Chapter One- An Eventful Meeting
“N1ghtm@R3 M00n has made the headlines again, dear.”
***
It’s the year 90CS on Earth. VR technology has become an integrated part of life. The User ID of a person has become synonymous with their actual identity. A game known as “Forger of the Stars” has recently taken the globe by storm. Classes are taught solely on the game itself. Many have achieved notorious infamy in the strictly PVP (Player versus Player) open world game, but none so much as two. A young girl by the user handle of G@ia M@gusa has recently culminated enough Stardust to purchase a housing unit within the borders of the Lunar District; the housing of the elite players. It is there our tale begins.
***
Sitting outside on her new porch, G@ia listened as the people walked by. They were fairly well-known players, and a quick check of their information confirmed to G@ia they were indeed far beyond her current ability.
The male was a Foxen; a somewhat anthropomorphic fox that carried an elite-quality Morning star. Hmm forged of a dying dwarf star. Nice. His chest plate could only have been made from Astraltanium; a top-tier metal in crafting armor. That must be nice. Let’s see, yeah, a Ravager. Would not want to face him. What about her?
The female was of the Dragonic race, her onyx black scales glistening in the eternal moonlight. At her side she wielded twin draconic beams; a highly sought after pair of dueling pistols, emblazoned with the constellation of Draco the Dragon. Those must have cost a pretty bounty or two. And a Duelist nonetheless, that must boost her stats immensely.
The Foxen visibly shivered as he looked at his mate in panic. “Ugh don’t say that name!”
The Dragoness laughed and pulled out a pistol to tickle his chin with the muzzle of the barrel. “Oh, should I call her N-one-GHT-M -at-R-three space M- zero- zero- N, like everyone claims? Are you that scared of one player? Mom was right, I married a cuck.”
The Foxen was glancing around in a panic as though sensing danger. His partner ignored this and continued taunting him. “We’ve hunted every possible creature in this game since beta. I’ll eat my pistols if some stupid player could take us one on two. Hey, are you listening to me- Hey what is wrong with-”
The Foxen had stiffened as if paralyzed by fear. He was twitching and his partner let out a scream as a pair of rust-covered daggers protruded from his midriff. His eyes rolled into his head as the daggers were withdrawn with a sickening squelching noise. The body fell forward, revealing nothing behind him. A red notification screen appeared on G@ia’s HUD (Heads up display): “Top three Starlord V1xenHunter42 has been eliminated bounty awarded to N1ghtm@r3 M00n.”
The dragoness, to her credit caught on fast and had her second pistol out and ready within seconds. A grating voice could be heard beside her. “Too slow...Weakling.”
The dragoness’s arm fell to her side; useless from the stun that had been inflicted upon it. The dagger lodged in her shoulder rendering it unmovable. “ARRRRRGH YOU BITCH!”
The voice came from nowhere yet echoed through all present. “Oh, come now. I expected more from the number 2 Ranked PVP duelist.”
The duelist fell to the ground as a in a glint of steel, her left legplate was slashed at, and a faint glow of yellow could be seen pulsing from the wound; her leg was completely paralyzed. As she stood there, shivering; locked down in paralysis, the Dragoness cried out. “Is this really because I said your name?”
As the red notification appeared on the HUD of every online player, the grating voice coldly answered her; though she could no longer hear her. “No. It’s because you mocked me.”
The corpse fell to the ground as two dark blue hooves appeared and slowly revealed the face of a navy blue alicorn; lowering the hood of a ragged leather cloak. Her voice sounded dubious as she sheathed her daggers with her muzzle. “I already get enough of that from my sister as it is. Now then, let’s see what my prizes are. Oh, what’s this?”
Normally in Forger of the Stars, when a battle ends the bodies crumble to dust; sent back to spawn and leave behind some armor or weapons of the slain. This time however, as N1ghtm@r3 M00n watched, this was not the case.
The spots where the two slain players had fallen were bare and empty. Normally this would upset her, however her ears quickly picked up the sound of heavy breathing nearby. Interesting, a thief would dare to ninja my kills. Pretending as though she hadn’t noticed, the alicorn simply spoke the following command. “Playback: recent kill; 5 minutes.”
