Equis Art Online

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.