone, with a few decorations. He shrugged and sat down nex tto Asuna, who smiled and began to lean her head on his shoulder. Aries sat down next to Leafa, with Klein, Silica, Lisbeth, and Sinon filling the remaining slots. As the ponies sat themselves down, Luna cleared her throat.

"So, where are you fairies from?"

"There are actually two answers to that, Princess. One answer is the virtual world of ALfheim, often referred to as ALO. It's completely fake, and the "fairies" before you are just in-game avatars. Somehow, through a random selection to beta-test, which means basically check something unreleased for things that could go wrong, the new expansion and hub area for ALO, Eqigard. After beating a game-built boss, or ultimate enemy for a stage, we entered a portal. Somehow, we ended up in this world. The second Answer is the real-life, completely real, nation of Japan, on the planet Earth. We have lives, friends, homes, everything is separate from ALO. We use a device called the AmuSphere to connect to ALO. Basically, we use our minds to guide our avatars. I really don't know how it works, but it does its job, and that's what matters." Kirito said, noticing Twilight had a notepad and pencil now, and was writing down everything he had said.

"Impressive. Your kind seems to be very advanced."

"In real life, or IRL, we've existed for millions of years. It's 2026 back on earth. Humans are, for one thing, creative. We're always inventing something new. A few interesting things we've created. Instant mass communication, even around the world. VRMMOs like ALO. The Internet, which is basically a world-wide data network you can access anytime using a device we call a computer. The computer is actually what runs the VRMMO, the NervGear just moves our minds into the computer. There's a lot more we've invented, but a full description of human history would take, a few years just to cover the basics."

The ponies in the room gasped.

"Exactly like that!" Klein quipped.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and it opened, revealing a pony in a smart suit, who did not look pleased. Kirito thought he heard Celestia swear under her breath.

"Auntie, I go away for three days on vacation, and you invite these...CREATURES...into the palace? What were you thinking."

"Blueblood, depart from us. They are our honored guests, and they have done more for us in two days then you have done in your whole LIFE!" Luna said.

"Guests? These creatures are your guests? You must be insan...URK!"

Kirito had pressed his his black longsword to his throat. And Asuna stood up and summoned hers.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't care an iota about it. First of all, we are fairies of ALfheim, not "creatures." Two. We slew a rogue dragon attacking Ponyville AND another monster that was attacking this city, and we did it with no pony being hurt. THREE. If you don't shut up and leave, well, I don't think you want to find out what i'm capable of, what THE BLACK SWORDSMAN is capable of. (Asuna smiled at the mention of the fabled name) Understand, you ignorant bonehead?"

"Why should I be scared of you?"

Kirito smiled.

"You really think you're so high and mighty? Like you're some sort of god?"

Blueblood scoffed.

"I take it that's a yes. And i'll tell you what happened to a person that tried to become a god. First, I slashed his face."

Blueblood frowned.

"Then, I cut one of his hands clean off."

Blueblood started to sweat.

"Then, I slashed him into two pieces, and I picked up his still-living top half by the head."

Blueblood squeaked in fright.

"Then, I thew what remained of his body into the air, and impaled his head on the tip of my sword, blinding and scarring him for life. That's pretty darn close to what i'm going to do to you if you don't apologize, leave, and NEVER BOTHER US AGAIN for AS LONG AS WE ARE HERE. Understand?"

Blueblood's face was absolutely mortified. He squeaked an "I'm sorry." and he bowed, then he walked out the door, shivering in fright. Kirito smiled and shut the door, and pretty soon, Klein began to clap. After a few seconds, everyone else in the room was clapping. Celestia in particular.

"A bit showy, but effective." Asuna quipped as she sat back down.

"Heh, it worked." Kirito said.

"That was certainly impressive. I know my nephew, for that was who he was, to be a royal pain in my flank, but to insult you after what you did for Canterlot was the last straw. I'm going to have a talk with him at the gala."

"Gala?' Sinon said, curious.

"The Grand Galloping Gala is one of the biggest events in Equestria. The creme de la creme of the elite attend. It's a rather big thing to get a ticket. Twilight and her friends have attended a few times. It actually takes place tomorrow night."

"Mind if we attend? I think I have a plan to get the ponies to like us."

"Do tell." Celestia said with a mischievous smile.

Kirito walked up and whispered in Celestia's ear, getting a large smile from the ruler.

"I think that sounds like a plan. Formal attire for you body shape will be a problem."

"I think I can help with that. I will have to adjust my methods, but I think I can whip up a few tuxes and a few dresses in no time!" Rarity said.

"Thanks." Kirito said.

Suddenly, a notification message appeared in front of Celestia.

SYSTEM LOGIN-ID HEATHCLIFF

SYSTEM LOGIN ACCEPTED

SYSTEM EXECUTING PROTOCOL SLPK-01

PROTOCOL EXECUTED

SPAWNING PLAYER

Then, a white body appeared, followed by the sigil for the Imp race. As features took shape, Asuna gasped loudly. Then, clothing appeared, along with a sword. As the fairy collapsed to the table, Asuna ran over. As the fairy stirred, she looked Asuna straight in the eye and she began to cry. Asuna smiled and began to hug the fairy.

"It's okay. It's okay." Asuna said.

"How am I here?" the fairy said. "I'm dead. How am I alive?"

"That doesn't matter now."

"Asuna? Is that who I think it is?" Kirito said, shocked.

"Yes." the fairy said, standing up.

"Asuna." she said tearfully, before hugging her again. "I missed you!"

"So did I." Asuna said, now shedding a tear. "Yuuki."

A Grand Galloping...Wait! Let's Get Ready!

Yuuki stood up slowly and shakily, helped by Asuna and Kirito. As she reached for her sword, she smiled. She drew it and after a flew flourishes and test slashes, she sheathed it once again. The ponies were completely speechless, until Twilight found her voice.

