Author's Note

Ever heard of "Author wants to try new idea, he spends all day doing it, and he publishes it knowing that nobody will want to read it because it sucks?" Well, here you go!

This is an unedited, non proof-read experiment to gauge interest in me trying to do a story like this once more. Let us see how it goes!

Also, story is non-formatted because the Google Docs Import tool is severely broken. Hopefully you do not mind too much.

Launch Day

Beep! Beep! Beep!

An alarm sounds three times before an excited smack hits the poor inanimate object, almost knocking it off its home on the top of a dresser, next to a lamp and a Bible. The Earth Pony responsible for this injustice is Raven Star, and his reason is simple: Launch Day.

This Launch Day was unlike others he had awaited for previously, as it was the Launch Day of the first MMO to utilize the VPon-3, and though he was unable to join the Beta, he managed to get a pre-order in for the game, and picked it up a day early, even though the servers would not open until today.

But, to him, none of that mattered, for today was the day he was waiting for, and he was not going to complain about that too much. However, as he did not think about when he set the alarm, the servers would not open until 8:00PM, so that most ponies around the area would be off of work. How kind.

As he realizes his mistake about the time, he simply shrugs, for going back to sleep was hardly going to be possible nor probable. Instead, he boots up his computer, and notices that his friend Holly was online. Apparently, she notices the same, as soon thereafter, a Chat Window opens:

Holly: Hey Raven!
Raven: Good morning to you. Same mistake as me?
Holly: What, waking up so early? Nah, I like to wake up early. Gives me more hours in the day.
Raven: Fair point. Want to hang out some prior to 8:00PM? I have nothing planned, as my family is going to be out and about.
Holly: Sounds fun! Hopefully we can avoid the protestors.
Raven: Doubt it. Our best chance is probably the park though. If nothing else, we can at least enjoy some of God’s creation for a time.
Holly: Good idea, it is usually quiet. It is a date then! See you in 20 minutes or so?
Raven: That would be fine. See you then.

-Chat Window Closes-

With that written, Raven heads into the eating area, where he found his cousin eating breakfast.

“As ravenous as always,” Raven comments, to a response of a suggestive gesture when Raven’s aunt(the other Earth Pony’s mother) was not looking. “That was kind,” Raven continues sarcastically.

“Shut up. What does ravenous even mean?” He responds to Raven.

“I have told you this countless times, Grumpy, it means extremely hungry, and I say tha-,” Raven tries to say before an immature fit comes from Grumpy comes in terms of noise and motions.

“I get it, I get it! Shut up already!” Grumpy replies, returning to his food.

“Wavy was spot on with your name, you know,” Raven says in response, getting some food of his own, thanking the aforementioned mare.

“I thought I said shut up,” Grumpy responds.

“I never knew I was supposed to care.”

“You are a dick.”

“Pot calling the kettle black.”

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!” Wavy exclaims after they start getting into a war of words, wanting to avoid the inevitable conflict. “Both of you need to get out of the house some, find a friend or whatever to hang out with,” She continues, before trotting off. The two young stallions look back at each other.

“I already have plans with Holly, if you want to join us,” Raven offers to Grumpy.

“Hanging out with your marefriend? Is she not the other nerd that is going to play whatever game you keep talking about?” Grumpy says, Raven turning partially red.

“Yes, she is, and yes we are hanging out, but she is not my marefriend. Simply a friend,” Raven replies, to a knowing look from Grumpy.

“I may be a dick, and not as smart as you, but I can at least see emotions. Makes me great at my job of being a dick,” Grumpy responds, laughing.

“Whatever. Do you want to come along or not?” Raven asks.

“I would rather stab myself in the eye with a pencil then listen to both of you, so I will pass,” Grumpy says, taking another bite of his food.

“Dick.”

“As you say: ‘That I am,’” Grumpy says with a sarcastic tone.

“Anyway, I will be back around 6-7:00PM, probably. Call me before you try anything idiotic, so I can tell you why you are stupid,” Raven replies with a chuckle, Grumpy laughing a bit as well.

“Have fun with your marefriend!”

“Have fun with the blank walls!”

“Better than being around you!

“Right back to you!”

