Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Thirty-two

Less than a week had passed, and Copper found himself at the dock for the Academy. He watched as one of Artemis’ avatars walked with his Father. Gold Bit looked nervous, uncertain, but at the same time there was a sort of hope that seemed to radiate from around him. The kind of hope that filled someone who believed that something precious would be returned to them. He watched as his Dad made his way toward them. Gold Bit didn’t hesitate, but instead he pulled Copper in close with a hug.

“Your servant said that she received word that you managed to figure out what happened to your mother,” he said, his voice sounding hopeful, “Is there something that we can do? Can we heal her? Is she always going to be like this?”

Copper shook his head, “No, and there’s going to be a lot of adjusting, but trust me when I say that she should be exactly how you remember her.”

The two of them began walking, and instead of heading toward the dorms he led his Father toward the building where Chrysalis’ class had been held. They moved toward the building, and he could see the uncertainty on his Father’s body language, “Son,” Gold Bit said, “What are we doing here? Isn’t this the building for the girls’ classes?”

He nodded, “Dad, what happened to her happened here. And we’re coming here so that you can get her back. Look, you’re going to see some things that are both weird and unusual, but I need you to keep calm,” he said as he led them inside, and then they moved toward the door to Chrysalis’ class. He opened it, and he heard the gasp from his Father, “Let’s get your Delicate Emerald back.”

They stepped inside, and he saw the very walls looking as if they were breathing. Chrysalis was still in her human disguise, and she seemed to be focused on a few of the pods. For a moment he wondered if she even knew that they were there, but then she stopped. He saw Artemis standing not too far away from her. She gave him a wave, and then he watched as a pod slowly lowered. He walked toward it, and Chrysalis moved her wheelchair to face them, “Master,’ she said as she looked at Copper, “Are you ready to release her?”

He nodded, and he watched as the pod itself began to separate. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but instead of opening like a sack of fluid the pod separated like it was a venus flytrap. Thick gel fell to the floor, and he watched as it began to move on its own accord. He’d almost expected it to simply remain there, but instead it seemed to move toward parts of the wall where there were strange looking designs. The gel slithered up to those designs, filled them, and he watched as they closed to form new pods.

Once the pod was completely open, and the gel was gone, all that was left was a girl. She couldn’t have been much older than Copper himself. She let out a small groan, and it was his Father that said the first word, “Delicate, is that you?” he asked as he neared her, “Delicate, it’s me, it’s Gold Bit.”

There was a moment of quiet, and slowly the girl looked up. With absolutely no hesitation she latched onto Gold Bit. Her shoulders shook with sobs as she cried, and Copper watched as his Father held his Delicate Emerald for several moments. She cried deeply, never looking up, and instead she held onto him, “I’m sorry,” she said, “I’m sorry, Goddesses above I’m so sorry. Gold, I don’t know why I did, but I… I gave myself to this creature. She entrapped my mind, and I, I’m so sorry!”

He held her, letting her cry, “Delicate, how?” he asked before he looked at Copper, “How did this happen?”

Copper looked at him and then back at Chrysalis, “Chrysalis, take your natural form for a moment,” he said, “Just for a moment, and then return back to your disguise.”

With a flash of green light the professor was no longer sitting there. Instead there was a creature that looked as if its skin was insectoid shells that were grouped together. Copper could see his Father’s first reaction. He wanted to move Delicate Emerald behind him, to protect her, to ensure that she didn’t get hurt, but in a moment Chrysalis turned back into the professor, “What the hell?!” his Father said, “Copper, what is going on?”

He took a moment, “Father, there are a few things that happened here, things that cannot be allowed to leave this room. I’m going to tell you because I trust you. I can’t say that I trust Delicate Emerald, because what took her place gave me no reason to. I’m hoping that I can come to trust her,” he said before he breathed out, “Chrysalis is a creature that is exceptionally old, and she is able to create beings that are able to take the place of nobility. The crown gave her the okay, but only with lower nobility, and specifically with the women.”

He smiled at him, “Artemis defeated her, and made her into my servant,” he said as he looked at him, “Basically, the crown is going to release all of the nobility back to their homes, and we’re going to be dealing with the beings that took their place. Chrysalis has said that most of them will follow her commands, but there are a few out there that will attempt to run. We are to hunt them down.”

Gold Bit seemed to take what he said into account for a moment, “So, Delicate Emerald that I know, isn’t Delicate Emerald?” he asked as he stood there, “Are you even her son?”

