//------------------------------//
// Episode 41 - A Day in the Life of AFCK 
// Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Aincrad 
// by Mindrop 
//------------------------------//

Floor 59
April 14  – Year 2 

Pinkie Pie skipped along the road as it wound through the hills. She was getting muddy, which both Rarity and Diemond would not be happy about. Especially since she was purposely jumping into the chocolate puddles when they came along.
Several rocks rolled in front of her, coming off the hilltop. They were of varying size and color. She stopped to chat with them.
"Good Morning VRPP," the biggest one, Papa Rock, greeted her. He had no mouth since rocks didn't have mouths. Rocks having mouths would be silly. "The rock candy harvest is in, but the Taffy King wants it for himself. Will you help us?"
"Sure!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "I love you guys. And I keep my licorice sword sharp and ready. But you guys seriously need to figure out a better way to protect yourselves. One day, I won't be here to help out."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"What is that?" Papa rock asked, as concerned as a rock could be.
"Oh that beeping? It's just my morning alarm. I can get up later.” Pinkie Pie drew her licorice sword while striking a valiant pose. “Time to vanquish my old nemesis, the Taffy King!"
"You can save us later. You have to save yourself and your friends first."
"Awe! But-"
"Not buts! Go! Real life needs you VRPP!"
Pinkie Pie opened her eyes with a sigh. She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. Now she had to be AFCK. And AFCK was boring. Pinkie Pie reminded herself that AFCK was outside Pinkie Pie and she was still Pinkie Pie inside. She finally rolled out of bed and sat down at her desk. She finished last night’s cupcake, which was sitting on her desk where she had nursed it last night.
After that, she popped her cooking outfit on. Then she skipped down the stairs to the kitchen, passing Knightstar and Bladescape in the guild hall on the way. She grabbed her apron off its hook in the kitchen and tied it on. AFCK grabbed the bowl of dressing flour off of the counter and tossed a handful in air, sprinkling it all over herself. She continued until she was happy with her final layer. Once she was fully dressed, she began to make porridge.
While that cooked, she pulled out a knife and tapped it on different fruits so that they were nicely sliced up. Cutting fruit in SAO was boring. She couldn't make fruit art or fruit opera.
Pinkie Pie hummed as she grabbed baking flour, sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and something that mimicked the taste of vanilla. Real scones required more ingredients to make, but SAO scones didn't. After a quick stir, she was putting them in the oven. They wouldn't take long to bake.
Pinkie Pie grabbed the cut fruit and skipped it to the dining room. When she got back, she checked the scones. They hadn't baked at all.
She laughed out loud to herself. "Oh Pinkie Pie, you're so silly. The oven has to be turned on to work. When will you ever learn?"
The giant pot of porridge was done cooking, so Pinkie Pie lowered the heat and periodically stirred it to keep it hot while the scones baked. In between, she juggled the jam-jars over to the dining room. Her best was 7 jars in the air. She put Dash's favorite jam in front of her usual seat.
Pinkie Pie sat on the kitchen counter and chomped down on some fruit and a cupcake for breakfast while the scones baked. She didn't always eat with them, particularly if she was behind and needed to make lunch. Either way, she always snuck what treats she could that were not approved breakfast foods.
It wasn't much longer before the scones were all baked. Pinkie Pie let them cool while she brought the porridge to the table. She loaded up two trays of scones and transported them to the dining room. Dash was there, and so were Twilight and Sunset. Dash was always first to gobble up as much food as she could get away with before she had to wait for seconds.
Astro arrived with Rarity in tow. Rarity was annoyed and had been yelling. Fluttershy had snuck in with Colorra. Kiefer and Lessa came in together, as usual, and Jolton was right behind them. AJ was last, which was no surprise.
Pinkie Pie grabbed the empty dishes she could and took them to the kitchen. After a few taps, they were clean and dry. It took nothing for her to pack them lunch and some snacks for the day. She packed an extra cupcake for Kirito. She changed into her armor and axe in the kitchen and met the others, ready for the day.
And the day meant a hike out to the labyrinth on Floor 59 and fighting some baddies so they could fight the final baddy and conquer the floating castle. Then she could finally have real sweets again. Real sugar. The thought of real sugar once again made her drool.
Pinkie Pie found walking in SAO boring. So she bounced as she thought about jello. And ice cream. Neither of which existed in SAO. Yet. They were on her list to find out how to make them. She had learned to make cheesecake, and cupcakes, sprinkles, but not the kind that exploded like confetti, and so many other treats. She was confident she would figure out how to make the others treats.
Pinkie Pie was in a party with Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Lessa. The catacombs didn’t scare Pinkie Pie. But she did stop bouncing and focused on the task at hand. As they went through them, she still couldn’t find any cats or combs. Not even any pictures of cats. Or pictures of combs. 
When the skeletons appeared, their shields didn’t have any cats on them and they didn’t have combs, let alone hair. Still, they were baddies and the baddies had to die. Pinkie Pie skipped into battle, hopping out of the way of any attacks, unleashing Geode Splitter on the shadows and skeletons. Whenever she could, she put her Martial Arts Skill to use punching the skeletons. Not every attack was as powerful as her “Rock Candy Smash.”
After the battle, once they'd entered the safe zone, Pinkie Pie distributed their lunches. She sat down and ate her own. It was gone quickly and she pulled out her fife. She fiddled around with it. But not like a fiddle. It was a fife after all. She was still trying to learn to play “Awesome As I Want To Be.” Being the Rainbooms' drummer did not help her remember how any of them played the song. She usually just banged away, losing track of the rest of them.