"Yuuki...wait. Yuuki? As in the Absolute Sword Yuuki? The one that died?" Twilight said, shocked. "The one you said BEAT Kirito in a duel?"

"The very same." Yuuki said proudly.

"I was only using one sword, by the way." Kirito said, earning him a playful shove from Asuna.

"Wow. Honored to meet you."

"No problem. By the way, Asuna, how's the guild doing?"

"They're doing fine. Better than fine, actually. We put up a little grave marker near the tree you died upon."

"Nice. So, Kirito? Mind If I join the party?"

She sent the request, and Kirito accepted. As she got acquainted with the other group members, two Guards arrived.

"The princesses wanted us to escort you to the rooms you'll be staying in. This way, please."

After a few minutes of walking and separation from the ponies, they arrived at an apartment with two rooms bordering one large room. It was decorated nicely, but not extravagantly. Couches, tables, bookshelves, it was almost like home. The guards saluted, then left. As the group explored, Kirito flopped on the couch with Asuna and Yuuki. Aries found a chess set somehow and started a game with Leafa. Lisbeth, Klein, Silica, and Sinon walked into different rooms. After around thirty minutes of relaxation, Rarity arrived, levitating a crate. As she opened it, it expanded like a tackle box, revealing sewing paraphernalia, bolts of cloth, and miscellaneous sewing gear.

"Ladies first." Rarity said with a smile, and as she whisked the girls and Yui, who was sitting on Asuna's shoulder, into a separate room and closed the door, Aries turned to Kirito, who turned to Klein, who blushed and smiled evily.

"Don't get any stupid ideas." They both said to Klein rather sternly.

"Hey. Guy can dream, can't he?"

"Suddenly, a message appeared in front of Klein.

DON'T YOU DARE GET ANY STUPID IDEAS, KLEIN

THE GIRLS

While Klein facepalmed and began to mope once again, Kirito and Aries began to laugh hysterically at his misfortune. After getting Klein to put down the vase he was about to throw at them, they settled down. Klein scavenged a pack of playing cards off a bookshelf, and halfway into their game, the door opened. Rarity motioned for them to come in, and they did. And they promptly gasped. Silica was wearing a small navy blue dress with a small yellow mantle and hairband. Pina was crowing excitedly from her perch on her hair. Sinon was wearing a forest green dress, with inscribed gold markings on the skirt. Her quiver was still present. Lisbeth was wearing a trouser set with a small skirt, colored a pale pink. Yuuki was wearing a violet and red summer dress, with a small hairband. Leafa was wearing a plain green dress, with a white shoulder cape. Her hair flower had stayed with her, and it matched perfectly. Asuna was wearing a blue dress, minimal in decoration, but with a white sash and engraved rose belt, she looked absolutely perfect. Turning to Kirito, she asked "Do I look okay?"

"You look perfect." Kirito said, hugging Asuna tightly, who blushed in response.

"Just make sure you keep them clean, girls. I hope you enjoy them. Gentlestallions, or in your case, gentlefairies next." Rarity grinned, and with one fell swoop, whisked the boys into the other room. The girls walked back into the main room, and after a few seconds, a message came up.

DITTO FOR US TOO, YOU KNOW.

THE GUYS

This gave the girls absolute fits of laughter.

"That was...well...brilliant." Yuuki said, opening her inventory. Somehow, the formal attire they were wearing was now in their inventory, registered as "Formal Wear." The girls began to chat, with most questions coming from Yuuki. After a bit, Rarity, her mane a bit more bedraggled now, motioned for them to come in. The boys were all wearing suits, with Klein's being red and beige, Kirito's pure black, and Aries's silver and forest green. After a quick stroll, they switched back to their normal attire, putting their formal clothes in their inventory until the next night. After Rarity packed up her things and left, the group resumed their relaxation. After a few hours, the ponies came by. Rarity was a bit put off that they changed out so quickly, but after a few explanations, they calmed down.

"Yuuki, was it? They said you passed away. How are you here then?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know. The last thing I saw was Asuna's face as I closed my eves. Then, there was a bright flash, and I woke up here. Somehow, this doesn't seem real for me."

"How so?" Celestia asked. "I remember that these are not your real bodies, so how is this different?"

"I feel that my body is still alive somehow, like I'm pseudo-dead. But the thing is, I know I died. The disease I was battling all my life, we call it HIV/AIDS, it killed me. Thousands of players held a ceremony for me as I passed. But if i'm here, that means I must be alive, or part of me is."

"Like Heathcliff." Kirito interjected, and the ponies looked at him curiously.

"How is Mr. Heathcliff involved in this?"

"There's something you should know about him. When he died, he uploaded his consciousness to the internet. The chances of success are around one in one thousand, but I know he pulled it off. I spoke to his mind after defeated Sugou and freed Asuna in old ALO. Well, apparently is was, and I quote, "The afterimage of the mind that WAS Akihiko Kayaba. An echo." I think that's what happened here as well. Asuna, the device they had her hooked up to, that Medicuboid that she was hooked up to? Could that have preserved her memory?"

"I don't know. As far as I know, it only allowed her to FullDive into ALO, and not to do anything like Kayaba did." Asuna replied, making Kirito and Yuuki sigh.

"Well, we don't have to worry about it now. We've got that Gala coming up. Celestia, any advice?" Kirito asked.

"A few pieces. One, try not to make a scene. We've had some trouble in the past with ponies making fools of themselves. Two, the nobles are going to be a bit presumptuous, but once they warm up to you, you should be fine. And three, Blueblood will be attending, or so I think, and he's probably going to be out for blood and revenge."

"Nothing we can't handle We took down the King of the Giants AND claimed the Holy Sword Excalibur! It shouldn't be THAT hard!" Leafa said, slugging her brother in the arm.

"Well, those were in ALO. Not sure about here though. Celestia? On a scale of one to ten, how crazy can a gala possibly get here?"

"One to twelve, depending on the situation." Celestia said with a grin.

