Sunset groaned as she started to pick herself off the ground. She brought a hand to her head and shook lightly to stop her ringing ears. “What happened?” Her body jerked up for a moment at the feeling of her hand. Quickly pulling it in front of her, she found her hand covered in a dark glove with lacquered wood armor down her arm. The wooden armor was a bright red with yellow nylon cording holding the plate pieces together.
Her other hand fell to the side to help balance her in her shock, only to find something resting beside her. Sitting on the emerald grass was a sheathed katana. The hilt of the weapon was wrapped in a bright, sunny yellow cording while the scabbard was a dusk red. Her personal symbol –let’s be honest, her cutie mark– was etched into the wooden scabbard, marking it as her own.
Sunset scrambled from surprise and stood up in shock. She froze as she heard the sounds of clattering wood and look down over her body to find the rest of her body covered by similar wooden armor as her arms. The majority of the armor was a bright red with yellow cording. Beneath the armor, she could see grey cloth clothing that fit into her armor’s style. Taken together, the armor reminded her of the woodblock samurai she saw at her job in the mall’s sushi restaurant.
Sunset’s breathing started to quicken as she tried to make sense of everything, “Okay, Sunset. Calm down and think. What’s the last thing you remember?” She started to pace a bit as she spoke to herself, “I got an email about a new game. I put in the code and got an advanced copy of the first few chapters. I made a character and then…” She stopped, realization hitting her, “Nothing. That was the last thing I remember before this moment. Did I fall asleep? Is this a dream?”
Sunset tentatively reached for the blade on the ground and picked it up, feeling the weight of the blade and scabbard. “It feels real…” She ran her gloved finger over the etching of her cutie mark, feeling the small rises and falls of the wood from behind her glove. The sensation felt too real to not be reality. Considering she was a magical unicorn from another world living among humans, it wasn’t the weirdest thing she’d ever experienced.
She sighed and looked around, instinctively placing the weapon at her side. “Okay, so, where am I?”
The area she found herself in was a vast clearing of grassland. The hills rolled off into the horizon without a tree in sight. The wind flew over the grass and caused the tall blades to sway like an ocean wave.
Sunset sighed, her shoulders sinking a little, “That doesn’t help.” She decided it was best to start walking. She knew if she could a river, she could find civilization. The problem right now was the lack of water sources. As she crested one of the larger hills, she found her foot landing atop something. She jumped back and looked down to find a person lying on the ground. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!”
The person stirred and started to sit up. She was dressed in an ornate purple kimono top with bright red hakama pants. As the girl sat up with a yawn, Sunset felt she looked extremely familiar, from the lavender purple skin to her violet hair with a… magenta streak. The girl stood and brushed herself off before turning to Sunset and confirming her suspicions. The girl was an exact look-a-like for Twilight!
The girl smiled for a moment, but with a sense of unease seeing Sunset, “Oh! Hello there.” She even sounded like Twilight!
Sunset smiled nervously. “Um… I’m sorry for stepping on you. I didn’t see you… sleeping there.”
“Had I? Apologies, I must have fallen asleep during my ritual.”
“Ritual?”
Twilight nodded, “A mystic ritual. I don’t want to bore you with the details. But I do wonder why you’re all the way out here. Few people ever come out this field.”
This got Sunset a little worried. “Oh, um… I’m not really from around here. Why is that?”
“Well, there’s the curse for one thing.”
“Curse? Seriously?”
“Deathly so.” Twilight’s face turned grim, “It’s why I was here, to lift the curse and help the spirits of this field to move into the next life.”
Sunset chuckled nervously, “Okay… And the other reasons?”
Twilight’s face turned back to her usual tone, at least what Sunset assumed was her usual mood, “Oh! That would be the roaming bandits coming through the area.”
Sunset’s face was blank for a moment as silence was all that followed, “Roaming what now?”
Twilight pointed passed Sunset’s shoulder, “Them.”
Sunset spun around in surprise to find a small hoard of bandits approaching them. As the, truthfully, generic-looking men spread out to surround them, they started to draw their weapons. Everything from dented swords to rusted spears and a few had less than practical weapons like farming tools.
Sunset took one step back out of a sense of fear. She’d never fought anyone with actual weapons before. Every enemy she’d ever had only used magic powers or some crazy influence over the world around them. She felt her fears piling up before her body moved against her will. However, rather than in surrender or attempting to flee, her feet spread apart and her hand moved closer to her own weapon. She looked over to Twilight to find the girl didn’t have a weapon. This made things worse to Sunset because it meant she had to try to defend both of them with a weapon she’s never used in real life.
