PAO: Pony Art Online

Sunset only blinked and found herself at the center of the first floor, in the city built right over the boss dungeon.

"Didn't think I'd make it to Ponyville like this," Sunset muttered to herself while frantically looking around for Pinkie and her friends. She could find their location on her map, but with every player on in the game standing in the city, it was hard to make them out.

All around her players were contacting their friends, or uselessly searching for the logout button. The choas lasted only for a moment though. Above them all, hanging over the city, was a god-like figure, massive in size, looming over them. It was shrouded in a red hooded robe, but the eyes, bright with an orange glow, burned into the minds of every player.

No one could feel the magic around the figure, no one but Sunset. She looked up and immediately felt a part of her become distorted and drained away. She looked down at her menu, open to her admin options. This time the screen was buzzing with static, as if influenced by another conflicting entity. Sunset looked back to the silent figure. She knew it was responsible.

Quickly, the murmurs died down as players noticed the massive figure above them. It was took a human form, with hands, arms, and supposedly legs, hidden under the robes. For a tense moment, Ponyville was silent.

"Welcome players!" a voice boomed from the figure as it stretched its arms out in greetings. "I hope you have all enjoyed the early hours of PAO's fully immersive magic and technology. Undoubtedly, you all have noticed by now that the logout feature is no longer available. This is not a bug. Yes, it is definitely not a mistake."

The shrouded figure folded its arms. Players began to whisper, unsure of what to make of the situation yet.

"There is no way to run away from this world now. Should someone from the outside take off the Digisphere, your minds will remain suspended in a perpetual dream of nothing, like a purgatory in your own head."

The massive form marginally lowered its voice. "But there is no need to worry, only two hundred and eighty-six families have ignored the safety warnings, and attempted to remove their loved ones from the game. They now lie in hospital beds around the world, trapped in a coma."

All around there were gasps from the crowd of players, ready to scream back at the figure, but it was not done. The voice picked up its volume and spoke with a even greater tone, commanding attention with a display of power. "But thanks to their ignorance, be assured that  all of you are safe. Reports around the world have identified this disaster and response teams tracked down each Digisphere unit, transporting your bodies safely to the nearest hospital."

A few sighs of reliefs were muddled in with more cries of worry. How long would they be stuck in the game?

"PAO, as you all know, is possible only with the power of magic," the booming voice continued. "But this power must be controlled, properly commanded by its owners. The creators of this world failed to realize that they have no power, in this world or the real one. Their victories are minor and their success a facade."

Barely a squeak was heard from the crowd. Most didn't pay too much attention to the game developers, only the game's features. But Sunset's stare pierced strait into the figure's hidden face. This person, she was sure it was a person, had an vendetta against her, or maybe Twilight. They both had capable enemies after all. Any magical threat from Equestria could fiddle with the magic in the Digispheres, and Crystal Prep graduates weren't the best at sportsmanship, nor the best at handling jealousy, but they were pretty good with technology.

"But you," the figure pointed to the crowd, "could have the will, and thus the power, to surpass this false world. To do this, to see your reality again, you need only do one task: kill the final boss of the game, on the hundredth floor of Equestrad."

The figure raised its hand and opened a its own menu console, different from both the white screen of normal players and green screen of admins. The screen matched the orange glow of the figure's face, lighting up the sky above Ponyville like a sunset. With a few taps on the console, the full design of Equestrad materialized in front of every player to see.

"This world comes with one hundred floors, a hundred different dimensions, with a final boss to each one. This," the figure swiped its hand up, focusing the image of Equestrad in on the highest point, "is the final dimension of Equestrad, the Tartarus Dimension. Kill the boss, and every survivor will be disconnected from Pony Art Online."

Everyone stared. No one, not even the best players, had even began to consider beating a game they knew next to nothing about. No beta tester even passed the fifth floor. It just seemed impossible.

The figure waved away the Equestrad displays, opening its arms again for a final announcement. "As a test of power, and of worth, all forms of resurrection in the game has been disabled. If your health points drops to zero, your avatar will be destroyed, triggering a chain reaction in your Digisphere's magic gem. The malfunction will destabilize the gem, and it will self destruct, taking your head with it. That is all."

Boom, Sunset thought. She pictured herself in her bed, and the Digisphere suddenly exploding. She felt her legs begin to wobble, and her breath shake a little, but she kept herself collected.

The figure folded its arms, its body vanishing into fragments of light, like an item or a corpse expiring in the game.

Disbelief was almost immediately broken by rage. As if they were a single being, every player shouted to the sky, cursing the mysterious figure. Sunset stood frozen, watching the chaos around her.

"Come back and let us out you bastard!" one player called out.

"Fuck you!" shouted several others.

Sunset stepped back, horrified. This was supposed to be her world, her medicine for home sickness. How could it end so badly? Cause so much grief? Around her the younger players collapsed on the floor, either in shock or in tears, but usually both. The older players, stallions and mares alike, flung their weapons at the sky, where the mystery messenger stood only mere moments ago.

At that moment, she saw her friends. Strait through a crowd of heads Rainbow Dash was doing her best to comfort Scootaloo, and the same for Applejack and her sister. Sunset scanned around and found Sweetie Belle lying by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Sunset didn't need to guess what she was thinking; Rarity wouldn't find out about this for days.

Sunset didn't know what to do. So she ran. She turned her back on Ponyville, on her friends, and fled the city. She couldn't face them, or anyone else. She first planted the idea for this game, and it was her persistence that brought it through. Whatever spoke just now, whatever broke the game and trapped one hundred thousand players in a virtual hell, couldn't have done it without PAO. Everything boiled down to her fault, and she couldn't stand it.

"This is my home," Sunset told herself. "Admin or not, no one knows it better than I do. No one understands its working more than me. I'm responsible for this, and I will act on that burden." She opened her menu and found her party roster. Select Member--> Rainbow Dash--> Select Action--> Make Leader--> Do you wish to demote yourself?-->Confirmed.

Sunset hovered over her character picture. It was a perfect reflection of her pony self, a face she hand't seen in over a decade. She selected it. Select member--> Self--> Select Action--> Leave-->Are you sure you want to leave?--> Confirmed.

It was for the best. If players saw them with Sunset, there was no doubt they'd be targets of hate as well. No one would forgive the creator of their prison, and the same went for her friends. Her friends might not even forgive her. After all, she couldn't.