“SHUT UP!” Wavy exclaims again, having left the room she went into with her husband, Crimson Streak, talking on the phone next to her, telling her to shush before leaving and talking, Wavy following suit.

“Do I even need to say it?” Grumpy asks.

“Nope, I know exactly what you think about her. See you later,” Raven says.

“Do not die.”

“Do not blow anything up.”

“I will try,” Grumpy finishes, before Raven leaves the house to meet up with Holly.

The time is 10:00AM.

In a laboratory on the other side of Ponyville..

“Nightlight..there is..something..you may want..to see!” A unicorn exclaims, gallop to the aforementioned Nightlight all the way across the way, causing him to pant pathetically from the short gallop. He is holding a clipboard in his magic that Nightlight takes.

“I know you are not an Earth Pony, but come on now Jay. There is no way you are that tired from such a short journey,” Nightlight comments, looking over the material on the clipboard.

“Not all of us..go to..the gym,” Jay responds, regaining his composure slowly but surely.

“Explain what you are showing me, Jay,” Nightlight says after a bit, giving an inquisitive look at Jay.

“It is the latest results from the ESO Analysis group. There was a change in the server data from the closing of the Beta to the preparation period for the Launch. Not just any change, but a rather troubling one,” Jay replies.

“What is so troubling? Do MMOs not typically have modifications, even during such a short period before Launch?” Nightlight asks.

“Indeed, but there is one change that is relatively minor, but important, and one encrypted script of concern. Page 3 and 5 contain basic summaries of the information currently acquired,” Jay elaborates.

“I see. I will look these over then. Continue business as usual,” Nightlight replies.

“Yes ma’am,” Jay says in response, turning around and trotting away.

What are these changes? Nightlight ponders, flipping to Page 3 as she trots, reading over what she can.

Report #214
Department: ESO Analysis
Date of report: 4-17-35

As the game ESO nears its finalized state for its Launch Day, a troubling alteration has led to a reprioritization in these final hours, to determine if our suspicions have been warranted all along.

The change in question is to the logging off mechanism provided with the VPon-3 SDK. Part of the SDK included a specific log-off script necessary for voluntary logging out of a game. If it was to be altered or removed, we do not know what effects it could have for a player.

It is unclear to us why this is, but the script has been tampered with, but to what extent we are presently unaware of. We do know, however, that the original Logout method is not longer in the script, replaced instead by a link to an encrypted script that our current encryption key cannot decrypt. More information is in Report #214-B.

Until we know more, all we can do is theorize as to what the new Logout method is, and what it means for the inevitable players. We submit this report to show we are aware of this change, and are working towards figuring out why it was done.

Signed,

Yuki Tori

Report #214-B
Department: ESO Analysis
Date of report: 4-17-35

This report functions as an appendix to the prior report, specifically talking about the encrypted script that, unfortunately, is beyond our ability to decrypt at the time of this writing.

The script is titled “Full Immersion.escript,” not encrypted with the standard code that we have been using prior to now. Why this change was done so soon is rather odd to ponder, but it could simply be a beefing up of server security. We simply do not have that information.

Until we gain more information, we will be working to try to decrypt this, and figure out the connection to the Logout script. Once we know more, another report shall be filed.

Having made it back to her office by this point, Nightlight looks over the documents again, and thinks about them.

What are you up to..? She thinks to herself, before getting back to her own, unrelated work.

The time is now 10:20AM.

At the Ponyville Park area..

“We demand transparency!” “Open the code, show us your goal!”

“Can you believe these ponies?” Holly inquires, looking over at the ESO protesters.

“I cannot really fault them for caring so much. Starlit Eclipse has been rather secretive with all their assets, and their ambition is a big worry to many,” Raven replies.

“But you are not worried. Why is that?” Holly asks, curious.

“If there was something big enough to worry about, I would assume that the princesses would have gotten involved by this point. Considering the lack of news to that effect, or of anything shady beyond encrypting assets, I am chalking it up to a company not wanting their assets stolen so soon into a new market,” Raven explains.

“Makes sense. Still, these protests are not going to reflect well on the company, and probably hurt their sales. You would think they would try to do something to appease them,” Holly states.

“Due to the interest level being over the amount of stock that they were able to reasonably put out, I doubt sales will be much of a problem,” Raven responds.

