Harmonia Rising

Chapters

The Call/Email to Adventure
The Demo
Team Meeting
First Quest

The Call/Email to Adventure

“And it’s finally over!” Sunset shouted. She let out a satisfied sigh and grinned toward her camera. “And that’s today’s stream done. Thank you all for coming! Now, I’m going to take a much-needed break. See you guys tomorrow for the Tirek’s Revenge stream.” Sunset turned off her camera and streaming program, officially signaling the end of the day’s activity.

When the camera turned off, she let out another sigh and sunk into her chair. Looking over to her side she saw the cause of her recent bout of daily streams, a broken pipe system with very clear repairs. She was smart enough to put money away incase such a thing happened, but now she needed to fill that reserve again. Luckily, she made decent profit from her streams since she moved to a more gamer-focused platform. Said platform also came with new benefits, particularly sponsorships and advance game copies, mostly the former. The platform screens all the business deals ad gives them out to their streamers if they’re proven to be reputable.

Sunset wanted to get a sponsorship, but her channel was too small to receive one, until now. With her ten-thousandth subscriber, she was officially big enough to receive the emails. There was a part of her that knew better than to get her hopes up any time soon. That was until she opened her channel’s inbox to find a message waiting for her.

Sunset grinned and opened the message, “Let’s see what we’ve got!”

[Dear Sunset Shimmer of the Dusk Gaming channel, we at King & Knox Productions would like to extend a hand in partnership for your gaming channel.]

Sunset stopped there and opened a new tab on her computer. The platform filters possible sponsorships and she knew people had biases. So, she was going to do her due diligence before continuing.

She didn’t find much about King & Knox Productions, which wasn’t surprising given what she did find. Apparently, King & Knox was a new company looking to break out into the gaming world. She didn’t find anything objectionable, so she returned to the email to continue reading.

[We would like you to stream and/or record a Let’s Play for our new game coming out next month. We have left a description of the game for you to decide whether you would enjoy it or not.]

Sunset appreciated that. She wanted to know what she was getting into before committing a game to her channel.

[We have also given you an advanced copy of the first levels of the game to experience. You can stream/record these levels for your channel as you see fit to drum up interest for the game. This is yours to keep, even if you choose not to partner with us. If you accept our offer, you will receive the full game for free when it is released next month to continue your adventures, as well as all downloadable content to be released. We look forward to your response.]

Sunset already liked this company. It was rare for companies these days to be so open with their product and so willing to have Let’s Players like her to stream their games. That alone made her want to work with them. However, she still had a description to read.

[Harmonia Rising]

[A 10000-to-1 hack and slash adventure through the world of Harmonia.]

Sunset raised an eyebrow. She’d never played one of these games before, though she was interested to try one out. It was obviously a power trip, and that was fine by her.

[Harmonia has been at war for hundreds of years. Warlords vie for power to sit at the top and unite their land once more. The stalemate will end soon, and with it the war. Take your sides and fight for your chosen leader. Each battle will change the political landscape of Harmonia, so choose wisely. Will you stand for another’s banner, or will you become the conqueror?]

Sunset finished the description and nodded. “Alright. I think I’ll try this out.” She sent a reply to King & Knox Productions to officially partner with them for the upcoming game before returning to the email. Punching in the code into her console, she was ready to try out the game. It was too late to stream, but patience was something rarely associated with Sunset.

Once it was done downloading, she was more than ready to start playing. The game opened to show the title screen: a large field with a forlorn flag of white and gold sticking out of the ground. Pressing start caused the flag to get caught in a breeze and unfurling. The camera zoomed in to show the flag was also the primary menu.

Sunset nodded a bit, “That’s pretty clever. Okay, first up, settings.”

After putting everything into place in just the way she liked it, she pressed New Game and leaned forward a little more in anticipation. The first thing she saw was a character creation screen.

“Oh? Alright, let’s see what we’ve got.”

Sunset decided to put herself into the game and set the values accordingly. Her first hiccup came when she was asked to select a weapon/method of attack. Her given options were Sword, Spear, Katana, Pyromancy, Cryomancy, and Celestial magic. She was told more options would be made available later on, but these were the options she had right now. Thankfully, she was allowed to try them out a little.

Sword was fairly standard. The character was given a blade to fight with. It was a straight, double-edged combat sword. Most of the attacks involved the usual sword swing attacks you’d see in games. Some special attacks involved creating shockwaves either by swinging/thrusting the blade or by slamming the sword into the ground. It was likely the option for new players.

Spear was also very straight forward. Her character would be given a spear to fight with. Again, swinging attacks were prevalent, but the majority of the attacks were trusting moves. The special attacks allowed her to knock over opponents or escape direct interactions and gain some distance.

Katana granted the character a weapon of the same name at her hip. The fighting style focused on quick draws into quick swings to end on the cliché returning of the blade to its scabbard. That said, Sunset loved that cliché and was A-Okay with that. The special abilities were mostly counter attacks, hovering her hand near the sword’s hilt to attack when she’s struck. Sunset could tell this was likely the hardest of all the physical weapons, and that excited her inner gamer.

Pyromancy gave her character the power to wield fire magic in the game. Basic attacks involved tossing fireballs around that explode after a set distance. Special attacks included walls of fire, flame traps, fire cones, the usual fire-based attacks.

Cryomancy gave the character ice magic to wield. Basic attacks created icicles to throw like small knives. Special attacks created various items out of the ice like a hammer which splintered on impact, a bomb tossed to create a freezing mist, and a set of spikes to come up from the ground.

Celestial magic gave her character a tome. Each attack caused shooting starts to descend onto the field to attack her enemies. Special attacks created constellations that interacted with the world depending on the stars’ formations. It was plenty flashy, but Sunset didn’t find it too enthralling.

Sunset selected the Katana and moved on to the starting equipment screen. Since the armor actually had an effect on the game’s playstyle, she selected light armor and speed-based gear. After a while, she was ready to start her game.

Sunset grinned and held up her controller in anticipation, “Okay! Let’s do this!”

As she started the game in earnest, everything suddenly went white. An all-consuming light followed a silent darkness.

So, it begins.

Author's Note

King: Hello everyone! I'm happy to bring a new story. I wanted to branch out from writing in other fandoms for a bit. So here we are again. Hope you all enjoy the story!