The sound of a clap pulled attention to Twilight. Her hands started to glow a bright purple before she separated them in a dance of light. Each motion created a light of purple light before forming together into the shape of a Long dragon. Once it was complete, the ethereal purple dragon came to life and growled at the bandits as it wrapped protectively around Twilight. As its burning fire started to flow around its mouth, the spines along its back started to glow a bright green. It actually reminded Sunset of Spike now that she was really looking at it. Twilight took a step forward and pointed her dragon to the bandits in front of her, causing the dragon to unleash a mass of emerald fire.
Sunset was awestruck at the scene, requiring her to shake her head to get back to the situation at hand. Twilight can clearly handle herself. The question now was if she could. Unfortunately for her, she was left wide open to an attack by one of the bandits. She felt the blow land square across her back, but that was all she felt. She spun around to find the attacker at used a sword that should have caused a lot more damage than it did. However, she hardly felt a thing from it. The feeling in question, if she could describe it, was like she had lost a few points on a health bar. She spun around to attack him on instinct, knocking him away with a single strike.
She blinked in surprise, especially since the arc of the weapon indicated that she should have sliced the man in half. However, his body was not only still in one piece, but there was no blood. Sunset turned around to face the rest of the attackers, not sure what she was experiencing. It’s like a game…
She decided to try to run with that and think of it like she was still holding her controller. Each button and combo playing out in her mind created a motion through her body. She started to cut down her attackers like butter and with little effort. She thought back to the email and the description of the game, particularly the 10,000-to-1 part. As she ducked back from another attack, she decided to try another button combo and found her returning her weapon to its scabbard and holding a quick draw stance. Pressing a button caused her to draw the blade fast enough to created a shockwave through the air and killing a group of them all at once.
Many of the bandits were either dead or running away in a panic. Sunset let out a breath and returned her weapon to its home. “That looks like the last of them.”
“I agree.” Twilight’s dragon rested on her shoulders as she pet its head before disappearing. “Now, we should be free for proper introductions. My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
Sunset felt her eye twitch a little. Of course it is… “I’m Sunset Shimmer. It’s nice to meet you.”
Twilight smiled and nodded, “Likewise. Though you never told me why you are in this field.”
“Oh! Um…” Sunset thought it was probably best to avoid the full truth for now. “I’m just passing through and got lost. I’m not from the area.”
“Understandable.” Twilight didn’t question it. “I assume you were looking for Kesshou Village.”
Sunset gave a single nervous chuckle, “I… might be more lost than I thought.” Sunset really hoped she bought this.
Twilight looked at her with a sense of concern, “I guess that might be understandable. Let’s at least get you to Kesshou Village first.”
Sunset let out a slight sigh. “That sounds good to me.” As they started their journey, Sunset felt it might be a good idea to fish for some information. “So, what is Kesshou like, anyway?”
“Oh! It’s great!” Twilight smiled as she described it, “It’s a little piece of paradise in the mountains. There aren’t too many people and there isn’t as many amenities as the larger cities, but that’s fine with me. Granted, most visitors are pilgrims for the temple, so there’s not too many passers-by.”
Sunset felt that was important, somehow, “Temple?”
“The Temple of the Dawn Bringer. It’s just up the mountain from the village.”
Sunset smirked to herself at the idea that this temple probably had something to do with Princess Celestia.
“That’s actually where I spend most of my time. I work for the Temple and do whatever I can to help travelers.”
Sunset smiled and nodded slightly, “That sounds about right.” When Twilight turned to her, confused as to what she meant by that, Sunset had to try to cover her tracks. “Oh! It’s just that you seem like the helpful type, you know?”
Twilight looked up slightly as she hummed in thought, “I suppose I do.”
Sunset sighed in relief.
Twilight smiled as she slowed slightly, “Here we are!”
“Already?” Sunset looked down the way to see a small village right out of Japanese history. It was an amazing sight to actually see a village like that in person. A quaint little village at the foot of a small mountain. As she looked up the jutting mass of earth, she saw a bright white and sky-blue temple sitting on a flat area of the mountain’s side. She felt she was only seeing a small fraction of the whole structure. “Wow.”
“Right?” Twilight chuckled at Sunset’s amazement and continued walking, causing Sunset to snap out of it and run after her.
As they arrived in town, Sunset looked around at the people walking around. She couldn’t place it, but it there was something off about everyone she passed. It was as if each person was only a placeholder filling space. She could see each as a distinct person with different features from one another, but she felt like none of them had an actual name.