The game possesses the ability to record every fight and stored the data within the VR device; allowing players to analyze every battle from all angles, in order to learn from mistakes or better use their skills next time. This footage was accessed by saying Playback, followed by the name of the victim or recent kill and the length of time they wished to analyze.
She stood there in silence watching the playback as the breathing vanished slowly. They’ve left. No intent to attack. Strange. Hmmm, what’s this? “Pause. Upper Left Zoom In, Magnify.”
In the magnified area a green Earthpony with olive green mane sat watching the two as they mocked the alicorn openly. Her keen eyes noticed the pony carried no weapon and the instant her name had been mentioned, had quickly raised the hood of her leather cloak; granting her stealth. I see, an earth pony, eh? Now that is rare to see. She’s fast. No weapon; more than likely makes her living lockpicking or stealing and selling the gains on the black market. Oh, I like the nerve of this mare. Her neck...I see. So that is how it is. There on the screen was the nameplate of her mysterious thief. “G@ia M@gusa. An Earth Pony Rogue. Lvl 10. No Advanced Class. Perhaps this is the one… How wonderful. I look forward to our next-”
Pausing, her eyes narrowed as she turned and slung her blade to the right; being rewarded by a slight grunt and a red notification: “Kittenpaw31 has been slain. Bounty awarded to N1ghtm@r3 M00n.”
Grinning as she placed on her hood and vanished from sight, she continued walking towards her victim, the alicorn finishing her thoughts. “Meeting, Miss G@ia.”
***
“19k, for the pair.”
G@ia’s heart dropped. “-But these are made of Astraltanium, surely there-”
The dealer stared down at the pleading mare, with pity in her eyes. On the counter in front of her were the chestplate and leggings of two high-level players. The chestplate had a hole punctured in the chest and the leggings looked liked they had been shredded by a plasma knife. The armor was scrap. It was worth no more than 100 dust, but the dealer felt bad. She had been fencing G@ia’s stolen gear for the past five years. The two had an informal intimacy in the ways of the underworld. She sighed. “G@ia, sweetie, how long have we known each other?”
“Since Mistress introduced us. Five years ago, M@ri3.”
Stepping out from behind the counter, M@ri3Scorn; the dealer leaned down and gingerly ran a sharp fingernail down G@ia’s neck. As she trailed a finger down her neck, the dragoness made a point to lightly trace the cold iron-forged form of the mare’s slave collar. Her words carried concern. “Listen to me; I understand you have...Circumstances, for lack of a better word that you sadly must adhere to. I get it, but you know full well this gear is completely worthless in this state. It cannot be repaired, nor can it be smelted for metal. I love you, sweetheart; you are the greatest ninja-looter I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, but I simply can’t give you much more than 19k without losing my own bottom-line. Understand?”
The Dragonkin of Tanarus were a race of bipedal dragons whose racial passive caused their power to grow with their own greed. The more funds within their inventorial wallet, the stronger they were in PVP and dungeon-based raid endeavors. M@ri3Scorn was currently able to go claw-to-hoof with N1ghtm@r3 M00n 1v1 and took great pride in her ability to do so. Not many could fight the alicorn to a stand-still every time.She currently held the top clear times for 29 of the 32 world bosses and the only Dragonkin to solo them. G@ia was well aware of this.
G@ia hung her head in despair as she thought about how she could possibly achieve her daily quota now. The dragoness stared down at the mare before opening a trade window. G@ia looked confused as a small letter appeared in the trade window, along with 19k in stardust. “W-What’s this?”
Giving a wink, the dragoness spoke loudly; her eyes darting to the right. “The amount you are owed. Take it and be on your way.”
G@ia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she gave a slight twitch of her ear in response. They were being watched. Accepting the trade, G@ia gave a fake laugh. “Oh you shouldn’t have! So generous, thank you. Take care.”
Lowering her eyes as she turned around, G@ia made her way past the armored figure leaning on the doorframe. As she exited the doorway, she donned her hood and vanished from sight. Staying still off to the side, she opened her inventory and selected the letter just as her keen hearing picked up a snide voice inside the shop say: “Stupid slaves, I don’t know why you put up with her.”