The Demo

Sunset groaned as she started to pick herself off the ground. She brought a hand to her head and shook lightly to stop her ringing ears. “What happened?” Her body jerked up for a moment at the feeling of her hand. Quickly pulling it in front of her, she found her hand covered in a dark glove with lacquered wood armor down her arm. The wooden armor was a bright red with yellow nylon cording holding the plate pieces together.

Her other hand fell to the side to help balance her in her shock, only to find something resting beside her. Sitting on the emerald grass was a sheathed katana. The hilt of the weapon was wrapped in a bright, sunny yellow cording while the scabbard was a dusk red. Her personal symbol –let’s be honest, her cutie mark– was etched into the wooden scabbard, marking it as her own.

Sunset scrambled from surprise and stood up in shock. She froze as she heard the sounds of clattering wood and look down over her body to find the rest of her body covered by similar wooden armor as her arms. The majority of the armor was a bright red with yellow cording. Beneath the armor, she could see grey cloth clothing that fit into her armor’s style. Taken together, the armor reminded her of the woodblock samurai she saw at her job in the mall’s sushi restaurant.

Sunset’s breathing started to quicken as she tried to make sense of everything, “Okay, Sunset. Calm down and think. What’s the last thing you remember?” She started to pace a bit as she spoke to herself, “I got an email about a new game. I put in the code and got an advanced copy of the first few chapters. I made a character and then…” She stopped, realization hitting her, “Nothing. That was the last thing I remember before this moment. Did I fall asleep? Is this a dream?”

Sunset tentatively reached for the blade on the ground and picked it up, feeling the weight of the blade and scabbard. “It feels real…” She ran her gloved finger over the etching of her cutie mark, feeling the small rises and falls of the wood from behind her glove. The sensation felt too real to not be reality. Considering she was a magical unicorn from another world living among humans, it wasn’t the weirdest thing she’d ever experienced.

She sighed and looked around, instinctively placing the weapon at her side. “Okay, so, where am I?”

The area she found herself in was a vast clearing of grassland. The hills rolled off into the horizon without a tree in sight. The wind flew over the grass and caused the tall blades to sway like an ocean wave.

Sunset sighed, her shoulders sinking a little, “That doesn’t help.” She decided it was best to start walking. She knew if she could a river, she could find civilization. The problem right now was the lack of water sources. As she crested one of the larger hills, she found her foot landing atop something. She jumped back and looked down to find a person lying on the ground. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!”

The person stirred and started to sit up. She was dressed in an ornate purple kimono top with bright red hakama pants. As the girl sat up with a yawn, Sunset felt she looked extremely familiar, from the lavender purple skin to her violet hair with a… magenta streak. The girl stood and brushed herself off before turning to Sunset and confirming her suspicions. The girl was an exact look-a-like for Twilight!

The girl smiled for a moment, but with a sense of unease seeing Sunset, “Oh! Hello there.” She even sounded like Twilight!

Sunset smiled nervously. “Um… I’m sorry for stepping on you. I didn’t see you… sleeping there.”

“Had I? Apologies, I must have fallen asleep during my ritual.”

“Ritual?”

Twilight nodded, “A mystic ritual. I don’t want to bore you with the details. But I do wonder why you’re all the way out here. Few people ever come out this field.”

This got Sunset a little worried. “Oh, um… I’m not really from around here. Why is that?”

“Well, there’s the curse for one thing.”

“Curse? Seriously?”

“Deathly so.” Twilight’s face turned grim, “It’s why I was here, to lift the curse and help the spirits of this field to move into the next life.”

Sunset chuckled nervously, “Okay… And the other reasons?”

Twilight’s face turned back to her usual tone, at least what Sunset assumed was her usual mood, “Oh! That would be the roaming bandits coming through the area.”

Sunset’s face was blank for a moment as silence was all that followed, “Roaming what now?”

Twilight pointed passed Sunset’s shoulder, “Them.”

Sunset spun around in surprise to find a small hoard of bandits approaching them. As the, truthfully, generic-looking men spread out to surround them, they started to draw their weapons. Everything from dented swords to rusted spears and a few had less than practical weapons like farming tools.

Sunset took one step back out of a sense of fear. She’d never fought anyone with actual weapons before. Every enemy she’d ever had only used magic powers or some crazy influence over the world around them. She felt her fears piling up before her body moved against her will. However, rather than in surrender or attempting to flee, her feet spread apart and her hand moved closer to her own weapon. She looked over to Twilight to find the girl didn’t have a weapon. This made things worse to Sunset because it meant she had to try to defend both of them with a weapon she’s never used in real life.

The sound of a clap pulled attention to Twilight. Her hands started to glow a bright purple before she separated them in a dance of light. Each motion created a light of purple light before forming together into the shape of a Long dragon. Once it was complete, the ethereal purple dragon came to life and growled at the bandits as it wrapped protectively around Twilight. As its burning fire started to flow around its mouth, the spines along its back started to glow a bright green. It actually reminded Sunset of Spike now that she was really looking at it. Twilight took a step forward and pointed her dragon to the bandits in front of her, causing the dragon to unleash a mass of emerald fire.

Sunset was awestruck at the scene, requiring her to shake her head to get back to the situation at hand. Twilight can clearly handle herself. The question now was if she could. Unfortunately for her, she was left wide open to an attack by one of the bandits. She felt the blow land square across her back, but that was all she felt. She spun around to find the attacker at used a sword that should have caused a lot more damage than it did. However, she hardly felt a thing from it. The feeling in question, if she could describe it, was like she had lost a few points on a health bar. She spun around to attack him on instinct, knocking him away with a single strike.

She blinked in surprise, especially since the arc of the weapon indicated that she should have sliced the man in half. However, his body was not only still in one piece, but there was no blood. Sunset turned around to face the rest of the attackers, not sure what she was experiencing. It’s like a game…

She decided to try to run with that and think of it like she was still holding her controller. Each button and combo playing out in her mind created a motion through her body. She started to cut down her attackers like butter and with little effort. She thought back to the email and the description of the game, particularly the 10,000-to-1 part. As she ducked back from another attack, she decided to try another button combo and found her returning her weapon to its scabbard and holding a quick draw stance. Pressing a button caused her to draw the blade fast enough to created a shockwave through the air and killing a group of them all at once.