“Fair point. What do you want to do for the remaining amount of time? There is not exactly much to do around here, and those chants are annoying me,” Holly complains.

“We have been here for only a few minutes and you are already bored? Typical Holly,” Raven replies, sticking his tongue out at her, causing her to flush red.

“It is not my fault it is boring around here! You know I prefer gaming to most other social activities,” Holly says in response.

“I love to game myself, but you really need to get out more,” Raven says back.

“One to talk.”

“More so than you.”

“Not by much.”

“Every little bit counts.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you too,” Raven finishes the exchange, smiling, Holly doing so as well soon after.

“Tell you what: How about we get on our PCs, and get some practice playing Pony Scrolls Online or something to that effect before the launch?” Raven asks, to an ecstatic Holly.

“Deal! Do not be too long!” She exclaims, flying off.

“Silly Holly..” He says to himself, watching the white and green pegasus as she flies away. Being so deep in thought, he does not notice the pony approaching behind him.

“Want to support transparency in the gaming industry?” The mysterious pony asks, knocking Raven out of his dreamy state.

“If you really think your efforts right now is going to cause any change on Launch Day, or anytime soon, you are severely naive. I support your mission, but I am going to be playing the game later today, so I cannot join you,” Raven responds.

“Be careful, friend,” The pony replies, before trotting off.

“Weird souls..” Raven says aloud, before trotting off to grab his system, to enjoy some time with Holly over the Internet.

After many eventful, wasteful hours of game playing later..

“You know, after ESO and related games end up launching, these games are likely going to go downhill quickly. Who would want to have their hooves cramp up as opposed to controlling things with your mind?” Holly rhetorically asks, clicking violently to swing her sword at an encountered dragon.

“I would be willing to bet that there will be enough loyalists to keep them alive and well,” Raven responds, dealing the final blow to the dragon, ending their battle prior to their imminent death.

“That was a hard fight. I wonder how the battle system will work in ESO,” Holly ponders aloud, resting back in her chair.

“Probably similar to combat in real life, albeit easier and guided a bit, like Call of Duty,” Raven replies, Holly being disgusted.

“Compare ESO to COD again and I will not join you tonight,” She states.

“You would not miss Launch Day for the world, and you know it,” He replies.

“..you are not wrong,” Holly concedes, clicking out of the game to look at the time.

“Guess what time it is?” She asks.

“What? Raven says in response.

“7:55. The press release said to be prepared to enter as to not miss the opening ceremony and everything, so we should probably log off and get ready,” Holly replies.

“Good point. See in in-game!” Raven says.

“See you in-game,” Holly responds, before logging out. At that point, Grumpy comes into the room.

“Done with your marefriend?” He asks.

“Not going over that one again. We are about to log into ESO, if you are wondering,” Raven replies.

“Have a good trip,” Grumpy says.

“See you next fall,” Raven replies.

“It better not take that long. You have to help me with dishes in an hour,” Grumpy responds.

“Duly noted. If I am not awake by that point, go ahead and do them, and I will do them alone tomorrow. Deal?” Raven states.

“Deal. Have fun,” Grumpy replies, sarcastically closing the door ever-so-slowly.

“Never a dull moment.”

“You know you love me.”

“That is gay.”

“Nighty night.” Grumpy says finally, before shutting the door.

Looking at the time again, Raven notices that it is 7:58PM. Moving rather quickly, he puts on the VPon-3, and waits for the time to click to 8:00PM.

His wish was finally granted in the latter part of 7:59PM, as he counts down in his head.

5..4..3..2..1..

The time is now 8:00PM, and the eyes of many thousands close their eyes right at that moment, a shared phrase coming out of them.

“Link start!”

Back at the laboratory, in Meeting Room Alpha..

“The Launch has begun,” Nightlight says to the gathered ponies, an expression of eerie calm upon her.

“Yes ma’am. We found nothing that could have warranted government intervention. We have a small crew still working at the decryption as we speak, but all we can do is hope for the best, regardless of the outcome,” Jay replies.

“If anypony gets harmed, it is going to be on our heads, you know,” Nightlight states.