G@ia’s eyes began to water, until a moment later that same speaker came crashing through the wall, followed by the sound of an outraged roar. “TAKE YOUR CONDESCENDING ASS ELSEWHERE.”
As M@ri3 stood in full combat gear; her assault cannon pointed in the face of the former customer, she took a deep breath. “You’ll be paying for my wall too, Jackass.”
With that she added the armored figure’s ID to her blacklist; preventing them from ever setting foot in her shop again, and gave a secretive wink in G@ia’s direction. Turning swiftly, she re-entered her shop to help another customer who had entered. Her voice sounded sugary-sweet once more. “How may I assist you, hun?”
G@ia let a small smile appear on her maw. She is too sweet to me. Time to get going. Oh wait, I almost forgot- Selecting the letter from her inventory she began to read it, her eyes growing wide with shock as she did:
“This ticket hereby certifies G@ia M@gusa as a combatant in the 1001th Starfall Tournament
Present this ticket to the bartender at the Bluemoon Saloon at midnight and order a ‘Blue Moon Special.’
We look forward to working with you. We know you won't say no.
Signed, …”
G@ia stared in disbelief as she felt her knees get weak. There on the paper were the names of her two sponsors: D@ybr3ak3R and N1ghtm@r3 M00n.
No way. D@ybr3ak3R? D@ybr3ak3R was known as the Guild Leader of the Black Market Cartel. Yet no one had ever actually seen her. Her or perhaps his name, was legendary amidst Thieves and Rogues. It was said D@ybr3ak3R controlled all the nefarious dealings of the underworld like a master strategist. Fencing, potions, assassinations and even stolen pet trade; If you needed it stolen, slain, or broken to your will, it was said D@ybr3ak3R was the one to beseech
Why would they know my name? She turned to ask M@ri3 only to find that the lights in the shop were off; she had logged off for the night. She stood there, stealthed, thinking about what to do when a private chat appeared on her HUD. Surprised she opened it to read and nearly fainted from fear.
D@ybr3ak3R: Be a good girl, give this to your mistress for me, consider it a loan, Sweetheart.
A trade window appeared. In it, an envelope with an attachment lay. The private chat dinged once more.
D@ybr3ak3R: Accept the trade. Your owner is awaiting this parcel’s delivery.
G@ia gulped as she accepted the trade.
***
It was around midnight when G@ia quickly opened and closed the front door behind her without a sound. As she turned, breathing a sigh of relief, she gasped as a thick-silken chain wrapped around her neck dragging her forward. “You are late.”
The voice wasn’t that of anger but of concern. It was carried with a thick accent, and an almost clicking inflection. As G@ia landed sprawling on the floor before the speaker, two distinctive clicking sounds could be heard repetitively as though two spindly appendages were tapping in succession with claws. The speaker continued as G@ia found herself lifted by the nape of her neck. “You, my pet, have some explaining to do.”
G@ia was forced to stare into the eyes of the speaker, all five of them trained on her as the speaker’s pincers clicked in annoyance. “I was worried sick. Now, speak mare.”
Spider-like in biology, the Ar-akache of the planet Mantore were all female. When they stood upright for the sake of exerting dominance, they towered at 7 ft in height. While they were seductively built, they were fierce and able hunters. They typically stood or idled on two bipedal legs, the four long, spindly legs on each side of their torso waving erratically with each syllable they spoke. Only in the pursuit of their prey, would they use these legs to run upon. Otherwise, they were commonly used as hands.
The Ar-akache were the only race to have a pure organic culture. Their weapons and armor were fashioned from bone or sinew, crafted by utilizing what remained of their hunts or the dead, while their abilities were developed by their ever-changing surroundings. Hunters and Beast Tamers by nature they were adept at communicating with fauna and flora, preferring only to speak to other species of an animalistic nature.
G@ia stared directly into her eyes, explaining everything. The Ar-akache listened to each word as her eyes examined all aspects of G@ia, from her body temperature to her posture as well as her emotional levels. Setting the Earthpony down on the ground, she slowly unwound the silken chain from G@ia’s neck. “You’ve been invited to the Starfall Tournament?”