Many of the bandits were either dead or running away in a panic. Sunset let out a breath and returned her weapon to its home. “That looks like the last of them.”

“I agree.” Twilight’s dragon rested on her shoulders as she pet its head before disappearing. “Now, we should be free for proper introductions. My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

Sunset felt her eye twitch a little. Of course it is… “I’m Sunset Shimmer. It’s nice to meet you.”

Twilight smiled and nodded, “Likewise. Though you never told me why you are in this field.”

“Oh! Um…” Sunset thought it was probably best to avoid the full truth for now. “I’m just passing through and got lost. I’m not from the area.”

“Understandable.” Twilight didn’t question it. “I assume you were looking for Kesshou Village.”

Sunset gave a single nervous chuckle, “I… might be more lost than I thought.” Sunset really hoped she bought this.

Twilight looked at her with a sense of concern, “I guess that might be understandable. Let’s at least get you to Kesshou Village first.”

Sunset let out a slight sigh. “That sounds good to me.” As they started their journey, Sunset felt it might be a good idea to fish for some information. “So, what is Kesshou like, anyway?”

“Oh! It’s great!” Twilight smiled as she described it, “It’s a little piece of paradise in the mountains. There aren’t too many people and there isn’t as many amenities as the larger cities, but that’s fine with me. Granted, most visitors are pilgrims for the temple, so there’s not too many passers-by.”

Sunset felt that was important, somehow, “Temple?”

“The Temple of the Dawn Bringer. It’s just up the mountain from the village.”

Sunset smirked to herself at the idea that this temple probably had something to do with Princess Celestia.

“That’s actually where I spend most of my time. I work for the Temple and do whatever I can to help travelers.”

Sunset smiled and nodded slightly, “That sounds about right.” When Twilight turned to her, confused as to what she meant by that, Sunset had to try to cover her tracks. “Oh! It’s just that you seem like the helpful type, you know?”

Twilight looked up slightly as she hummed in thought, “I suppose I do.”

Sunset sighed in relief.

Twilight smiled as she slowed slightly, “Here we are!”

“Already?” Sunset looked down the way to see a small village right out of Japanese history. It was an amazing sight to actually see a village like that in person. A quaint little village at the foot of a small mountain. As she looked up the jutting mass of earth, she saw a bright white and sky-blue temple sitting on a flat area of the mountain’s side. She felt she was only seeing a small fraction of the whole structure. “Wow.”

“Right?” Twilight chuckled at Sunset’s amazement and continued walking, causing Sunset to snap out of it and run after her.

As they arrived in town, Sunset looked around at the people walking around. She couldn’t place it, but it there was something off about everyone she passed. It was as if each person was only a placeholder filling space. She could see each as a distinct person with different features from one another, but she felt like none of them had an actual name.

Twilight run a bit ahead and spun around to Sunset, “Apologies, but I need to get back to the Temple before night and it can a long climb at the best of times.” She bows slightly, “Until next time, Sunset Shimmer.” With that, Twilight turned again and started to run to the opposite end of town and toward the mountain.

Sunset took a deep breath and nodded to herself. “Okay… Guess I need to look around town now.” As she walked around, she found a small inn that looked like a good way to scour for information. When she reached the door, she noticed a small sign that read, [Closed for Demo]. Sunset laughed a bit, the fact the door genuinely didn’t give way confirming the fact that this wasn’t just like a game. It was the game.

She thought back to the email and sighed. “It said that the first few chapters were playable. Maybe if I beat the demo, I get back home. But if you don’t get quests at the inn, where else can I get them?” She thought back over her gaming experience to find a possible solution to her problem. The only problem was that every game was different with how it handled quests. In the end, she had to just bite the bullet and search the entire town. After some time of searching the street for any door without a [Closed for Demo] sign, she eventually found a smithy open for business.

When she walked in, she found a larger man standing behind the counter, distinctive from the people outside only by his attire. He grinned and waved as she entered, “Welcome! What can I get you?”

Sunset decided to try to ask, “I’m not from town and I’m looking for work if I can find it. People that need a sword.” She hoped that sounded right to him, because she doubts she has any smithing skills in the game.

The blacksmith nodded, “I gotcha. Well, I have an opportunity to find some coin if you’re hoping to make some. Metal’s running dry these days. If you can get some old weapons to melt down, I’ll pay you for each on you bring in.”

Sunset remembered the fight with the bandits and almost felt like she had some to give. She moved her hand to place something on the table, though her hand was empty. Though, she felt that if she acted like she’d place something, the item would appear from within her inventory. Sure enough, as she opened her hand an old sword came to rest on the table.

The smith grabbed the weapon from the table and started to look things over. “Decent metal. Old, but still usable. Alright!” He turned back to Sunset and handed her some coins. “It’s not much, but 20 Bits can get you plenty.”

Sunset took the coins and felt a certain nostalgia in using Bits again. “Thanks.”

“By the way, if you really need work for a sword, I’d suggest heading for a castle town. We don’t have much need for hired swords.”

Sunset sighed with a nod, “I’ll keep that in mind.” She thanked the man for the Bits and left the smithy to try to advance the chapter in hopes it would let her return home. She walked around town hoping to find any differences, but most of the doors were still closed. She groaned and moved through town in hopes to find anything at this point. Eventually, she thought it might be a good idea to check out the Temple, if she even can, and ask Twilight more about the area. As she took a step passed the gate up the mountain, she felt a sense of relief hoping this might advance things again.

The road up the mountain was long and very winding. By the time she reached the top, the sun was starting to fall passed the hills in the distance. Sunset folded over, placing her hands on her knees as she took heavy breaths. “Why would they build it so far up the mountain?!” After a moment to get her breathing back under control, she stood upright again and walked through the open gate to the Temple’s inner courtyard.

The area inside looked remarkably similar to the outside area, just inside a set of walls and with a small structure at the other end of the courtyard. The structure was set with paper walls and a long, slightly elevated wooden path wrapping around the building. Sunset felt like the Temple was too empty, but also never really saw one in real life so it was hard to tell if it was weird or not.

Sunset looked around the courtyard, shouting, “Hello?! Anyone here?”