Her knee wobbled and Pinkie Pie knew someone was coming. She looked down the way and saw Kirito coming. He was dressed all in black like he was supposed to be. He wasn’t called “The Black Swordsman” because he wore white. Or pink. Or chartreuse. Or any other color, really.
Pinkie Pie put away her fife and bounced up. She pulled Kirito’s bag out of her menu. Kirito was almost done eating his normal, plain food.
“Cupcake!” Pinkie Pie offered with a big grin. “I know you want one. A certifiably delicious Wondercolt Cupcake! You know you want it.” She wiggled her eyebrows to entice him.
“Sure,” Kirito shrugged. “I’ve heard good things about these.” Kirito took a bite. “And now I know why. Klein wasn’t kidding when he said they melted in your mouth. Well, I have to get going.”
“Have a good day!” Pinkie Pie grinned as she waved goodbye.
It was definitely a good day for her. The legendary Kirito ate one of her cupcakes. That was one of the things Pinkie Pie had on her list of things to do before the game was beaten. Whenever someone enjoyed her treats, be it in VR, I.R.L., or Equestria, it made Pinkie Pie feel so good that she thought she might explode.
After more fighting and then finally running into Fuurinkazan, Pinkie Pie skipped into HQ and straight to the kitchen. She popped her cooking outfit on, and then the apron, and then the perfect amount of dressing flour, and only then she was finally ready to cook.
For starters, she had to bake more cupcakes. While those baked, she got a stew going, along with two meat pies, and a noodle dish. Then it was back to preparing food for the next day, for all of them. Fuurinkazan probably only wanted to clear the Labyrinth with them to eat her food. But, they appreciated her food, and Pinkie Pie loved that.
“Need any help?” Joltron asked, coming into the kitchen.
“Yes!” Pinkie Pie laughed. “Take these rolls and this butter to the table. I'll have more ready in ten minutes.”
Pinkie Pie pulled the cupcakes out of the oven to cool. She put another batch in. She would whip the icing up after dinner.
With dinner cooked, Joltron and Astro helped Pinkie Pie move everything over to the table. It was eaten quickly. The Wondercolts were not very vocal about their thanks anymore, but their enjoyment still lifted Pinkie Pie’s spirits. She knew the game was tough on them, and they didn't have a Sugarland mind to escape to like she did. She liked being a constant in their life. They forgot to thank her because she was reliable at provided them good, well balanced meals. And that was what they needed. Their focus should be on the game, not thanking her for what she did.
Joltron helped wash the dishes while Pinkie Pie continued to make food for the next day. While she waited for more things to bake, Pinkie Pie began to once again work on playing "Awesome as I Want to Be." She still had a long way to go.
Once everything was done, Pinkie Pie hung up her apron and headed to take a bath before going up to her room. She had baked, which meant flour. She had to get the flour off somehow,  and that meant a quick bath.
Dried off and in her sleepwear, Pinkie Pie opened her menu. She popped out six cupcakes and set them in a neat row on her desk. She began to eat one as she thought of everything she was missing back home. She continued to eat and think. Both about real life, virtual life, and pony life.
Pinkie Pie knew she was missing school. She knew getting out of the hospital bed when she woke up to that reality wasn't going to be easy. She was very aware that all three of her were getting old with each day they spent in here. Each day she spent in here made AFCK older and stronger, but it made Real World Pinkie Pie older and weaker. What her being stuck in here was doing to her pony self was something Pinkie Pie hated to think about. All she could come up with was horrible things.
She loved Aincrad. It was an amazing place, if she factored out the absence of real sugar. If it wasn't a death game, it would be one of the best things in the world. But it was a death game. And that changed everything.
Pinkie Pie set the last bite of the cupcakes down. She had just remembered why she got up each day. Food was fun, but friends were funtastic. And her funtastic friends needed her awesome axe alongside them to beat this game. That was the best thing about this game: She got to fight alongside her friends. Without them, it would be boring. Owning her own bakery or kitchen would be fun, because that meant more players could enjoy her food, but it never would be the same fun as swinging her axe beside Bladescape's sword or Diemond's shield. Or really, any of the Wondercolts.
Pinkie Pie flopped onto her bed. She rolled the covers up over her body. After a quick yawn, Pinkie Pie slipped into dreams.
“Ready?” Pinkie Pie asked Papa Rock as she drew her licorice sword. “Cause I think it is time for me to once again meet my arch enemy, the Taffy King. FOR THE CANDY ROCKS AND THEIR FAMILIES!”





Bladescape (SS): Lvl 79 – Two-Handed Sword – Search – Weapon Defense – Leather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics – Blade Throwing – Extended Weight Carry
Knightstar (TS): Lvl 69 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Equipment Appraisal – Parry – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Search – Armor Pierce
Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 72 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search
Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 75 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics
AFCK(PP): Lvl 72 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument
Diemond (R): Lvl 72 – Heavy Shield – Mace – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Heavy Metal Armor – Tailoring – Light Metal Armor Forging – Heavy Metal Armor Forging – Jewelry Making – Extended Weight Carry
Doombunny (FS): Lvl 69 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit –  Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal
Astro (PS): Lvl 72 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry
Kiefer: Lvl 69 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts
Lessa: Lvl 69 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search
Joltron: Lvl 73 – One handed Axe – Heavy Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Blunt Weapon Forging – One Handed Weapon Creation – Two Handed Weapon Creation – Extended Weight Carry