“I am aware of this ma’am, and rest assured that we are working as fast as we-,” Jay starts, before the door slams open.

“We have a problem,” A pony from the decryption crew says. “A big one.”

In the Welcome Plaza..

“My word..”

“It is beautiful..”

“LAUNCH DAY!”

A variety of statements littered the plaza as the thousands of users log onto the game, making the plaza rather crowded rather quickly. Raven looks around, trying to find Holly, before being tapped by the aforementioned mare. Looking behind him stood the exact same mare, appearance and all, as he knew and loved.

“We are in the game..” Holly says with a smile wider than even when Pony Scrolls Online launched.

“That we are..” Raven agrees, looking around in sheer awe. “We probably should move out of the Welcome Plaza though, the ceremony does not begin for another half hour,” He continues, to a nod by Holly.

“Right. A Beta Tester blog I followed mentioned some relatively easy enemies in a field nearby, we should probably try some combat training. I presume you chose sword as your specialty as well?” Holly asks, as Raven pulls out his sword.

“Do you even need to ask?” Raven responds, smiling at the mare as she pulls out a sword of her own.

“Guess not. Come now, let us get going,” Holly says, beginning to trot in the general direction she remembered, Raven following after.

In the Hog Plains..
After 15 minutes of wondering..
Because Holly kept looking at the sights..

“Gah!” Holly exclaims, being hit again by a “Normal Hog,” her health bar in the medium.

“Halfway gone, not a single blow landed on the same hog you have been fighting for five minutes now,” Raven deadpans.

“If you think it is so easy, switch with me,” Holly challenges.

“Fine then, jump back and I will jump in,” Raven says, Holly doing so and Raven becoming the new target for the hog. The Hog then charges at Raven, and he tries to swing..

And gets hit, and thrown backwards.

“Not so easy now that you are the one fighting it, huh?” Holly teases, Raven flushing red.

“Alright, you got me there. There has to be some secret to it though,” Raven responds, blocking an incoming attack with his sword.

“Try believing in the heart of the sword, hone your focus into stabbing the enemy, and you shall most surely succeed!” Holly sarcastically replies, Raven decided to try anyway, pushing the enemy away to begin.

Watching the hog come forth, Raven does as Holly suggested, keeping his focus on the hog in front of him, and the action of moving the sword. When he perceived the hog coming close enough, he lunges forth, killing the enemy with one blow.

“Are you kidding me?! That was a joke!” Holly complains, Raven chuckling.

“I think I win,” Raven says.

“Do not get cocky. Now that I have an idea on how to work this system, I will be fine,” She retorts, going towards another hog.

“Do you not think you should heal first? You are at half health..” Raven states.

“What are you so worried about? It is not like I actually die. I would just meet you back at the Welcome Plaza when I respawn,” Holly says, focusing on the battle.

A few hits later, she is at red, as she still is not able to land a strike on the hog.

“Focus, Holly!” Raven exclaims.

“I am trying! You made it out to be a lot easier than it actually is!” Holly says, blocking an incoming attack again.

“Push the hog back, and focus on its movements, and how you want to move the sword. The system will guide your sword to come in contact if you focus properly,” Raven explains, Holly listening once more and seeking to do as she is told.

Pushing the hog away, she did the same as Raven, killing the hog, and winning the battle.

“I did it! I did it!” Holly says with joy, a smile appearing on her face.

“Indeed. I wonder when the welcoming ceremony is, it has to be close to half an hour by now since the launch, due to your incessant wandering around,” Raven states.

“Well excuuuuse me, princess, I like the scenery of this game, it is absolutely incredible!” Holly exclaims with indignation.

“Alright, alright. Anyway, hopefully it will not be too-,” He begins, before they are both suddenly teleported, landing within the Welcome Plaza with the other players following suit. Once all were gathered, a pony appears on a giant white cloud, his color scheme blending in as though he was an angel.

“Greetings players, I am Torn Soul, the CEO of Starlit Eclipse, and I welcome you to Equestrian Saga Online! Are all of you having a most joyous time thus far?” The pony of white inquires, to an overwhelming cheer from the players.