“Stop screaming in the Temple!” The voice that answered was very much not Twilight’s. An older man dressed in a similar attire to Twilight’s walked around one of the corners. His clothing was a long robe with large sleeves that Sunset believed was called a kariginu. The man walked using a cane and was hunched over just slightly. His ivory skin was contrasted by his bright green hair. He was clearly advanced in age but gave off the aura of a man that would fight you without a second thought. He stopped after rounding the corner and placed both hands on his cane as he addressed her, “Why have you come to our Temple today?”

Sunset tried her best to smile, “I’m really sorry. But I was hoping to talk to Twilight.”

The man’s glare instantly changed to a jovial laugh, “I should have known!”

Sunset let out a sigh in relief once he started laughing.

“She can be along soon enough, but she has duties to the Temple. I know it might be hard to image, but I’m pretty old. I can’t take care of everything in the Temple anymore.” The man walked over to the wooden path and sat on the wood as he faced Sunset. “So, how did you meet young Twilight, anyway?”

Sunset took a few steps closer, thinking back to her story for Twilight to avoid it biting her later, “I met her earlier today. I’m not from the area and got very lost. She helped me get back to civilization.”

The man chuckled a bit, sounding like the stereotypical good-natured old man, “That sounds like her.” His laughter faded and he looked back to Sunset. He looked like he was about to say something, but his attention was forced away as the wall behind him slid open.

Standing on the opposite side was Twilight carrying a wooden bucket with a rag hanging over the side. “I’m done!” Twilight jumped a bit seeing Sunset standing in eh courtyard, “Oh! Sunset! When did you get here?”

Sunset smiled and waved off any concern, “Just now, actually. I was talking to…” She waved her hand, having never been told the man’s name.

The monk laughed and stood up again. “I’m Bright Star, head monk of the Temple of the Dawn Bringer.” Bright Star turned to Twilight and grabbed the bucket from her hands, “I’ll take care of this, she’s here to see you after all.”

“It’s fine, sir!” Twilight tried to argue, “You need to rest!”

Bright Star huffed, “I’m old! Not dead! I can still do things around here!” He took the bucket with a little more force and started to walk away before Twilight could argue further.

Sunset leaned slightly toward Twilight as they watched him leave, “He seems… nice.”

Twilight sighed, “I just wish he wasn’t so stubborn. Anyway,” Twilight turned back to Sunset, “what brings you to the Temple?”

“I actually wanted to ask you a few things if I could.”

“Of course!”

They were cut off when a loud horn rang out over the air from the village below.

Sunset spun around toward the source, “What was that?”

Twilight gasped at the sound and started to breath heavier in that worried-Twilight way. “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! A call to arms! The village is under attack!”

“What?! But I thought it was peaceful.”

Bright Star walked back toward them with a huff, “The Warlords might not see a reason to conquer us, but we still have our fair share of troubles out this far from the castle towns. Old bandit clans trying to take whatever they can. You two should get down there and help the defense.”

Twilight spun around toward him, a look of defiant fear, as contradictory as that is, on her face, “I can’t just leave you hear alone! What if someone attacks the Temple?!”

Bright Star swung his cane up and pointed toward Twilight, only half an inch separating the cane from her nose, “Listen up and listen good, Sparkle!” Once Twilight was scared to a stiff-bodied silence, Bright Star returned his can to the ground. “I know I’m old. My best years are far behind me. But I’ll be damned if you stay here to guard me while innocent people down there are in danger. I know you worry about the old man you’ve been working for in the Temple, you’re kind like that. But you also have a duty to the village. I’ll be fine. Now, get down there!”

Twilight choked up a moment before wiping a small tear. Her face changed to one of determination, “Right! I’ll be back soon!”

Bright Star sighed and grinned now that his message got through, “Go get ‘em, kid.”

Twilight spun on her heels and started to run to the gate, “Come on, Sunset!”

Sunset glanced back to Bright Star, seeing him sit back on the wooden step. She nodded to him and ran after Twilight.

As one would imagine, running back down the mountain was significantly faster than climbing up it, allowing them to arrive in time to defend the village from a familiar set of bandits. However, Sunset could see a few with better armor and weapons. They were more distinct, but just barely.

Sunset charged forward and sliced through a few of the lesser bandits, but the more distinctive of them took a few more hits than the grunts. Sunset surmised that being more distinctive in this world is akin to gaining power. However, they went down all the same, just a little slower. She cut through another group before they started to run from her in fear. Taking a deep breath, she looked to the side and saw one of the grunt’s bodies lying on the ground. Then, something she’d never thought of forced itself into her mind. Were these people real to themselves? Had she just cut down sentient lives?

But her questions would have to wait. Because if they can die, that meant she could to. And something a little more distinctive was walking into the fight. He stood a full head taller than her in a simple set of armor. Despite his armor’s lack of distinctiveness, the man came across far more so than anyone in the hoard. He stood a head taller than Sunset with a leaner, more athletic frame. His skin was a deep red and she could see his orange hair up in a sort of spiked mohawk resembling a dragon’s spines. His weapon was a dual ended club with a small section for him to actually wield the item. As he walked forward, two of the militia tried to charge him from behind, only to find the club bashed into their faces. The man laughed stood without a care in the world.

Sunset returned to a fighting stance, “And who are you supposed to be, huh?”

The man laughed and slammed one end of his weapon into the ground, “I’m the Bandit King Garble! I’d say remember that name, but you’ll be dead soon enough, so it doesn’t matter!” Garble swung his club around over his shoulders and toward Sunset with a sweeping attack.

Sunset set to guard but was knocked to the side by the attack. She felt she hadn’t taken much damage, but it was disorienting. She shook her head in time to see him charging again. This time, however, she moved to a counter stance and beat his attack by ducking the strike and swinging back. She followed this was a flurry of attacks to keep him at bay.

Garble got his bearings back in order guarded with his club, preventing any damage. He pushed back against her blade and swept her legs out from under her. As he raised his weapon, the fire from Twilight’s ethereal dragon knocked him back again. Garble growled seeing the two. “Bet you think I’m outnumbered, and you might be right. But I have you out maneuvered. I plan to run now, and you could chase me, but you’ll be giving up something big!” Garble grabbed a gourd from his side and tossed it into the town, shattering on the roof of one of the buildings. No one new what he was up to until he threw a lit torch after it, setting the liquid ablaze and allowing Garble and his bandits to escape from the distraction.