“Yes mistress.”
There was an unsettling silence for a couple of minutes aside from a thoughtful clicking from the Ar-akache. Finally, she spoke, her words carrying great concern. “G@ia, are you a player?”
G@ia was a bit confused as she answered. “Well of course I am! Why would you ask that? I’m a human like you!”
“Human?”
G@ia couldn’t understand it. Why was her mistress so confused? She watched as the Ar-akache pulled a small guidebook from her inventory and flipped through the pages quickly before turning it to show G@ia. It showed a picture of an Earthpony with a cutie mark and above the picture was the word Equestrian. “Are you not an Earthpony from Equestria?”
“A what? No, I’m a human!”
“If you truly are a player, a Human as you claim, show me. Open your profile and share a friend request with me.”
G@ia had been taught for the past five years that the Ar-akache was her owner and to obey without question. As her body immediately went through the motions to obey, she found herself asking. “I don’t understand, Mistress why wouldn’t I be human?”
The request popped up on the Ar-akache’s HUD causing a nervous clicking from the other. “This isn’t good. I’m not sure how I made such an error, you were a filly when I bought you. G@ia how old are you? We’ve been together for 5000 klekals.”
“5000 Klekals?”
That would translate to 5 years in your language.”
Her voice contained the same warmth it always had as G@ia answered her question. “13 years old, Mistress.”
“How have you gone 5000 Klek-er- 5 years without logging off once?”
G@ia seemed confused for a moment before answering. “I don’t have an option to log off, Mistress.”
The Ar-akache meanwhile had furiously begun flipping through the same guide book. She stopped and glanced up in surprise with half of her eyes; the others continuing to scan the book. “You can’t log off? Be a good girl and screenshot your HUD for me, post the link into my chat.”
“Yes Mistress.”
“You claim to be Human, let’s see...Oh, here it is...A Sentient Bipedal from a planet known as Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy. It says here your species has both Males and Females physically. Two distinctive physical biological forms. Fascinating...All my kind are Female. Is this the screenshot?”
This roleplay is a bit weird. Just roll with it. “Yes, Mistress.”
Shaking her head in disbelief as she stared at the picture of G@ia’s HUD. “There really is no log out, I’ve never seen this before.”
G@ia spoke up. “Mistress, I am feeling a bit weirded out by this roleplay and am wondering if-”
The Ar-akache spoke to her gently but firmly. “This is no roleplay. I think there has been a grave misunderstanding on both our ends. I’m not Human, G@ia. And if what you say is true, you are the only known Human in this realm.”
Chapter Two- Mistaken Identity
“This is a joke, right, mom?”
G@ia stared in disbelief at the Ar-akache. This has to be some sick joke or something...Right? Isn’t mom a human? Meanwhile, the other had begun staring at the book in her claws, muttering to herself occasionally. “13...Teenager...Age between child and adult...Oh, I see. No wonder you don’t get it. Alright...Let’s try this, then.”
Turning two of her eyes to stare at G@ia she spoke in her normally doting tone. “G@ia send me a private message. Not through voice just with text. I want to show you something.”
Immediately without thought G@ia did as she was told. Opening the PM request using her friend menu, she entered a simple ‘Hello.’ G@ia was curious about what was going on as she hit the send button. A couple seconds later, a new link appeared in her PMs. She hesitated until the Ar-akache spoke again. “It’s alright, I promise. Trust me.”
G@ia did trust her. Even though she had spent 5 years as a beast of burden; being ordered about by the Ar-akache, she had always been treated with loving care and doted affection almost motherly, in a way. Immediately, she opened the link, and her heart skipped a beat from shock; the image was a screenshot of the Ar-akache’s HUD. There were a bunch of audio play buttons, but no words. That wasn’t all, there was also an image of G@ia with three gauges beside her. A meter for emotions, health and hunger. “What- Is this what you see, Mistress?”
“Yes, my species has no written language, so anything you say or write is translated by the game to my own native language; an audio-based form of communication. Just as you are hearing me speak your native tongue in the same way. Oh, this is a right patch of dark water I’m in now.”