He nodded, “It’s a lot of explanation, but yes, I am her son. I was created inside of your Delicate Emerald, and then I was placed inside of the one that took her place. It’s a whole lot, and I get that, but Father, you get her back. You get back the Delicate Emerald you knew.”

The entire time the real Delicate Emerald never let go of him, never stopped crying, and instead was holding onto Gold Bit for all she was worth. Seeing her like that made Copper uncertain. He felt like he should want to comfort her, but all of his experiences had been with the other Delicate Emerald. That woman had been the very bane of his existence. She had done everything possible in order to either sell him off or send him to the front lines to die. The one care she had was toward ensuring that their coffers were always full.

The fact that she couldn’t touch his money had made her absolutely furious. Now that he knew that she wasn’t his mother, let alone human, it changed things. It meant that he could have had a caring mother this entire time. He could have been wanted, and he could have received the help he needed to understand girls better. Instead he was left to drift in the wind by an imposter. A very real part of him absolutely wanted to punish Chrysalis more for what she’d done, but then again she was already being punished.

From what Artemis told him she would never be able to rebel. There would never be a point where she could openly stand against him. She was completely under his thrall, under his control, and she would remain that way as long as the collar remained on her. It meant she didn’t have free will anymore. She couldn’t decide anything major, and everything she did had to be in the scope of what he wanted.

The only other person that needed to answer for this was Queen Celestia. She was answering for it, in her own way. She had promised that she was going to tell her husband. What he did remember from the game was that Queen Celestia and King Baked Bean actually loved each other. It wasn’t merely a political marriage, but instead it was a marriage of a foreign knight, Baked Bean, to a then Princess Celestia.

He didn’t know the details, but what he did know was that their marriage had been strong enough to weather the problems that had arisen around them. The one small thing that they hadn’t done well was raise Apollo so that he wouldn’t be such a massive douche nozzle. The former crown prince had shown how quickly he was willing to throw everything away. He was willing to do so over a girl, and it wasn’t the protagonist. Which that was one thing that had certainly changed.

For a while Copper had toyed with the idea of trying to get Applebloom with one of the love interests from the game, but they were all equally awful. After meeting them in person he felt even more so. They were too hung up on their own problems, and none of them really would qualify to be by her side. Not that he did. Copper understood just how out of his league she was. She was kind, sweet, and considerate. The very things that most girls weren’t.

He didn’t focus on it, and instead he looked at his father holding a woman that looked like Delicate Emerald, but the difference was that she was younger. Younger, nicer, and pleading for forgiveness for what she had done under the influence of Chrysalis’ power. That was something he was fairly certain that the Delicate Emerald he knew would have never apologized for. Instead she would have likely flaunted the fact that it happened in front of his father.

If there was any brightside to this then it was the fact that she would be dealt with. If she ran, if she was out of Chrysalis’ control, then she would be hunted down and handled. To be honest that made him far happier than he really should have been. To know that she would be suffering for her actions brought a feeling of justice or karma that he wasn’t sure would have ever happened to her. Sometimes the things that are needed to happen are the things that most often are left alone and forgotten about.

As his father handled her he looked toward Chrysalis, “When are you to release the ones that no longer have family?”

There was a moment of quiet, “Queen Celestia has asked that I release them last. She wants those that can be taken in by family to awakened, and then she wants those without connection to be awakened. Those without are to be taken with you to the places she spoke of. She also stated that if the number is too great that there is a small island that was noticed, but never officially claimed, near your new domain. She stated that you may claim it and use it for the those not able to be housed on the other places.”

He shook his head. Queen Celestia had things planned out, and she absolutely had the plan of having him become a hero to these women. The fact that they had no connections, no families, and were noble in name only meant that their prospects were low as well. She was practically gifting him with multiple eligible women that would be looking to settle down. Women that would learn what happened to their families, mourn, and then move into an uncertain future.

“She’s set me up,” he said as he looked at Artemis, “You realize that too, right?”

Artemis nodded, “I do,” she admitted, “And I know that you will not simply submit to it. There is no denying that she has laid a wonderful trap. It is one that preys on your more noble nature. It makes you take your guard down, and it forces you to let a number of women into your life.”

She smiled at him, “And while I can accept being in a polyamorous relationship I believe that you would want any such relationship to be started with the proper reasons. That it wouldn’t just be handed to you, or forced on you.”

