Equis Art Online II

As Leafa and Aries sat back down, they mainly ate and listened to the conversation at hand, mainly, the Changeling incident.

"Wow, that was really bold...and really rude of her." Lisbeth said.

"Yeah. Twi found out just in time." Armor replied, ruffling Twilight's hair, and she blushed.

Aries nodded, and he pulled Kirito close.

"Can I talk with you in private?"

Kirito nodded, said "Gimme a sec" to Asuna, and they walked upstairs to the balcony. Aries began to lean on the railing, while Kirito leaned on the wall.

"Hey, Kirito?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm good enough for Leafa?"

Kirito flinched, sighed, and walked over. Setting his hand on Aries's shoulder, he smiled.

"To be honest, yeah. I think you are." he replied. "How long?"

"It may sound tacky, but when we talked at the gala, that one time, I really felt that I liked her. I didn't tell her though. To be honest, when we went upstairs, she kinda...kissed me." Aries replied.

"Definitely sounds like Sugu." Kirito replied.

"Yeah." Aries replied. "Do you think...how's she gonna react when I tell her that I like her?"

Kirito sighed.

"I really don't know. The only way to find out is tell her." Kirito replied. "Just be careful. She is my sister, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Aries replied.

"So, wanna head back downstairs?" Kirito said, and Aries nodded. Walking down the stairs, they found Leafa and Asuna sitting on the stairs.

"Uh, Asuna? Sugu?" Kirito said, and they turned around. Asuna was smiling, and Leafa had tears in her eyes. Aries looked completely mortified.

"Did you…" Aries asked, still looking like he had just been run over by a freight train.

"Yeah. I heard everything." Leafa admitted.

"Ehh…" Aries said nervously, blushing bright red.

"There's really no need to blush." Leafa said, walking up and hugging him tight. Asuna and Kirito stood next to each other, smiling.

"Well, I guess we're a couple." Aries said. "Never thought I'd see the day, real or virtual."

Leafa smiled and pulled him closer. Then, a message popped up beside the four of them.

SYSTEM MESSAGE-ID HEATHCLIFF

THE WORD TREE IS UNDER ATTACK BY THE FLAME GIANTS.

GET BACK TO ALFHEIM. RAGNAROK HAS BEGUN

As the four sprinted back into the dining room, they stopped. Every fairy, except Alice, Agil, and Shouzou, were staring at the message with either shock or curiousity.

"What's going on?" The ponies asked.

"Simply put, we need to go NOW. If we don't do something, the Cardinal system, the program that runs ALO, is gonna delete the game."

"That would mean…" Twilight said.

"The portal would close for good." Agil said.

"I'm coming with."Twilight said. "I'll get the DimGear rig."

"Go ahead." Asuna said. As Twilight ran upstairs and set herself down on a bed, she pulled the DimGear rig out of magic storage. Placing it on her head, she uttered the familiar words.

"Link start!"

Her eyes opened, and the login screen for ALO greeted her. As she selected her avatar, she braced herself, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was looking up at Kirito and Asuna. She was helped up and she saw she was in a comfortable wooden cabin. She stood up and spun around, her mage robes twirling.

"Good to see you, Twilight." Kirito said.

"Yeah. Where's everyone else?"

"Outside. Let's get going." Kirito said, and as they walked out, true to Kirito's word, every member of the group was there, along with Alice.

"Where's Yuuki?" Twilight asked. "Should she be here?"

"She's leading players who are battling the flame giants. Miss Twilight, thing is, the Flame Giants have complete control of the surface. They are currently camped in the northern part of Aarune. I have data that suggests he will make his move towards the World Tree tomorrow." Yui replied.

"So, what about the other online players?" Twilight asked,

"Every online player is battling the Flame Giants on the surface. General Eugene is leading the main groups, along with Sakuya and Alicia Rue. Most players are currently occupied, so we are on our own." Yui replied.

"Okay, should we get moving, then?" Twilight asked.

"We should." Asuna said.

"Alright." Kirito said, and everyone voiced their agreements. Heading towards the teleport gate to the surface, they had no idea of the adventure ahead of them...