“Wonderful! This game was a work of passion from my and the rest of Starlit Eclipse, and despite the protests, I am happy you decided to come in and enjoy the fruits of our labor! As a reward for your dedication, I would like to let you all in on a little secret,” He continues, his color scheme and cloud growing darker as he continues forth.

“Some of you have noticed the absence of the “Logout,” button, that would normally be present in the Gesture UI. Rest assured, you are still able to Logout, but we wanted you to have a bit of enjoyment before you did. You can find a purchase in the shop for 50 bits that you can get to be logged out instantly, whenever you so choose. I have put 50 frozen bits in your account for that purpose, so you can always have it. We would update the game, but that would require some down time that we cannot afford to have, so that will have to do. We apologize for the inconvenience,” He continues, Raven starting to find this a bit odd. Soon after, a pony, one that Raven assumed to be one of the reporters due to his urgency, found the purchase that was spoken of, and swiftly purchases it. Right when he does so, however, Torn looks over and smiles, becoming darker.

“It appears that some ponies are wanting to adjourn this meeting early. How sad. Look to the pony right there as an example of that purchase in action,” He says, pointing to the confused pony, wondering why he was not yet logged out. All of a sudden, he clutches where his heart would be, and collapses to the ground, spasming.

“Oh right, did I forget to mention that “Logging out,” from this game translates to literal, fascinating death of your body in the real world? Silly me, I forgot,” Torn continues, a crooked smile dawning on his face as he turns as black as the night, yellow eyes piercing a black fog that spread throughout the plaza as a result of the pony’s death.

“It is time you little ponies learned a bit more about me, Torn Soul. I will spare you all the intricate details, and tell you a basic summary: I created this game in order to have a universe under my control, constantly under my whim. I wanted to be a god of a universe which players were trapped in for as long as I saw fit to keep them. You ponies were the volunteers I needed in order to fulfill my wish, so congratulations,” He explains.

“Hold up! How do we get out of here then?! I do not want to die in here!” A pony shouts from the crowd up at Torn Soul, the pony laughing at the question.

“Relax, there is a way, and not a hard one either. Simply make it to the top of all 100 floors in this game, defeat the final boss, and all shall be freed from the game. That is, of course, if you truly want to leave. I would love to have you all here until you wither away in the real world, if that is your choice,” Torn Soul answers.

“In any case, I have spoken for long enough. You know your mission, and you know your choices. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your new home, Equestrian Saga Online!” He finishes, laughing as lightning strikes and he floats away, the fog soon clearing to reveal a clear night sky, a silent clearing being left in its wake.

Raven receives a message from Holly soon after, simply reading “Meet outside the East Gate,” and he hoofs it there, before the meltdown began. He finds Holly standing still, silent, and deflated.

“Holly? Are you..alright?” Raven asks, despite knowing the gist of what she was feeling.

“I appreciate the concern..but I really do not have a good answer to that question. I need some rest,” She simply says, her voice devoid of most of her emotion, a sign Raven knew all too well.

“I think there was a player-run Inn nearby. I would be willing to bet that they would not be gone for too long, given the circumstances,” Raven says, Holly simply nodding and following after, not saying a word.

At the Inn..

As the duo open the door to the wooden Inn, a fresh fire greets them, alongside a blue coated mare with a white mane.

“You set up fast,” Raven comments.

“No reason to stand there and yell at somepony who could not care less,” The mare replies.

“True that. Do you have a room that could house both of us?” Raven asks.

“We only have single bed rooms here, enough to fit two ponies on if they so chose. You can rent it if you want,” The mare responds. Before Raven could say anything else, Holly pipes in.

“We will take it,” She says, her voice the same as before. After paying with the bits acquired from the earlier Hog battles, the two ponies silently enter their room, 25-B.

“I can sleep on the floor if you want, so you can get the bed to yourself. I am assuming you do not want to sleep together,” Raven says.

“I never said that. Do what you want,” Holly simply says, climbing onto one side of the bed and facing the wall, leaving room enough for Raven to join, which he reluctantly decides to.

“Are you..”

“Just..do not ask anything tonight, Raven. Just let me sleep.”

“Alright..have a blessed night, Holly.”

“..you as well.”

With the short dialogue complete, they both rest,healing their characters and providing them a temporary reprieve from the horrors that may await them come the morrow.