"That's...reassuring." Aries said jokingly. Leafa promptly punched him in the shoulder. After that got cleared up, Celestia and Luna got up to leave, along with Cadance and Armor.

"We're you going?" Aries asked.

"The day is done. It's Luna's time to raise the moon."

"Raise the moon?" Klein said.

"Yes. Does anyone do it in ALfheim or Japan?"

"In Japan, the sun and moon set due to gravity and their rotations around a central sun. In ALfheim, there's a day and night cycle, but it's based on real life for us, so, no, nobody raises the sun and moon in our world. It's completely natural."

"Interesting." Asuna said, failing to stifle a yawn afterwards. Kirito looked over at Yui, who was sleeping on Leafa's shoulder. As the boys and girls parted ways and walked into separate rooms, the boys and girls found a bed for each of them. As the two groups shut their doors, the moon rose into the night sky.

Bedtime Madness-Girls

As the girls shut the door and began to change out of their gear, they found a chest full of pajamas, suprisingly there was a pair in each of their sizes. As they pulled them on, Asuna placed her sword and staff on the windowsill. The girls, taking the point, placed their weapons there as well. After completing the task of getting changed, they noticed a door. Walking in, Asuna noticed it was a no-holds barred bathroom. As Asuna entered to take a shower, she closed the door, leaving Leafa, Silica, Sinon, Lizbeth, and Yuuki standing there. After getting under the covers, Pina flew over to Silica's pillow and promptly fell asleep. This left Silica with no place to rest her head. As she scavenged around for a pillow, the other girls began to chat amongst themselves.

"So, Leafa, anyone special you looking at?" Lisbeth asked jokingly.

"Not really. I've never met anyone in-game or IRL that really clicked with me, I guess." Leafa replied.

"I think I know a person that might be a good match for you." Silica said, coming back with an extra pillow from the closet.

"Who's that?"

"Aries. He's actually rather cute, in my opinion."

"ARIES? I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to being friends in-game, but IRL? That's a completely separate thing!"

"So you wouldn't mind dating Aries?" Lisbeth said, prodding a bit further.

"No! I mean, I don't know! I'm not entirely sure." Leafa said, flopping backwards.

"He is rather cute." Asuna said, coming out of the shower in her PJs and a towel covering her hair. "But Kirito's the one for me. Maybe Aries is the one for you. You have been spending a lot of time together since we arrived here."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, we have been." Leafa said, thinking hard.

"You two seem like a good match to me." Yuuki said playfully, tossing a pillow at Leafa.

"Yeah, you could say."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Lisbeth went to answer it, failing to notice the small pool of slippery hand-soap expertly positioned where she was about to step.

SLIP!

Lisbeth toppled back onto her rear end, yelping as she went down. As Lisbeth got up, with help from Yuuki, Asuna shushed the group. Leaning towards the wall, she could hear faint giggling coming from the boy's room. Rolling her eyes, she then listened harder. She could hear faint voices.

"Klein, was that prank really needed or completely necessary?" That was Kirito.

"Come on, Kirito! Don't you want a little bedtime drama?" Klein, obviously.

"Not really the type I was thinking of, but no. I think Lisbeth is going to want a bit of revenge." That was Aries speaking.

"Have it your way." Klein again.

Asuna smiled and motioned the girls over with a playful smile. After clearing her plan, the girls went to bed, giggling at their plot.

Bedtime Madness-Guys

As the boys shut their door and began to change into their respective pajama sets, Kirito looked over at Aries. Klein had gone into the bathroom with a mischievous smile.

"That does not look or sound remotely good in any conceivable way." Aries said, copying Kirito's thoughts.

"Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one."

Klein came out of the bathroom, holding the soap dispenser, and giggling madly.

"What's so funny, Klein?" Aries asked.

"I'm gonna cause a little bedtime drama." Klein said, failing to hide his smile.

"By bedtime drama, you mean prank the girls." Kirito said sternly. "You know the saying about shaking the hornet's nest? I think that applies here." Kirito said.

"Ditto. You get caught, not our problem. You fine with that?" Aries said, flopping backwards.

"Oh fine." Klein said walking out and pooling a puddle of hand soap right on the mat. Knocking on the door quickly, in a split, he dived back into the boy's room. Soon, a resounding "OW!" coming from Lisbeth was audibly heard. Klein immediately began to giggle insanely, earning him stern looks from both Kirito and Aries.

"Klein, was that prank really needed or completely necessary?" Kirito said, frowning.

"Come on, Kirito! Don't you want a little bedtime drama?" Klein said, exasperated.

"Not really the type I was thinking of, but no. I think Lisbeth is going to want a bit of revenge." Aries said, falling back onto his pillow.

"Have it your way." Klein again.

"Let's just go to sleep already and HOPEFULLY (Looking at Klein) the girls will only get revenge on Klein."

As Aries turned out the lights, they failed to notice shadows moving outside. After around thirty minutes, the boys were sound asleep. As the door opened, the girls walked in, tiptoeing, with Asuna carrying a washbowl of warm water. Silica motioned to Pina, and the little blue dragon gently lifted Klein's draped hand. Asuna giggled slightly as she placed the basin under Klein's hand. Pina gently lowered the hand into the bowl, which Asuna set on Klein's nightstand. Tiptoeing out, the girls sat down in the main room to watch the results. For a few minutes, nothing happened, until they saw a faint light come on in the boy's room. There was silence, until...

"GAHHHHHHH!" came the result of their labors.

The girls burst out in mad giggling. Lights came on the boys room, and they heard angry voices.

"What the hell!"

"Who screamed?"

"I PISSED MYSELF!"

"What!?"

As the girls burst out laughing, Silica opened the door slightly, revealing the bowl overturned, and Klein having Kirito in a headlock, with Aries trying simultaneously to pry Kirito away and calm Klein, who was in a fit of embarrassment and rage at the same time. Lisbeth, while giggling, stepped into the room, drawing the boys' attention and freezing them.