Twilight run a bit ahead and spun around to Sunset, “Apologies, but I need to get back to the Temple before night and it can a long climb at the best of times.” She bows slightly, “Until next time, Sunset Shimmer.” With that, Twilight turned again and started to run to the opposite end of town and toward the mountain.
Sunset took a deep breath and nodded to herself. “Okay… Guess I need to look around town now.” As she walked around, she found a small inn that looked like a good way to scour for information. When she reached the door, she noticed a small sign that read, [Closed for Demo]. Sunset laughed a bit, the fact the door genuinely didn’t give way confirming the fact that this wasn’t just like a game. It was the game.
She thought back to the email and sighed. “It said that the first few chapters were playable. Maybe if I beat the demo, I get back home. But if you don’t get quests at the inn, where else can I get them?” She thought back over her gaming experience to find a possible solution to her problem. The only problem was that every game was different with how it handled quests. In the end, she had to just bite the bullet and search the entire town. After some time of searching the street for any door without a [Closed for Demo] sign, she eventually found a smithy open for business.
When she walked in, she found a larger man standing behind the counter, distinctive from the people outside only by his attire. He grinned and waved as she entered, “Welcome! What can I get you?”
Sunset decided to try to ask, “I’m not from town and I’m looking for work if I can find it. People that need a sword.” She hoped that sounded right to him, because she doubts she has any smithing skills in the game.
The blacksmith nodded, “I gotcha. Well, I have an opportunity to find some coin if you’re hoping to make some. Metal’s running dry these days. If you can get some old weapons to melt down, I’ll pay you for each on you bring in.”
Sunset remembered the fight with the bandits and almost felt like she had some to give. She moved her hand to place something on the table, though her hand was empty. Though, she felt that if she acted like she’d place something, the item would appear from within her inventory. Sure enough, as she opened her hand an old sword came to rest on the table.
The smith grabbed the weapon from the table and started to look things over. “Decent metal. Old, but still usable. Alright!” He turned back to Sunset and handed her some coins. “It’s not much, but 20 Bits can get you plenty.”
Sunset took the coins and felt a certain nostalgia in using Bits again. “Thanks.”
“By the way, if you really need work for a sword, I’d suggest heading for a castle town. We don’t have much need for hired swords.”
Sunset sighed with a nod, “I’ll keep that in mind.” She thanked the man for the Bits and left the smithy to try to advance the chapter in hopes it would let her return home. She walked around town hoping to find any differences, but most of the doors were still closed. She groaned and moved through town in hopes to find anything at this point. Eventually, she thought it might be a good idea to check out the Temple, if she even can, and ask Twilight more about the area. As she took a step passed the gate up the mountain, she felt a sense of relief hoping this might advance things again.
The road up the mountain was long and very winding. By the time she reached the top, the sun was starting to fall passed the hills in the distance. Sunset folded over, placing her hands on her knees as she took heavy breaths. “Why would they build it so far up the mountain?!” After a moment to get her breathing back under control, she stood upright again and walked through the open gate to the Temple’s inner courtyard.
The area inside looked remarkably similar to the outside area, just inside a set of walls and with a small structure at the other end of the courtyard. The structure was set with paper walls and a long, slightly elevated wooden path wrapping around the building. Sunset felt like the Temple was too empty, but also never really saw one in real life so it was hard to tell if it was weird or not.
Sunset looked around the courtyard, shouting, “Hello?! Anyone here?”
“Stop screaming in the Temple!” The voice that answered was very much not Twilight’s. An older man dressed in a similar attire to Twilight’s walked around one of the corners. His clothing was a long robe with large sleeves that Sunset believed was called a kariginu. The man walked using a cane and was hunched over just slightly. His ivory skin was contrasted by his bright green hair. He was clearly advanced in age but gave off the aura of a man that would fight you without a second thought. He stopped after rounding the corner and placed both hands on his cane as he addressed her, “Why have you come to our Temple today?”
Sunset tried her best to smile, “I’m really sorry. But I was hoping to talk to Twilight.”
The man’s glare instantly changed to a jovial laugh, “I should have known!”
Sunset let out a sigh in relief once he started laughing.
“She can be along soon enough, but she has duties to the Temple. I know it might be hard to image, but I’m pretty old. I can’t take care of everything in the Temple anymore.” The man walked over to the wooden path and sat on the wood as he faced Sunset. “So, how did you meet young Twilight, anyway?”
Sunset took a few steps closer, thinking back to her story for Twilight to avoid it biting her later, “I met her earlier today. I’m not from the area and got very lost. She helped me get back to civilization.”