With the bandits escaping, the militia turned their focus to putting out the flames. Sunset moved to help until she saw Twilight’s eyes wide in horror and shock. Sunset turned to see what Twilight was looking at and saw smoke rising from the mountain. Before Sunset could really register that, Twilight was running at full tilt toward the mountain in a panic. Seeing the villagers handling the fire, Sunset started after her as the two began to scale the mountain.

As they approached, Twilight began to slow at the horror. There was no raging inferno or rising sparks, but the dying smolders of a fire long since burned out. It was more than likely the attack was a distraction to raid the Temple. Twilight fell to her knees and roared out in anger and pain. It was a grief born from only one thing, the death of a loved one.

Sunset got more than a little choked up, about to reach out to Twilight to try to comfort her. “Twilight… I’m sorry about…”

“HEY!” Both girls jerked up hearing the voice, “What did I tell you about shouting in the Temple?!” Bright Star walked out from the tree line slowly given his age.

Twilight was instantly back on her feet and looking toward him, “Master Bright Star! You’re okay!”

“I’m alive at least. I’m happy with that much. They must have scaled the other side of the mountain, the crazy bastards. I was lucky to get away as soon as I did.” He started to wobble, causing Twilight to spring forth and catch him from falling. Bright Star sighed and looked back over to the ashes of his Temple. He sighed and looked up toward the sky, “It’s a lovely evening, though…”

Sunset looked up to the sky to see night had finally fallen upon the world. She felt herself smile at what little silver lining she could find. She felt a heat rising in front of her and she looked back to the Temple’s ashes to see a bright purple flame rising from the dying embers. The flame started small before bursting into a large pillar of violet fire, causing her to fall backward in shock.

She could see a figure forming within the flame. He stood a bit taller than her in the flames, and that was all she could tell at first. A swing of the hand set the fires aside to reveal a man standing in the ashes. He had light violet skin with a dark royal purple hair. He was dressed as a Napoleonic Monarch with a dark purple, militarized uniform adorned with gold. The only thing differentiating him from a general was the golden, spired crown atop his head. He stepped out of the fire and held a hand down toward her, “I thank you, Sunset Shimmer, for helping us test the limits of Harmonia.”

Sunset looked from his hand and back to him before rising to her feet and backing away a bit. She looked to Twilight and Bright Star, only to find them having disappeared.

“They’re not here, Sunset Shimmer. The demo has ended.”

Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she looked toward the man with suspicion, “Who are you?”

“I am the one known as King.”

“King? As in King & Knox Productions?”

“Quite. My partner cannot join me today. To answer the question you truly asked, however, I am the creator of this world. The programmer, if you will.”

“Then, this really is…”

“A video game, yes.”

That lifted a weight off Sunset’s conscience. “But, why am I here then, huh? Are you keeping me here?!”

“Of course not. You are free to return simply by thinking of quitting the game.”

“Then I can return home?”

“On the contrary, you never left your home. The magic I used to bring you here left you there as well. You are a phantom consciousness. When you quit the game, your experiences will wash over your true self. Should you wish to return, you simply boot up the game again. Either way, Knox and I thank you for your time in this demo and we hope to see you next month.” King stepped back and the fires rose over him again, disappearing as soon as he arrived.

Sunset thought to herself and took a breath with closed eyes. When her eyes opened again, she was home again with shared memories of two consciousnesses.

“Okay… this is weird.”

Author's Note

King: Back so soon? I am, yes. I wanted to finish the work on the Demo chapter before sending this into the world. As always, hoped you enjoyed. If this gets enough interaction, I'll probably continue it.

Oh who am I kidding, I'll probably continue it after one like.

Team Meeting

Author's Note

King: A part of me is sorry about this taking so long to come out... But other projects took over my time. I'm not proud that I'm so scattered, but I do what I can. Hope you enjoy.
Knox: Can I talk in this box now? Is that a thing?

Team Meeting

After her return, she planned to tell her friends about the weirdness she’d just experienced. However, between her schoolwork and her streams to fill her bank account again, she didn’t have a lot of time to do so. That’s not to mention her friends’ own lives and schedules. At the end of the week, after an unexpectedly short band practice, she had her moment with all her friends gathered in one area. Now she sat in the band room with her friends, story finished and a silence hanging over them.

The first to speak up after this was Twilight, “That sounds pretty fantastical, even by our standards.”

Applejack nodded, “I can believe it though. You ain’t steered us wrong with this stuff yet.”

Pinkie chuckled, “I think the funniest part is that this doesn’t surprise us anymore.”

Rarity sighed, “She has a point. Though it has done wonders for my projects. Especially now that I have to put more consideration into constant activity that magic seems to force on us.”

Twilight shifted her weight into her thinking stance, “But why would whoever this King person is do this? And, obvious question I’m surprised no one asked yet, HOW?!” She blew up, grabbing Sunset’s shoulders in her Twilighting panic kind of way.

Sunset removed her friend’s hands before she started shaking, “Twilight. Breath.”

Twilight took a deep breath, paused, and then exhaled before she tried to speak again. “Okay. How in the world could they split your consciousness and put you in the game?”

Sunset leaned against one of the walls, “According to an email I got, it has something to do with my geode. There was a lot of magical jargon I admit I don’t understand.”

Rainbow was a bit skeptical, “Didn’t you tell us that you went to a school for magical stuff?”

Sunset sighed, “I did, and I left to come here, remember? Besides, even if I did stick around longer, it wouldn’t matter. I sent a copy of the formula to Princess Twilight and she didn’t recognize the processes. Whatever magic they’re using, it isn’t Equestrian.”

Fluttershy squeaked in fear, “That doesn’t sound good…”

Twilight took something else from that, “But if it’s not Equestrian, how does it work through your geode?”

Sunset sighed, “I don’t know.”

“Then you need to back out! You can’t risk it.”

“I’ve already been in once. And if this is a trap, it’s better to spring it on our terms. If anything happens, I can trust you guys to get me out.”