"GOTCHA!" She burst out, and began to laugh her guts out, along with the other girls, who were chortling loudly. Klein just looked like he had been run over by a locomotive. Kirito separated himself from Klein and walked over, accompanied by Aries.

"What! Come on, guys!?" Klein said, trying to stifle the view of his now wet pants.

"We told you Klein, not our problem if you get pranked in revenge." Aries said, with a nod from Kirito.

"So, Klein, if you apologize, we'll do it too, and we'll call it even, AND NO MORE PRANKS." Lisbeth said through her teeth.

"Fine. I'm sorry." Klein moped.

"Apology accepted. Even?" Lisbeth said.

"Even."

"So...who's gonna clean up the soap?" Silica asked.

"Who's going to clean up this mess?" Kirito asked, and each group looked to the other. After around thirty minutes of cleaning, the rooms finally looked presentable. Then, after one last handshake and a "Goodnight", each group closed their door, turned out the lights, and went to bed. Soon, light snoozing filled the air, and a shooting star passed by the window.

A Wild Night Plus One!

As the girls and boys woke to the sun shining, the day was fresh and new. After changing out of their PJ's (Which were somehow registered in their inventory) and into their normal gear, they walked into the main room. After placing their weapons into their inventory, they took seats around a large bay window table.

"Morning everyone." Kirito said.

"Morning!" came the response from everyone.

"So, we all know that Gala is coming up today. We need to be on our best behavior. And Celestia said there was a good chance that this "Blueblood" pony, who, for the record, is a complete jerk, is going to be there. So in case of complete jerk alert, we ignore him until he forces contact..."

"Then we have permission to kick his rear end?" Lisbeth said hopefully. "Do we?"

"Not entirely sure. Still, we probably should have our weapons in our inventory unless something attacks us or the situation requires it." Kirito said, and Lisbeth sighed, slightly crestfallen.

There was a knock on the door, and in came Twilight and her friends, plus Cadance and Armor, rolling in a large tray full of breakfast dishes.

"We took the liberty of getting you fairies a few things to eat." Twilight said proudly.

"A few?" Klein said incredulously. "There's TONS of food on that cart!"

"Maybe for you, Klein." Asuna said, taking a plate and helping herself. With the others following suit, Twilight and the others sat themselves down on a pop-up table.

"Man, these are GOOD pastries!" Klein said, swallowing a big gulp of cinnamon roll.

"Glad you enjoy them. When the chefs found out about the truth behind our a la carte order, they nearly had a panic attack." Cadance said, laughing a little.

"Wow. They not used to visitors?" Yuuki said, curious.

"Canterlot is the capital, so we get diplomats from all over. The Yaks, Griffons, Minotaurs, every other country out there has at least ONE diplomat here. They're housed in the diplomatic quarters, so we probably won't see them." Cadance said.

"Nice. Wait, then where are we?"

"In the Princesses's residence. This is one of the guest bedrooms." Cadance said. "My old room was a few doors down."

"Old room?" Aries asked.

"Yeah. Before I lived in the Crystal Empire with Armor, I lived here. I'm actually Celestia's niece." Cadance replied.

"Impressive. Wait, if you're her niece, where's Celestia's brother? It doesn't make any sense since you're her niece, your father would have to be Celestia's brother." Silica said, thinking out loud.

"I barely knew my father, and Celestia would often change the subject when I was little, but when I was older, she revealed he went on a long journey to find "The Best of All Possible Worlds." I still don't know what that means." Cadance said sadly.

"If I remember my high school world history class correctly, that metaphor, "The best of all possible worlds," belongs to a french philosopher named Voltaire. He used it in his satirical book "Candide." He lived in the 17 to 1800's, and in a different country, but his philosophies are well known." Aries said, sipping his glass of water.

"I remember that in Prance there's a philosopher named Voltail, though. I found a few letters from him to Celestia when I was young. I don't speak Prench, so I couldn't read them, but I remember the name." Cadance replied.

"Interesting. So, what's on the agenda today? Should we just stay around here for the moment?" Aries said, and Leafa nodded.

"I think you can just wander around the castle for the moment. The library is only a short walk, a few minutes at most. That might be a good place to start." Cadance replied. "Basically, just do your own thing and don't cause any trouble with anypony, you'll be fine."

"Sounds good."

After another hour, the pastries were reduced to crumbs. As the ponies left, the group relaxed for a bit. Leafa and Aries continued their chess match, while the rest of the group played cards or chatted.

"So, Leafa, how do you think this Gala's going to go?" Aries said, moving a knight to take Leafa's bishop.

"I really don't know." Leafa replied. "I DO know that I just won. Checkmate!"

Aries stared at the board. His move had just cost him the game. He sighed and began to laugh, which made Leafa laugh as well. As their laughter echoed, the sun shone ever brighter than before.

===================================================================================================

Time really went flying for our group. Before you know it, the ponies showed up in lavish dresses, and the group took the hint. Changing into their formal attire via inventory, they soon found themselves walking down a lavishly decorated corridor. As two guards opened the door, the group rubbed their eyes to get adjusted to the brightness. Inside the colossal room around a few hundred ponies, both male and female, clad in formal attire were eating, conversing, or both. Kirito took Asuna's hand, and smiled. The couple walked over to a vacant table, which the group occupied. As ponies passed by, they stared or whispered. They mainly smiled or looked back at them, which clearly unnerved a few. After a while, they were generally accepted as being there, and the group eventually split ways to look around. Silica walked over to a food table and snagged a few pieces of bread for Pina, who was eyeing them hungrily. Asuna and Kirito got whisked away by Luna to a group of nobles. Sinon and Yuuki walked up to a first floor balcony and began to stargaze. Lisbeth walked over to the drinks table. That left Leafa and Aries sitting alone. Eventually, Aries got over his nerves, and they began to converse about their experiences in ALO. As the Gala went on, the moon shone brightly in the sky.