“Dark water, Mistress?”
Clicking her pincers as was her nervous habit, the Ar-akache gave her a command. “Come here G@ia, let me remove your collar, I can explain while I do so.”
As G@ia held still, the collar was delicately removed. “Dark water, is a term my species uses to indicate trouble. My kind hates water; be it swimming or hunting, even rainstorms annoy us so.”
G@ia was turned around to stare directly into the Ar-akache’s eyes. She watched as her owner of 5 years spoke to her, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. “It’s a lot to take in at your age, that there are other species than your own that have built civilizations, isn’t it?”
The Ar-akache had done her best to change the topic, however, G@ia seemed to have only one thing on her mind. “Mistress, why did you remove my collar? Don’t you want me anymore? Did I do something wrong?”
Her voice sounded pained as though she had been hit. Her eyes were focused on the collar in the Ar-akache’s claws. The Ar-akache was shocked at the response and then she understood.
It was as if a Spell of Illumination had suddenly brightened her vision. She doesn’t see it as slavery; she sees it as a symbol of affection. Like what a mother would give her daughter. I’ve raised her for almost half her life, why am I so surprised she sees this as my child would? Turning all of her eyes to glance down at the collar, the Ar-akache realized G@ia wasn’t that far off.
It was engraved biometal, dyed a bright purple; a dye forged from the blood of the Abrogorian Abyssal Eater. The world boss of Hajan IV made it’s home at the bottom of the ocean in highly corrosive waters. The veterans only had one piece of advice for those that would hunt it; unequip all metal-based gear. The boss had a nasty passive of instantly destroying any heavy armor or metal-forged weapon within it’s attack range.
The Ar-akache had tried and failed many times to slay the beast in the depths; determined to get the blood to dye her pets’ collar. She had even gone so far as to recruit her entire guild for the single drop; electing to pay an egregious 14.7 million stardust to replace all shattered armor and weapons (It had taken her almost two months of 8 hours a day, grinding Elite mobs on the planet, that most players wouldn’t attempt, to pay off her debt).
The forging of that collar had been a labor of love, which is the only thing G@ia saw when staring at it; the one who raised her taking back her symbol of love. “Don’t you want me anymore?”
Those words echoed in the mind of the Ar-akache as her own hearts beat within her ears. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. My baby, my G@ia of course I love you! but what can I do now? The situation was dire; the Ar-akache species was absolutely intolerant to the enslavement of sentient beings. For such a crime, she could be exiled from the guild or worse; blacklisted from every known pet shop.
The age was fine; pets were preferred as children, so they could, as G@ia had form loving bonds with their owners as they matured. Ar-akache were justly proud of their taming abilities and able to talk with fauna on a daily basis; even training them for jobs and errand running. She hadn’t questioned it for a second; it was natural after all. Now however, she was panicking with this new insight. She glanced down at her arm, at the brand on it of a sun and moon intertwined in an eclipse; the symbol of the Black Market Cartel Guild. As she did so, G@ia began to cry, causing her to instinctively gesture to her to come close for a hug.
As she gave G@ia a warm hug she felt conflicted; she loved her but had to free her. It was clear G@ia had other feelings, however. One thought however, also entered her mind. Why had G@ia’s avatar grown from a filly to a young mare within the game; especially when the characters were static in aesthetic design? More concerning as well was the fact G@ia had appeared as a mare at all; especially were she actually Human. The realm they were in was magically controlled. A new user’s mind was analyzed and the character design would only reflect how the user saw themselves. Gender, appearance, species and name were purely determined by what the game saw within the user’s mind. That appearance would not change the entirety of the account’s activity. “G@ia how exactly did you come to exist in this game?”
From the corner of the room, a silkily cold voice could be heard. “That, is what we wish to know as well, Azzy.”
Two hooves appeared as the Ar-akache whirled to look behind her, shaking. As the two hooves lowered the hood of a cloak, a figure shimmered into sight. A female Alicorn with dark blue fur, wearing a silvery set of armor and a pair of blades strapped to her front legs. The Ar-akache and G@ia both gasped in fear. “N1ghtm@r3 M00n!”