He nodded, “Exactly,” he admitted as he watched as she studied him, “My Captain, whatever happens from this point on I have made my declaration. I have claimed you for my own, and I will stay by your side. I will become your lover, and I hope to become more,” she stated, “It was that declaration that allowed me to beat Chrysalis. It is something that I believe will help sculpt my future into something more interesting.”

The words had power, and it was something that he had learned here. All words had power. There were those used for incantations, and there were those used to address others., but regardless all of them had power. Artemis’ words had explained what she believed she would become. She had set a goal for herself, and he would be the epitome of foolishness to believe that she wouldn’t achieve it.

It did leave a little question of where things were going to go. Artemis had proven that she was emotionally mature enough to go into a physical and romantic relationship with him. All that remained was him, and there were a lot of hang ups that came with that. He knew that there wouldn’t be rejection, but he did worry about how things would progress. What had happened in his previous life still hung around him. He wasn’t sure how he could progress without things going the same way.

Of course Artemis was different, but then did that matter? Was it just a natural course for the kinds of things that happened to him before to happen in any relationship? He looked toward his Father and saw that he was still holding his Delicate Emerald. Without meaning to the both of them had violated each other’s trust. It was because they had been fooled, but even he knew that wasn’t the full extent of it.

Everything that had happened to them, everything they had been through, all of it would be coming back to them eventually, and he wasn’t sure how they would handle that kind of trauma. He felt the hug that he hoped was coming, and he let her hug him close. He stood there aching for a past that would never happen, for a future that was uncertain, and for a present that had so many mixed emotions. He stood completely uncertain of the world as it stood.

“My Captain?”

He breathed, trying to keep from getting too emotional. Even in this world it seemed that a person’s emotions were ammunition for when someone was upset. He’d learned to keep his emotions in check, and to not let them out, “Sorry,” he said after a moment, his voice wavering, “I really am. It’s just so much, and I don’t know where we go from here. I don’t know what’s going to happen now, and I’m trying to deal with all of this. I guess that I seem a little pathetic right now, huh?”

The hug never loosened, “Never,” she replied, her voice supportive, “My Captain, you will never be pathetic. You’re dealing with something that is life changing, and you haven’t fallen. You’re merely dealing with it as you go. You’re standing firm, and I could not be prouder of you for that. You stand as someone powerful enough to handle what comes, and you don’t ask for comfort or support. I give those because I understand that even the strongest piece needs support from time to time.”

He felt the hug, and he didn’t try to pull away. Maybe this was admitting more than he was ready to, but it didn’t matter. Artemis was special to him. She was more than an avatar or a ship. She was his friend, his companion, and there was no denying that they would be moving into something else. How far into it he wasn’t sure. No, there was no reason to kid himself. Artemis had made her declaration, and he accepted that. For her it was a forgone conclusion that it was going to happen.

At this moment, he felt comforted, supported, and he realized that it was going to happen. Maybe in the next couple of days, a couple of weeks, or a couple of months would be the time. Still, regardless of when it would happen. There was no denying it. All of the reasons he had thought up to keep it from progressing were lost. They were lost because he understood that Artemis wasn’t going to hurt him. She wasn’t going to abandon him, and the only thing that could potentially happen would be that something took over her and used her.

He doubted that there was anything in this world that could do that. The technology of the old humans was mostly gone. Magic, as wonderful as it was, couldn’t control her. It could potentially destroy an avatar, but it couldn’t control her. There wasn’t a single magic user that he had to worry would take control of her. It would take another lost item and as far as he knew this world only really had Artemis. He hadn’t seen anything else in his previous life. Artemis hadn’t mentioned if there was any more, but then again it was likely she didn’t know.

It was likely that any connection the various hangers and bases had across the world were severed. Which of course meant that none of them could communicate with each other without first meeting, and then once that happened they could potentially communicate with each other. At least that was his understanding from what she had described to him. It would be similar to how her avatars communicated with one another.

Her main body, the ship, acted as a transmission between all of her avatars. It allowed all of them to know what was going on, what was happening, and how everyone was doing. It did so effortlessly, or so it seemed. The closest that he could think of would be from his old life. It would be like having WiFi set up in a house. It would extend to well past the house, but not infinitely so. The same was with her main body and the avatars.

Still, despite his mind wandering for a bit he felt more relaxed and more at peace. After a few minutes she finally loosened her hug, and he turned toward her. The expression of love and care on her face was one that he couldn’t deny. He understood what this meant, and he understood where it would lead. He understood it, but at this point there was no denying any longer. He leaned forward and kissed her.