Last extra one for a while. Teaser - EQG: SAO - Aincrad · 5:55pm Aug 18th, 2019
This is not a spoiler since this is part of the opening chapter.
SAO - AINCRAD TEASER
The next day, November 6th, they could hardly contain their excitement. The stream of text messages was fierce up until the last minute. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were already arguing over who would be the strongest and fastest. Twilight tried to sort out their misconceptions, but over text, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were messaging too quickly to read Twilight’s messages.
Sunset Shimmer used the restroom, laid down in bed in simple sweatpants and a shirt, and put the NerveGear on her head, strapping it down. She would be as comfortable as possible while she “dived.” Still, the geode necklace was around her neck. She had learned to never take it off.
The clock hit 13:00.
“LINK START!” Sunset Shimmer said, starting the game.
The stream of colors was a bit disorienting. The game loaded and Sunset Shimmer entered her user ID and password. Since she had already set things up and customized her avatar, it was easy to jump into the game.
Sunset Shimmer blinked as everything came into view. She saw her own strong hands, gloved with a basic red, cotton weave. She looked around at the buildings. She was in a large square and players were popping up all around in flashes of blue light.
Sword Art Online had launched!
They had planned on meeting at the south exit of the city. Sunset shimmer sprinted off to the meeting point. Her stamina in game was a lot more than in real life. That was a nice feature.
Sunset Shimmer got to the southern gate in the Town of Beginnings. One player was leaning against the gate’s wall, looking out over the fields.
“Hey,” He said with a nod up as he looked at Sunset Shimmer. “Name?”
“Uh, I’m Sunset Shimmer? You?”
“Astro. And Sunset, you obviously are a noob. This is Sword Art Online. A game. You don’t use your I.R.L. name.”
“I.R.L.?” Sunset asked.
“In real life. Name?”
“Oh, right. Then Astro, I’m Bladescape.”
“Nice to meet you Bladescape. Not a bad name for a noob.”
Two others came running up. One stood strong, with blue hair, the other was a bit hesitant and sporting a yellow dress. It was obviously Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
“Astro, is that you?” The blue haired one asked.
“Yo, good to see you Thunderborne.”
“Good to see you. Lets hook up now,” Thunderborne said messing with the pop up menu. A small white screen popped up in front of Astro and he hit the small blue button to accept the friend invitation. “I see you already met Bladescape, and that is Doombunny, who better learn to live up to her name. She isn’t some weak person in here. She can get strong and will get strong.”
A white window popped up in front of Bladescape. It was a friend request from Thunderborne. And then another one from Doombunny and then Astro.
“Why is your name Astro?” Bladescape asked.
“I hate AstroTurf. Its tough, unyielding, and uncomfortable to play on. Nothing better to name my avatar than after the very thing I hate.”
Three more players came down the road towards them. One was dressed in white with blue and purple accents, another had a hammer hanging off their waist, and the third was trying to push up nonexistent glasses as she ran.
“Yo guys,” Thunderborne said. “This is Astro. Astro, that’s, Diemond, I.R.L. Rarity, Backbreaker, I.R.L. AJ, and the one still learning to see without glasses is Knightstar, I.R.L. Twilight Sparkle.”
“Pleasure to meet you all?” Astro said.
“Aren’t you a girl?” Backbreaker asked. “Dash, er Thunderborne, said you were on his soccer team in Pitch Perfect.”
“Yeah, I am. Pitch Perfect has a male league, a female league, and a co-op league. But games like this, I prefer to be a dude. It cuts down on the harassment I get for being a gamer girl.”
“Well I for one am a lady, and always will be,” Diemond said. “I do hope this game has fashionable garments to wear. Unlike these dregs.”
“Depends on what you mean by fashion,” Astro smiled. “Its not going to have a lot of frilly dresses if that is what you are looking for. Particularly for battle. Sometimes the best armor looks like crap. But there are going to be some awesome looking pieces for sure.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can find something,” Rarity said with a wave.
“WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Came a yell followed by a giant female bulging with ripped muscles. The look would have been impressive if the figure was not hopping down the road and carrying several different types of food. “AFCK IS HERE! AND I BROUGHT FOOD!”
“AFCK?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “Pinkie, I thought you were going by a different name? I though you were doing CCK? Cupcake King.”
“I was!” AFCK said with a jump. “But then, right before I logged in today and set my account up, I had this super awesome candy! Atomic Fireball Candy! It was so cinnominy strong, I though it would be an awesome warrior if it wasn’t candy. Cause, you know, candy can’t actually fight. Except gummy bears. Rawr! So, AFCK!”
They all were smiling, shaking their heads, or rolling their eyes at AFCK being her normal Pinkie Pie self.
“And the K?” Thunderborne asked.
“K is for Knight, silly! Seriously, how did you now know that?”
“The gang is all here,” Sunset Shimmer said. “What now?”
The bells at the center of the town began to toll. Suddenly all eighth of them were enveloped in blue light and teleported to the center of town. They were still together when they found themselves in the town square.
“Looks like its the opening ceremony,” Astro chuckled. “I am not surprised there is one after all the hype they did.”
Sword Art Online. An amazing game where you go into a full "dive" and replace your body with a virtual one. A place where you get to shape who you are, and re-imagine yourself. A world where swords are the rule and monsters are plentiful. A world that needs conquering.
And A story that will soon be released! I'm getting excited, and I hope you are too!
Want to know more? The video below is the tutorial for the animated series.
