//------------------------------// // Arc 1-2: Shattered Immersion // Story: Error Code: FIO // by Ashfur //------------------------------// Alex sat dumbfounded as he watched code fly across the ponypad screen as it rebooted. He had never heard of these things crashing, ever. Yet here he was, having created a glitched out ponysona of all 3 races and proceeding to crash the game, he had no idea what to even think. That was, of course, until the ponypad lit back up and started again. Alex wated as it flashed to the title screen, and as he pressed continue he was surprised to find himself standing in the virtual boutique again, with the blank generic character on the pedestal. But from his viewpoint, he was off the pedestal and on the shop floor, as his still-glitched 'alicorn' self. Location: Carousel Botique, 'Ponyville' Date: March 4th, 2016, 11:30 A.M. 'Alex' Glanced around the boutique, making his way toward the door to exit again before stopping short. He remembered that last time this action made the game crash, but he recalled that the game was freeform to the extreme. Glancing over at Rarity, who was staring intently at the default stallion, he asked, "Hey, uh... Rarity, right? Listen, I know this is just the tutorial area, but if I walk out that door we're gonna crash again. Can I jump out the window to escape or something?" No response. Rarity stood stock still, not even blinking at the stallion on the pedestal.Beginning to worry, 'Alex' trotted over to Rarity and moved to poke her with a hoof. "Hello? Anypony home?" Alex, still sitting on his rock in the real world, chuckled at the fact that even though he had said "anybody home?", 'Alex' still said "anypony" despite the bugged-out state the game was in. He stopped chuckling as his avatar's hoof passed through Rarity like a hologram, leaving him off balance and falling to the floor. "Oof, that wasn't good. Heck, if this place wasn't so glitchy I'd be surprised. I guess this pony won't be of any help. Fine. Hey, I don't know if you can hear me, white unicorn pony, but if you can, I'm sorry for breaking the window in advance." Getting up, 'Alex' glanced around at the boutique until he saw an open window at a height he could reach. Trotting over, he leapt out the window and crash-landed in a flowerbed behind the building, but he was out! Glancing around, he saw what he could only assume was Ponyville. Having never seen the show and only knowing the Mane 6 and Celestia from the EQ online commercials, he trotted off in a random direction, hoping he might find some form of assistance. Ponyville, as Alex soon discovered, was a fairly large town with lots of different places to go and explore. And explore he did, having his virtual self enter every house and building that wasn't locked to search for anypony or anything he could use. After an hour of searching, he sat down on his haunches in what he assumed as town square having found nothing aside from a few apples and a set of saddlebags to hold them. Sighing over his lack of companions and guides in a land focused on friendship, Alex spoke a few words to himself in the real world. "Great going, Alex. Happy friendship pony land and you start in a ghost town. Way to go." "Great going, me. Happy friendship pony land you start in a ghost town. Way to go," the pony in the game lamented along with him. Alex perked up, a befuddled expression on his face as the gears turned in his head. He had heard that the game forced you to speak in character, but he hadn't heard of what happens when a new pony tries to speak its name before getting one. A wicked grin on his face, Alex spoke aloud to the machine again. "My name is Alexander Looming." "Celestia hasn't given me a name yet." Furrowing his brow, Alex tried something else: "Alexander Looming." The virtual Alex remained silent. Thinking back to his ponysona's unique race at the moment, he tried once more. "My name is Alexander Looming, and I am a human." "Celestia hasn't given me a name yet, but I am a-" The Alex on the ponypad stopped, and Alex held his breath as he waited to see what race the nameless stallion would identify as. "-EPUaenrgitachsopurosnny-" The screen went black, code flying across it once more. Alex was intrigued as he watched ones and zeroes zoom past his vision, glancing up at the sky as if to ask for answers. He received none. The console screen continued to flash with code until the battery light joined it, the screen eventually shutting down and leaving Alex alone in the peace and quiet of Yosemite Valley. Location: Alex's House, not too far from Yosemite Time: 6:30 P.M. Finishing his dinner consistent with the setreotypical solitary bachelor living alone, Alex placed the remainder of his can of soup in the sink to wash later, turning his attention to the ponypad charging on the table. After getting home from the valley, he had quickly set it up to charge to see if it still worked despite the glitches earlier, and it started up just fine. Having done some research while it was charging, he discovered that most games started the same way: you created your character in a clothing store of some kind, then your first objective was to get to celestia to get a name, or if you started away from canterlot, make your way to the train station to reach it. He also noted that nearly everyone had a sort of guide they would meet very early on, usually within 10 minutes of playtime, who would act as their first friend and mentor on your way to the castle. This of course was not the case: Alex had wandered Ponyville lost and alone for much longer than 10 minutes, and had taken many actions off the beaten path before eventually becoming dissatisfied and moping in the town square. Nobody ever got bored, upset, or lonely in Equestria Online due to Celestia's mastery of the world, but here was the one exception. Picking up the ponypad again, he delved back into Equestria. 'Alex' stood up, noting it was the same time of day as it was when everything crashed. Deciding to perform a few tests, he leapt into the air to try and fly across the fountain and promptly splashed into the water. Similarly, fussing over the buttons to try magic just made him awkwardly wade around in the fountain. Deciding something was better than nothing, he settled for basic motor control before getting out of the fountain and trotting in the direction of the nearby train station with determination in his eyes. He had a train to catch. And should luck be on his side, a pony to meet him at the end of the ride, royalty or otherwise.