====================================================================================================

"Really?" a noble said, shocked.

"Yes. It all happened." Kirito said, sipping his drink.

"So many "players" died..." another said. "What happened to their bodies?"

"They were given honorable burials, and the Government set up a memorial support fund for the victim's families, and a special program for the survivors." Asuna replied.

"That's honorable. And you told us that you didn't even know each other before this "SAO Incident?"

"Yes. We met when we needed to form parties for the first floor boss, Illfang. I decided to team up with Asuna, and well, things went from there. We even married in-game. And before you get any ideas, back in real life, we're boyfriend and girlfriend, but we are not married." Kirito said, and a few nobles sighed.

"That's a bit of a relief. What happened after your escape?"

"Things got complicated. The minds of 300 SAO players, including Asuna, were stolen by a man named Sugou, who worked for Asuna's father IRL, so he could perform experiments on them. He trapped them in another VRMMO, now known as Old ALO. I ventured back into the virtual world so I could find her. I met a player named Leafa, who helped me out a lot. Turns out Leafa is my sister, Suguha IRL. When she found out, she was pretty distraught for a while, so I had to finish the quest on my own. I eventually found Asuna at the top of the World Tree. During our little reunion, we were captured by Sugou. He did some pretty horrible things to Asuna during that time. I put a stop to them as quickly as I could. Before you ask, he impaled me, so getting up wasn't exactly easy. But I did, and after I dueled him, I freed Asuna, and I got a gift from an old friend."

"A gift?" the nobles stared at me.

"Something my friend called "The Seed." I can tell you more about it later. After I freed Asuna and logged out, my sister urged me to get to Asuna as quick as I could. She was staying at the hospital in town, so that's were I headed. I got a nasty surprise when I got there. Turns out Sugou was waiting for me. He tried to kill me, but I subdued him. After that, I made it to Asuna's hospital room. I hesitated at first, then I heard a voice. Go on. She's waiting for you. She was okay, and we had a pretty passionate reunion. No intimate stuff, though."

A few nobles sighed. Then one spoke up.

"And after that?"

"A lot of stuff has happened recently. The Death Gun incident, the Quest for Excalibur, and Asuna's adventures with Absolute Sword, who is here with us. A long story about the Death Gun incident, gist of it is, a guy was killing people in game, and they were dying in real life. I was asked by the Japanese government to find out who it was. Long story short, I found the guy, or should I say, guys that were doing it. They were arrested, but they believe there's still one more on the run. That whole adventure made me friends with Sinon over there. After an adventure to find the Holy Sword Excalibur, we met the famed Absolute Sword. She was offering duels to players, with the reward being a 11-hit original sword skill. She had won 67 duels in a row, never going below a certain HP amount. I challenged her, and I lost. Asuna here challenged her, and they tied. After a lot of adventures, she was about to die. IRL, she was terminally ill with a treatable, but still incurable, disease. It killed her, in the end. Nearly every online player in ALO went to her dying moments. Before she died, she passed on her Sword Skill, Mother's Rosario, to Asuna. She arrived her recently, but we don't know how her mind was preserved. I have my theories, though." Kirito replied, with Asuna nodding.

"Impressive. She was that strong?" A noble said, shocked.

"Yes. She really was. She was already on hospice care, but you could say I made her dying moments a bit more comfortable. There's a small grave marker at the tree where she passed."

A few nobles bowed their heads in silence. And as the conversation went on, Kirito and Asuna were actually enjoying themselves. Then, the doors burst open, and a all-too-familiar figure stormed in, followed by several ponies wearing clubs and swords. Kirito and Asuna stood up, and the group formed up. The ponies were clearly furious.

"Blueblood. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Celestia roared.

"Those Fairies are despoiling our city. They had the audacity to threaten me!"

"Really? You're gonna act like that?"

All eyes turned to Aries, who was standing nonchalantly a few feet away.

"What do you mean?" Blueblood said angrily.

"WE were enjoying ourselves. WE weren't doing anything. YOU are the one who just storms in here acting like a colossal moron. I will admit, Kirito threatened you. ONLY because you insulted us and acted like a total asshole." Aries said.

"WHAT! HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!" Blueblood roared.

"I dare, asshole." Aries said again.

"THAT'S IT. I CHALLENGE YOU ALL TO A DUEL! Send out your best!" he roared, and several ponies backed away. Kirito started to move forward, until a hand held him back. It was Yuuki. Kirito took the point and stayed back. Yuuki summoned her sword and switched into her normal gear, causing murmurs from the nobles. As she walked forward, she smiled confidently.

"I am Yuuki. The Absolute Sword. I've never lost a duel. And I certainly DON'T intend to lose to you, Bluebutt." she said.

Blueblood growled as he drew a rapier. "It's Blueblood."

"Don't care, Bluebat."

"It's BlueBLOOD" he said, a bit angry.

Yuuki started to giggle.

"Sorry, Blueback."

"It's BLUEBLOOD!" he roared angrily.

"Okay, Bluebase." she laughed.

Blueblood screamed in frustration and charged. Yuuki sidestepped out of the way and performed the Vertical Square sword skill. This knocked Blueblood straight off his hoofs and sent him flying. He got back up and performed a series of wild slashes, which were easily parried by Yuuki. She laughed as his clumsy blows collided with the sword of a true swordsman. This went on for a good five minutes. By this time, Blueblood was sweating hard.

"Well, I've had fun, but I Should end this." Yuuki said suddenly.

Yuuki's brow furrowed and she stepped to the side. The she lunged at a shocked Blueblood, her thrusts making a perfect X. She smiled, then she stepped and lunged heavily. The blow caused a large explosion and a gust of wind. As the dust cleared, Blueblood was lying unconscious on the floor, bleeding from several thrust wounds. Yuuki sheathed her sword and spoke to the awestruck crowd.