That was not the last time she got an earful from her friends over the month. Twilight and Rainbow tried to get her to back out. Twilight’s reason was fair enough, she still had her hang ups about dealing with magic they don’t understand. Given the events she had experienced during the Friendship Games and after, it was perfectly understandable. Rainbow Dash just watched too much anime and thought it would turn out the same way. Pinkie, on the other hand, was comparing her situation to some old cartoon she used to watch with some kind of card game. Sunset had next to no idea what she was talking about.

Now the month was up and it was time to really make her decision. The code to her personal copy of the game had appeared with a nice little email to go with it.

[Now that the game has released, we can discuss this more candidly. We’re not actually in this for any money, obviously. As such, any contract between us is hereby null. You are free to do as you wish with the game code, you just can’t give it away. If you so choose, you can ignore the code and never think about it again. This is your choice to make, your game to play. We look forward to seeing what you choose. Sincerely, King & Knox].

She noticed they dropped the Productions part. This, to Sunset, was rather telling. Whoever this King guy was, he wasn’t alone. He genuinely had a partner, likely called Knox. For now, though, she had a choice to make. After a moment, she took a deep breath and punched in the code. Her sense of curiosity and inner gamer was getting the better of her.

So began a new game. Just like last time, the screen opened to a forlorn flag in a wide field. Press start and the flag unfurls to reveal the menu. Press New Game and the character customization menu opens. However, unlike last time, her options were increased. From her previously six options, she now had four new fighting styles: Unarmed, War Hammer, Battle Ax, and Lightning Magic. Safe to say, she picked the Katana again. This time, though, there was only standard armor sets that were significantly less detailed than before. She picked the familiar wooden armor and made her way back inside this strange world.

Unlike last time, she found her mind sent to… a theater? She was standing in what looked like an old Victorian theater lobby. The carpet under her feet was some weird gold and purple checker pattern and everything seemed totally normal except for one major thing, no one was there. As she looked around, she couldn’t help but feel a little concerned, “I don’t think this is the game’s starting area.”

“Correct.” A familiar voice rang out around her before a purple light illuminated the room. After a moment, that same figure she now called King was standing before her. King bowed his head slightly, “I would like to thank you for your trust in us and for taking up your sword once more.”

“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” A new voice and a golden fire revealed King’s partner in crime. He stood a head shorter than the man with a royal name. His hair was a bright, almost metallic blonde like strands of actual gold. His vest and pants had the same property of gold. He looked toward Sunset with a grin, “Name’s Knox. Nice to finally meet you.”

Sunset gave a nervous smile, “Nice to meet you too… But where am I and why am I here?”

King gestured to the theater around them, “This is our domain. A world of my creation and without form. You are here for us to show gratitude for your choice. We look forward to seeing how you fare in this completed world. Good luck Sunset Shimmer.”

The world began to glow a bright purple, forcing Sunset to cover her eyes. After a moment, all sense of the ground was gone and her senses were empty of stimulus, save for this bright light. After a moment, the light faded and Sunset’s first run finally began.

First Quest

Sunset found herself in a more appropriate opening than just waking up and accidentally kicking the plot. She opened her eyes to the inside of a ship’s cabin room. It was a quaint little room with a small port window to let her look out over the ocean. She stood up and stretched, surprised how real it all felt this time. Before it was a bit fuzzy, but this felt like she just woke up from a full eight hours. Granted, it also felt like those hours involved tossing and turning on a less-than-comfortable bed constantly rocking in the waves. A glance to the bed she was using as a chair certainly upheld that story. She stood and felt a big wave rock the room. She groaned before moving to the side and finding her weapon resting nearby. A significantly more mundane katana was resting on the desk, devoid of the color and etchings it had in the demo.

Sunset sighed and nodded, “That’s fair. The demo gives you better stuff after all…” She grabbed the weapon and placed it at her side before making her way out of the room. She found herself having to walk through the lower deck and to the upper deck. She looked around and saw the land approaching ahead of her. It was hard to tell much about it at the distance, but she could see a large port town. She took a breath and waited for her adventure to begin.

Only to find a pause as a menu appeared in front of her. She chuckled to herself, So that can still happen. She looked over the screen to see a map of the area, revealing it to be a giant island with several smaller islands around it. The map had a glowing point on the shore line saying, [Land Here?]. She tried to change it and check her options, but it was the only one she had. She nodded and figured there would be more options later, confirming her ‘selection’ and beginning the adventure.

Thankfully, this was allowed to skip time and move to her landing at the dock. She descended the access ramp and into the town. Unlike the town from the demo, this port town resembled an old western style that reminded her of Equestrian ports. She figured this game blended whatever aesthetics that the creators wanted to add. She actually liked the idea, enjoying seeing more varied locations. She might prefer gameplay over graphics, but she can still enjoy the beautiful scenes. Given her current situation, that wouldn’t be difficult this time. As her foot touched down on the docks of the town, she couldn’t help but take in a breath. It felt great to breathe in the atmosphere, literally.

She entered the town and found the populace to be rather non-distinct. Based on the demo, this wasn’t that surprising. She made her way inland, looking around. Everything seemed perfectly peaceful, which was only slightly odd. She knew she’d find the plot eventually, she just didn’t know where. She eventually found something, but it was not something she expected.

She found a man in full, dark blue armor having a loud argument with another, less distinct, man in the middle of the street. It was clearly bordering on turning violent on the part of the common man, while the armored man seemed to remain stoic. Then again, the armored man had his head covered by a full helmet, so it was difficult to tell. His body language didn’t say anything hostile, at least.

The common man shouted, “I want him caught, damnit!”

The armored man, now likely to be a guard, held a hand up to the man, “We can only do so much, sir. We’re short staffed as it is with most of the force working to reinforce the walls. We’ll do whatever we can, but I don’t know how long it will take.”

The common man roared out in annoyance and stormed off.

Sunset figured this must have been the start of the first mission, or at least a side mission. She approached the guard, “What was that about?”

The guard turned to her, “Not your concern citizen.”

Sunset was a little surprised. Most games like this didn’t have reactions like that. She decided to try to keep things moving though, “I heard something about you being short staffed. Well, I’m willing to help out.”

“Let me guess, for a price?” The guard sounded dismissive of her.

“We all have to eat.”

The guard thought it over for a moment, “Tell you what, I can give you an idea and you can go looking. If you can bring him in, then you can collect the reward.”

