Equis Art Online

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.

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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.

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"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.