"That's why I've never lost. The most powerful Original Sword Skill. My own MOTHER'S ROSARIO!" she said, spinning and she walked back to the group. As the group congratulated her, the sound of applause began to ring. Soon, nearly every pony in the room was applauding, including the Princesses. Yuuki shrugged and sat back down. As the group resumed their activities, Rarity pulled Yuuki aside.

"Thanks for teaching that moron a lesson. I had an awful experience with him when I met him."

"Why's that?"

Rarity gave her a look that screamed "Don't ask."

"Alright. Can I get back to my food now?"

As Yuuki sat down, the group joined her. Aries and Leafa joined, and far from being afraid, nobles and ponies were congratulating them for their deed. Many agreed with the fact that Blueblood was a moron. Kirito finally found himself relaxing. Until, a load roar interrupted the festivities. Every fairy and pony in the room froze. Then, the sound of something BIG clawing its way up the mountainside became audible. Then, a massive, clawed paw slammed its way through a pane of glass. Then a second one slammed down right beside it. Kirito and the group switched into their normal gear and they summoned their weapons. Then, a gigantic black-pelted wolf slammed its head through the main window. It was colossal, with blood-red eyes and fangs dripping with blood. There were red streaks along the wolf's pelt, and a large veil of spikes encircled the neck. Roaring as if rabid, it climbed its way into the room. Roaring once again, three HP bars appeared, with a boss name and marker.

GOREFANG-THE INSATIABLE HUNGER

Screeching once again, Kirito furrowed his brow. As nobles cowered before the boss, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, and Armor put up a shield. As the shield was placed, Celestia walked over to Kirito.

"I'll leave this one to you. Defeat it!"

"Our pleasure!" Kirito said. "Guys! Let's show this wolf who's boss!"

"YEAH!"

As Gorefang roared again, the hunger in its eyes clearly evident, Kirito grinned.

"Think you can take us on, big guy?"

Gorefang roared.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Kirito yelled as the warriors charged into battle.

Boss Battle-Gorefang

As the warriors charged at Gorefang, he slashed with his clawed paw. As the warriors dodged, Aries leapt up and onto the paw, before launching into a series of powerful thrusts. Gorefang swiped, launching Aries backward. While Gorefang was battling the Ranger, Leafa and Kirito ran closer and closer. Kirito slashed at the front left leg, before Leafa swiped at the left hind leg. Kirito dodged the resulting swipe and checked the boss's remaining health. Only two and two thirds remaining. Kirito growled. Then, the boss leapt backward and drew its head upwards. Then, swinging it to the side, it launched a black bolt of energy at the swordsmen. Dodging, the group reformed. Then, the boss's spikes levitated off its neck, and launched themselves. Dodging again, Kirito charged once more, whilst readying a fire sword skill. The boss lowered its head parallel to the ground, and launched a massive stream of black flame. Kirito slid, dodging the blast. Using his momentum, he slid and jumped up. Slashing several times, he made a shallow X in the boss's forehead, before thrusting deeply. Engulfing the boss in flame, he jumped backwards. The, the remaining two thirds of the third health bar depleted. Then, the boss roared, and it pounced, trapping Kirito under a huge paw. Drawing back its head, it prepared another bolt of black energy. Kirito braced himself for the end. Until he heard chanting. Then, a massive vortex of wind drilled its way straight through the boss's forehead. Turning, he saw Aries charging, whilst he dodged swipe after swipe. Then, propelling himself off one paw, he once again issued Wind's Edict. This distracted the boss enough for Kirito to escape and regroup. Aries then called out.

"I'll keep him occupied! Get your HP back up!"

Taking his advice, the group members summoned health potions and drank them. All the while, Aries slashed and dodged. Then, a sudden swipe slammed into him. Bracing himself, he struggled to maintain his defense. Until a loud cry startled him. Leafa charged, her sword cloaked in wind. Slashing, she cut clean through the boss's claws. Roaring back, his health dropped by a substantial amount. Kirito nodded to the group, and they charged again. Gorefang roared, and summoning more spikes, launched them. Most of the group dodged, but Kirito slashed through the ones nearing him. Sinon slid under hers and shot a fire arrow straight at the boss. With a swipe of its tail, the arrow exploded. Swearing, Sinon dodged the resulting swipe. As Aries was thrown off by a ground slam, he suddenly thought of an idea.

"ASUNA! Know any potent water magic?"

"Yeah!" she replied. "Why!"

"Get this room as wet as you can! I have an idea!"

Asuna chanted a spell, a massive drill of water sprayed itself around the room, soaking everything. Aries jumped and chanted another spell. Then, a massive cyclone appeared. Then it dispelled. Asuna looked at Aries, who began to count down with his fingers. When he reached zero, a massive black cloud appeared, and it began to rain. Nearly everypony in the room's jaws dropped. Aries chanted another spell. This time, the clouds began to circulate, forming a wall cloud. Kirito gasped, seeing what Aries was doing. Aries grinned and yelled as he cast a spell.

"STORMFRONT TEAR!"

Then, THREE massive black cyclones formed from the cloud and slammed into the boss, depleted one and a half bars of health. Then, the boss lost its footing. The sheer impact threw the boss straight into the wall, carving a huge hole. As it stood up, it roared louder than before. The warriors charged as one. After a massive succession of blows, the boss's last bar depleted. Disintegrating into green and blue particles, the message appeared, and the storm cloud dissipated. As the sun rose over the horizon, the group sheathed their weapons. Klein promptly stormed over to Aries.

"What the hell was that?" he yelled.

"You really don't want to know."

"OF COURSE I DO! I've never seen anything like it!'

Aries sighed and shrugged.

"It's the most powerful wind spell I can cast. Stormfront Tear. Incredibly high damage, completely drains all my MP. Requires a fair amount of water in order to cast." Aries said. "I only use it as a last resort. Bad thing is, it has a cooldown."

Klein's jaw dropped. As Kirito handed Aries an MP potion, the sound of applause came gradually. As Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Armor, and Twilight walked over, the group smiled.