“That’s fair.”

“Right… So, here’s what we know, a man from a tribe nearby came into the city and went on a spending spree. No one knows where he got the Bits, but it got people’s attention. After he came through, though, more than a few items went missing. Right now, we have reason to believe he was responsible, especially after a team was assaulted on route to pick him up for questioning. If you want to try to take the case, I suggest finding a partner or two to help you. This guy is too dangerous to approach without backup.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sunset waved as the man left, leaving her alone on the street. “Okay, just need to bring this guy in, not too crazy, but definitely a side quest.” She felt an idea form and she made to press the pause button. She felt something on her side shake a little and she pulled up a small scroll of paper. Unrolling it revealed the menu she was looking for, but a glance around told her it didn’t pause anything. “Guess that makes sense being part of the game…”

She looked through the menus and found the Quests tab. She found [Bounty Hunt] in the Side Quest section, confirming her suspicion. Moving things to the Main Quest screen, she found no quests for her. A message was there instead, reading, [The world is yours to explore. As you make alliances and enemies, you’ll find quests here to further the goals of you and your friends. Good luck.]

Sunset raised an eyebrow before putting the paper back in place. This was a first for her. She’d never seen a game without a main quest line to start, even open world stories like this one seemed to be. On a certain level, she appreciated the idea. It was her story to make. That said, it also meant she had to find the story to make. But right now, she decided to focus on her current quest and see where that takes her. First step was finding someone to help her bring the guy in. The usual gaming idea would be to go to the local tavern or inn to see if anyone was willing to help her for a cut of the reward.

Something in the street over caught her attention before her scroll rang out for her again. A quick read showed a new quest in the Side Quests called [No Good Deed...]. She decided to run with it and made her way through an alley to reach the sound. She found someone in the next street dressed in simple leather armor, but it was clear pieces were missing on his arms, legs, and one shoulder. Everything else about the man was non-distinct. From his face to his body, everything other than his armor seemed like he would blend into a crowd of one.

The person stepping out into the street after him, however, was extremely distinct. Her leather armor was primarily dark blue with yellow accenting underneath the leather ‘plates.’ She stood a few inches taller than Sunset and her bright yellow skin and fire-like hair stood out over her more subdued colors on the armor. As she looked down toward the man, she cracked her knuckles, “That all you got?”

Sunset knew this must be the mission in question. She had to pick a side here, either intervene or walk away. Sunset knew she only really had one option. “Hold on!” Sunset moved closer and between the two. “What’s going on here?”

The woman huffed, annoyed at Sunset’s appearance, “Who the hell are you?”

“Someone who saw this guy fly into a wall.” That wasn’t entirely true, since she arrived just after the moment of impact, but it was easy to tell what happened. Sunset didn’t care though. She just put on her toughest face and stared the taller woman down as best as she could.

The woman never broke eye contact, glaring down toward Sunset before a smirk appeared on her face, “You’ve got balls to stand up to me like that. I like you.”

Sunset was a bit surprised, but recognized the theme for her character. She knew it would be best not to react and keep eye contact.

The woman’s grin grew a bit. “Name’s Spitfire.” She raised an eyebrow seeing Sunset’s blade, “I work with the Wonderbolt Mercenary Group.”

Sunset held her stance as she replied, “I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

“Sunset, huh?” Spitfire now took more of Sunset’s attire in, judging every small imperfection to be found. Or rather, the lack thereof. “Your armor is still new. Once you get some experience under your belt, you might have a future with the Bolts.” Spitfire turned on her heel and started to walk off with a dismissive wave back toward Sunset. “Something to think about.”

Sunset was a little surprised, but her innate gaming instincts told her not to question it. Said instincts told her to turn around to face the man that got thrown. After all, this appeared as a quest. However, he’d run off and left Sunset alone. She just sighed and pulled out that scroll to find the Quests updated.

[No Good Deed… - After Level 10, seek out the Wonderbolts. (Note: You can only join one faction at a time.)]

Sunset nodded to herself. That made sense to her. Some role playing games allow the player to become the leader of pretty much every faction in the game, even if they were in direct opposition to each other. Given this world was also in a state of multi-faction civil war, it made sense that you couldn’t play the sides. She would need to choose wisely, if she could even choose at all this early in the game. Based on the mission, she had every reason to believe that factions wouldn’t be open until Level 10. Right now, however, she had her mission to complete.

She sighed and looked around, almost hoping there’d be some way to advance the Bounty Hunt early on. Sadly, the streets were devoid of any fighters if their attire and lack of distinctive features were anything to go by. She could just go off and fight the Bounty by herself, but that optional box was taunting her. She needed to fill that box. “Question is, who can I get to be my backup? I can’t get her help until maybe Level 10. But this is an entry quest, so it should be simple.” She walked through the city and found the entrance area. She took a deep breath and sighed. It is an optional quest… So, she defied every instinct she had as a gamer and began her walk out to find her target.

The journey, to her surprise, was fairly quiet so far. She looked toward the forests around her, amazed at the beauty of nature. That said, she still preferred city or suburban areas. Forests were not her style. Thankfully, there were no bugs or any other annoyances; or if there were they left her alone. She continued her walk, looking through her menus. She found a cosmetic screen where she could change small things about her UI. Most of it seemed to need to be unlocked or bought in game, but she found one freebie being that she could change the scroll into a small, leather-bound book. She liked the scroll, but the book felt more immersive to her given each menu was a separate page. On one of the pages, she found a waypoint toggle, which was set to on for the moment. According to the info screen, it wasn’t a physical waypoint she could see, but rather it told her where her target was like a sixth sense.

“Maybe if I play again, I’ll turn that off for a harder game…” As she walked, that sixth sense told her she was close and to be ready for a fight. “Alright. Here we go Sunset. First quest.” She slapped either cheek on her face to psych herself up. “Let’s do this!”

She ran through the tree line and found herself in an old camp site. It was clearly a bandit camp of sorts and she just alerted every one of them that she was there. They drew their swords and ran toward her as a mob, ready to fight. Sunset, in turn, started to dismantle the first bandit line as they approached. As she tried to use some of the skills from the demo, she found that some were lacking. Must be like the gear. I don’t have access to it all yet. Despite that, these bandits were so unremarkable that they were torn apart fairly quickly. As she swung through a few carrying banners, the rest around them would flee and disappear.