"That was amazing. A localized storm cloud!" Twilight said.

"Just extremely powerful magic." Aries said, but then, a slow clap was heard.

"Impressive."

Everyone in the room turned, and saw a pony walk in. With a tan coat, black hair, and a white lab coat, he looked all too familiar. Kirito and Asuna growled, recognizing him/

"Impressive indeed, Aries. I commend you."

"Enough with the pleasantries, Heathcliff." Kirito said angrily.

Akihiko Kayaba shrugged and walked closer. Looking at Aries, he smiled.

"Your brother would have been proud."

At this, Aries face changed. His weary expression turned into one of sheer anger and fury.

"Don't you DARE bring Asher into this!" he roared.

"He died an honorable death." Kayaba said.

"HE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!" Aries spat. "HE WAS SO CLOSE TO ESCAPE!"

"As I say, he would be proud to see you now. But, as they say, old wounds rarely stay closed whence reopened." Kayaba said, opening his inventory. Tapping a button, he said, "I believe that it is time to close them, once and for all."

As he was engulfed in a pillar of light, his SAO avatar, fully armored and ready for combat, stepped out.

"There is more to the story then you think, Aries. Come at me." he motioned.

"WITH PLEASURE, YOU SICK BASTARD!" Aries roared, drawing his swords for battle.

Boss Battle-Heathcliff

Aries roared in anger and charged at Heathcliff, ready to impale him. Heathcliff blocked the thrust with his shield and slashed. Aries dodged whilst slashing wildly. Heathcliff blocked or parried all of them. Heathcliff smiled and blocked another thrust.

"Your brother died an honorable death, Aries. You might have known that."

"How should I have known? YOU TRAPPED HIM!" Aries roared, while he slashed like a caged tiger. Heathcliff shrugged and blocked the blow, while he thrust with his sword. Aries dodged, and leaped into the air. Jumping off Heathcliff's shield, he launched into Wind's Edict. He launched the final blow, and there was a blast of dust. Then, the group gasped. Heathcliff had blocked the final blow. Aries's sword was firmly set into the shield. Aries growled and drew his parrying blade. Swinging it right at Heathcliff's neck. Heathcliff dodged and nimbly impaled Aries. Aries screamed in pain and kicked himself off the end of the blade. He growled in pain, and he opened his inventory. He summoned a machete-like sword and charged. Heathcliff raised his shield, anticipating the blow. Aries grinned and performed a backflip, grabbing his longsword out of Heathcliff's shield. Leaping up and over, he slashed with two swords. Heathcliff spun on a dime and blocked the blow. Kirito gasped.

"What's up?" Sinon asked."And what was that move?"

"Holy Sword. The most powerful system skill in SAO. Impenetrable defense, powerrful offense. How'd he get that?" Kirito replied, stunned.

Sinon gasped quietly and turned to watch the fight. Aries continued to gouge, slash, and cut, with all blows being blocked by Heathcliff's defense. Suddenly, Heathcliff bashed his shield into Aries, throwing him to the ground. Before Aries could get up, Heathcliff's blade was at his throat. Aries nodded, conceding defeat.

"You fought well. Almost as well as your brother in his final moments." Heathcliff said, switching back to his Kayaba avatar.

"My brother abandoned us. You don't know SHIT!" Aries roared, while Leafa helped him up.

"I can show you that I do know. System Login. ID Heathcliff." Kayaba replied, and a screen appeared.

"Play final moments. Avatar Name-Leonidas"

A video screen appeared. Several SAO players were battling a huge dragon-like boss. Leading them was a player in a blue coat, with messy blonde hair. Aries gasped silently at the sight of his brother's avatar. As the clip progressed, players were dying or being critically wounded. Then, Leonidas spoke.

"Go! I'll hold him off!"

"No man! We all need to survive! Besides, you're our leader!"

"Not anymore. Liedus, you're leader now. Get out of here. I don't care if I die. GO! While the going's good!" Leonidas shrugged and continued to slash at the dragon. As the other players fled with the wounded, Leonidas stood alone. The dragon roared and raised a clawed fist. Leonidas shrugged and spread out his arms, accepting his death. As the fist descended, he spoke again.

"Bro, you made me proud. We'll see each other again. Take care of mom and the family! I believed in you!..."

The rest of his words were silenced by the fist crushing him, ending his avatar and his life. Aries by this time was crying, his face streaked with tears. The blue-green particles came up and out from under the boss's fist. As the clip ended and the screen disappeared, Aries was sobbing.

"Aries.." Leafa said, close to crying herself. Twilight and the rest of the ponies bowed their heads in silence, and so did Kayaba. Aries wiped away his tears and stood up, his face stained with regret and remorse.

"He...really was a hero..." Aries said, collapsing. Leafa sat down and hugged him, while the rest of the group looked on. Kayaba looked to the heavens and smiled.

"I think that this is where it should end. System Command. Bring up the quest status for Eqigard DLC-01."

A screen popped up in front of each player, displaying text.

THE MAIN QUESTLINE HAS BEEN COMPLETED

ITEMS RECEIVED IN DLC-01 WORLDSPACE HAVE BEEN DELETED.

ACCEPT FOR QUEST REWARDS

Kirito and the others did so, and a rewards screen popped up. Accepting the loot, Kirito walked over to Aries, who was helped up by Leafa. Kayaba smiled at them.

"You brought my dying theory to life. I hold you in great regard for that."

All eyes turned to Kayaba, who shrugged.

"My dying wish was to go to other worlds. Other dimensions. To see what was in store. With your help, I succeeded. With the power of Equestrian magic and Human technology, I was able to make this. The DimGear."

He produced a helmet similar to a NervGear rig, and he walked over to Twilight, who accepted it gingerly.

"This will allow you to visit ALfheim Online, and the human real world. When you first log in, you will be given an avatar based on your likeness. I do hope you use it well."

"Thanks."

"Kirito, Asuna, Aries, one last thing. I have a few things for you. For Asuna, an old friend, and some advice."

A item summon appeared in front of Asuna, and a glorious blue rapier floated down. Asuna gasped and took it.

"Wind Fleuret." she said quietly. Kayaba walked over, and whispered a few things in her ear. He stepped back, and Asuna smiled greatly.

"For Kirito, a piece of my good will."

A second Item summon appeared, and a small black armband appeared, inscribed with the image of Elucidiator and Dark Repulser.

"Eludiciator's grasp. This charm boosts your skills by a considerable amount."

"And for Aries, my thanks. Your brother showed me that humans, when trapped, will still reach out. I thank you a great amount. But, there is one more thing you must receive."

Kayaba drew a sword with a brilliant forest-green blade. Shaped like a claymore, it had a brilliant ebony grip. Aries took it, and looke at Kayaba.

"Your brother's blade from Sword Art Online. I do hope you wield it in his memory."

"I will. Bet on it." Aries said, smiling.

"I best get going. This portal shall take you back to Lisbeth's shop. There, I do hope you remember your time here fondly. But do remember, as this is a beta test, there are still more things to come." Kayab said cryptically, and a brilliant blue portal appeared. As the group said their goodbyes, they smiled. Klein, Silica, Lisbeth, and Sinon walked through. Asuna and Kirito walked through together. Then, just Aries and Leafa remained. As they held hands slowly, they walked through. Then, the portal closed. Twilight turned tearfully to Celestia.

"Will they ever be back?"

"I hope so. I think it's time we "Beta-test" that device Heathcliff gave you."

Twilight nodded and walked out, followed by the rest of the alicorns and her friends and brother.. Returning to the room the players had stayed in, she laid down on the sofa and put on the helmet. Her vision faded to black, and she knew no more of Equestria. Then, she woke up. It was snowing, and she could tell that she was in the human's real world. As she walked towards the house she was in, the door opened, and two black-haired humans, one boy and one girl, walked out, they smiled. Twilight did as well.

"Kirito. Leafa." she said, smiling.

"Hey, Twilight. Took you long enough. Everyone else is already inside." Kazuto said, and as they walked in, Suguha slowly shut the door. Twilight sat down, and she immediately felt welcomed. Then, the door opened, and a small girl in a wheelchair rolled in, accompanied by a human in a green coat, with the hood up. She was around eight years old, with a pale body. She smiled a Twilight.

"Yuuki..." Twilight said silently.

The boy removed the hood, revealing messy blond hair and a kind smile.

"Aries." Twilight said again. As they sat down, the gathering was soon populated by the sounds of laughter, cheering, and talking that resonated into the night. As the moon rose over the house, a faint voice could be heard, as if from on high.

"Thank you...Kayaba..."

Epilogue-The Wintry Night

As the moon rose over the house, the lights were still brightly lit. Twilight helped herself to another sushi piece (Which she found herself to be liking) and she listened to the friendly conversation. Sugu and Hyoma were sitting together, next to Asuna and Kirito. Rika and Keiko were drinking hot cocoa, and Sinon was sitting on the window sill, smiling. Ryotaro chugged his mug of hot cocoa and guffawed.

"Twi? You know, you playing with us in ALO? That's gonna be cool." Ryotaro said, laughing. "It's nice to have a probable mage in our party for once. Even though we're full of hotness, we're still a bunch of gear-toting meatheads."

"Yeah. I hope it goes well!" Twilight replied, smiling. "I can't wait."

Keiko sipped her drink, and smiled.

"You know, Klein? You really should level your magic skills. They can actually help. I mean, look at what the ponies can do with it."

Klein guffawed.

"Keep dreaming! Like I said, A real samurai never uses magic. Code of honor! AND, that was Equestrian magic, not ALO magic. Total difference!"

"Code of honor, huh?" Twilight said, smiling.

"Yeah. I guess you wouldn't know a lot about Samurais, since you aren't from here"

"And you don't know squat about paying attention!" Hyoma said.

Ryotaro looked down and gasped. He, not knowingly, had dumped nearly a third of his mug on his pants. Walking rather embarrassingly, he waddled into the bathroom. After the pure laughter died down, Yuuki sipped her drink, and nearly dropped it. Twilight caught the mug and set it down gently next to her. Yuuki smiled greatly, and gave Twilight a hug. Twilight smiled and sat down. Asuna smiled.

"Hey Twi, you got a place to stay?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I don't have any money, so I can't pay for anything."

"We got a spare bedroom." Kirito said, setting down his mug. "You can stay with us."

"Thanks. What about your parents?" Twilight replied.

"We'll take care of it. They're pretty understanding, and I don't think they would mind." Sugu said.

"Yeah. Sounds good." Twilight sighed, leaning back.

"Say, Twi, that DimGear device Kayaba made? I wonder how he managed to get human-type tech in Equestria. From what I've seen, you're in the pre-industrial stage of civilization. Meaning no real industries, not a lot of factories. I played a bunch of civilization simulators before I played VRMMOs, and they all share the same scale."

"Interesting. Hyoma? what are those things on your legs?" Twilight said, pointing to the brace-like objects on his thighs and lower legs.

"Oh, just a medical LegWalker. Ever since my legs were paralyzed in a car accident, I've used these. They basically allow me to walk without use of artificial limbs. Pretty neat."

"That's cool." Twilight said. "Where's Yuuki staying?"

"I'm staying with Asuna." she said, smiling weakly. "Her mom made some accommodations."

"Good. I'll visit sometime." Twilight said. At this moment, Ryotaro came back in and sat down.

"Hey, we gonna go to Dicey's anytime soon? I think a small party is in order." Klein said.

"Just imagine Pinkie there." Twilight said.

As the laughter swirled through the air, the moon was uncovered by a cloud. Shining down on the night sky, the faint image of the mare in the moon watched over them, its pale blue eyes watching over them. There was another faint voice.

"You are welcome. It was my pleasure...."