“Okay. So they’re also easy to scare. Take out the commanders and they scatter.” She flew through the group of bandits with little trouble or damage. She ran through, focusing on commanders whenever possible. She cut a bloody (but not really since it’s a video game) path through the camp and toward her intended target. Her sense told her she was close now.

As she entered the center area of the camp, she found her target. He was sitting on a cushion, taking a drink from a metal flask. His skin was a light grey and his hair was a pitch black. He wore armor, though it was clearly damaged, including a piece with a single horn curving upward on his forehead. As he finished his drink, he looked up and smirked seeing Sunset. “So, that village send you after me?”

Sunset seized up a bit, recognizing the man in question. Or rather, his pony form. She read books in the Royal Library about the infamous King Sombra, and her time in the human world helped her be able to recognize people and ponies on either side.

Sombra laughed and stood up, grabbing a spear he had to the side. The spearhead was made from a deep red crystal, sharpened to match other weapons of its type. “So, what will you do now?”

Sunset adopted a fighting stance as though it was second nature, though it was just the game mechanics helping her. “I’m taking you in.”

“You’re not the first person to try. Now, shut up and fight me!”

Sunset leapt forward and swung her blade toward the Bandit Leader, only to find the staff of his spear blocking it. Sunset growled, a part of her remembering that the more distinct someone was, the stronger they seemed to be. Sunset kicked back against Sombra and gained some distance, avoiding a swing of his spear. Sunset spun her body to strike with a wider area attack, which seemed to help and chipped away at him. Sunset blocked another attack and countered with a heavy slash.

As Sunset fought, she wanted to figure out her super move. In hack and slash, 1,000 to one games like this, there’s always a super move. She pictured her ‘controller’ in her head and mapped out what button did what. After a moment, she found two buttons that she hadn’t used yet. Worth a shot.

Pressing one of the buttons, she felt her body move on its own again. She moved her stance slightly before swinging and creating a slash of air, then another, and another. After ten slashes, she spun around and knelt down with her blade prepared to be returned to its scabbard. As it slid back into its home with a metallic click, the area now behind her exploded with an orb of red energy resembling a setting sun at her back. Sombra’s voice echoed out in the area, signalling his defeat.

With the battle over and the bandits fled, Sunset was alone with the now unconscious Sombra. She felt compelled to check her book and find her quest progress.

[Bounty Hunt: Return Sombra to the authorities.]

“Okay…” She glanced back at the unconscious man. “But how am I going to do that?” All it took was one look at him to know Sunet couldn’t lift him. She wasn’t weak, but a fully grown man built like a football player was more than a bit out of her range. She looked around and found a length of rope long enough for her to tie him up in case he woke up. “Now… How do I get you back to town? I can’t drag you on the ground without risking the rope getting cut. Maybe a sled or makeshift wagon?”

As she tried to figure out how to transport him, Sombra’s eyes opened again. He looked down toward the rope and sighed. “Guess that’s the end of that then.”

Sunset turned to him with her hand on her hilt, ready to fight if he escapes. “Don’t try anything. I’m taking you in for multiple counts of theft.” She learned to say it that way from a game a while back; a police simulator of sorts.

“Is that what they told you?” Sombra laughed for a moment. “I bet they didn’t tell you why I took that money.”

“Doesn’t matter. You stole it.”

“I won’t deny that. But I just took what I was owed.”

So, he’s one of those guys here. Thinking he was owed something and decided to take it. Probably a soldier if his physique was anything to go by.

“I was a mercenary. They hired me for a fight with the promise of 10,000 Bits.”

That’s a lot…

“I fought, won, and expected to be paid. But they told me I was still on contract to complete the job. ‘Okay’ I thought. ‘I must be on a payroll now. They’ll pay me with the rest of the soldiers at the end of the month.’ But no. I never received my payment. Not a single Bit.”

“Then why not go to the authorities?!”

“Who do you think refused to pay me? I wasn’t hired by a local family. I was hired by their council. Who was I supposed to go to when there’s no one above them. I made a choice. I could either leave at a major loss or I could take what was owed to me. Either way, my reputation as a mercenary was dead. So I made my choice.”

Sunset felt her book call her attention. She opened the page to the quests and found it had advanced.

[Bounty Hunt: Make a choice.]

[Take Sombra in]

[Set Sombra Free]

She hadn’t expected that. Then again, she was in a game that boasted to have complete freedom as to what you can choose to do. She glanced back to Sombra, still not sure what to think. She had to admit, she liked this kind of moral choice in games. It wasn't to act like a saint or become a total jerk. It was a true moral question. Does she follow the law and bring him in, or believe him about their taking advantage of him. She took a breath and turned back toward him. There is no right answer.

Sunset took a deep breath and sighed. “I find it hard to believe, you know.”

“I don’t expect you to.” Sombra sat up as best he could while tied up.

Sunset turned toward the forest path heading back to the town. “Do you still have the money?” If she could return the money, she could hit two birds with one stone.

“Of course not. Unlike them, I pay my debts.”

Sunset sighed. Figures… With one last breath she made a decision. One she really hoped didn’t come back to haunt her. She swung her blade and cut through the rope, freeing the man. “There. I don’t actually have the authority to take you in anyway.”

Sombra stood up and rolled his shoulder, “Thank you all the same. I pay back my debts, and this is no exception. When we meet again, I owe you a favor.” He grabbed his spear and started to pack his things.
Sunset opened her book again to find the quest.

[Bounty Hunt: Complete]

[Sombra was used by the town and took what he was owed. Now, he owes you and he always pays his debts.]

Another page demanded her attention. She turned to the [Important People] page. The first was a greyed out picture of Spitfire. The second was Sombra, though his picture was colored in. Sombra’s picture also came with a series of stats underneath. She didn’t take them into account yet, though. Her first quest was done and passed. She took a breath and looked up toward the sky.

Author's Note

Knox: I'm finally here to talk to the people of FimFiction!
King: It's good to have you. Anyway, I hope you readers enjoyed, even if it takes a while to come out.
Knox: Maybe you should stick to shorter stories.
King: Shut up. I write what I want to write and right now, that's this.
Knox: Fair enough.