The man chuckled a bit, sounding like the stereotypical good-natured old man, “That sounds like her.” His laughter faded and he looked back to Sunset. He looked like he was about to say something, but his attention was forced away as the wall behind him slid open.
Standing on the opposite side was Twilight carrying a wooden bucket with a rag hanging over the side. “I’m done!” Twilight jumped a bit seeing Sunset standing in eh courtyard, “Oh! Sunset! When did you get here?”
Sunset smiled and waved off any concern, “Just now, actually. I was talking to…” She waved her hand, having never been told the man’s name.
The monk laughed and stood up again. “I’m Bright Star, head monk of the Temple of the Dawn Bringer.” Bright Star turned to Twilight and grabbed the bucket from her hands, “I’ll take care of this, she’s here to see you after all.”
“It’s fine, sir!” Twilight tried to argue, “You need to rest!”
Bright Star huffed, “I’m old! Not dead! I can still do things around here!” He took the bucket with a little more force and started to walk away before Twilight could argue further.
Sunset leaned slightly toward Twilight as they watched him leave, “He seems… nice.”
Twilight sighed, “I just wish he wasn’t so stubborn. Anyway,” Twilight turned back to Sunset, “what brings you to the Temple?”
“I actually wanted to ask you a few things if I could.”
“Of course!”
They were cut off when a loud horn rang out over the air from the village below.
Sunset spun around toward the source, “What was that?”
Twilight gasped at the sound and started to breath heavier in that worried-Twilight way. “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! A call to arms! The village is under attack!”
“What?! But I thought it was peaceful.”
Bright Star walked back toward them with a huff, “The Warlords might not see a reason to conquer us, but we still have our fair share of troubles out this far from the castle towns. Old bandit clans trying to take whatever they can. You two should get down there and help the defense.”
Twilight spun around toward him, a look of defiant fear, as contradictory as that is, on her face, “I can’t just leave you hear alone! What if someone attacks the Temple?!”
Bright Star swung his cane up and pointed toward Twilight, only half an inch separating the cane from her nose, “Listen up and listen good, Sparkle!” Once Twilight was scared to a stiff-bodied silence, Bright Star returned his can to the ground. “I know I’m old. My best years are far behind me. But I’ll be damned if you stay here to guard me while innocent people down there are in danger. I know you worry about the old man you’ve been working for in the Temple, you’re kind like that. But you also have a duty to the village. I’ll be fine. Now, get down there!”
Twilight choked up a moment before wiping a small tear. Her face changed to one of determination, “Right! I’ll be back soon!”
Bright Star sighed and grinned now that his message got through, “Go get ‘em, kid.”
Twilight spun on her heels and started to run to the gate, “Come on, Sunset!”
Sunset glanced back to Bright Star, seeing him sit back on the wooden step. She nodded to him and ran after Twilight.
As one would imagine, running back down the mountain was significantly faster than climbing up it, allowing them to arrive in time to defend the village from a familiar set of bandits. However, Sunset could see a few with better armor and weapons. They were more distinct, but just barely.
Sunset charged forward and sliced through a few of the lesser bandits, but the more distinctive of them took a few more hits than the grunts. Sunset surmised that being more distinctive in this world is akin to gaining power. However, they went down all the same, just a little slower. She cut through another group before they started to run from her in fear. Taking a deep breath, she looked to the side and saw one of the grunt’s bodies lying on the ground. Then, something she’d never thought of forced itself into her mind. Were these people real to themselves? Had she just cut down sentient lives?
But her questions would have to wait. Because if they can die, that meant she could to. And something a little more distinctive was walking into the fight. He stood a full head taller than her in a simple set of armor. Despite his armor’s lack of distinctiveness, the man came across far more so than anyone in the hoard. He stood a head taller than Sunset with a leaner, more athletic frame. His skin was a deep red and she could see his orange hair up in a sort of spiked mohawk resembling a dragon’s spines. His weapon was a dual ended club with a small section for him to actually wield the item. As he walked forward, two of the militia tried to charge him from behind, only to find the club bashed into their faces. The man laughed stood without a care in the world.
Sunset returned to a fighting stance, “And who are you supposed to be, huh?”
The man laughed and slammed one end of his weapon into the ground, “I’m the Bandit King Garble! I’d say remember that name, but you’ll be dead soon enough, so it doesn’t matter!” Garble swung his club around over his shoulders and toward Sunset with a sweeping attack.
Sunset set to guard but was knocked to the side by the attack. She felt she hadn’t taken much damage, but it was disorienting. She shook her head in time to see him charging again. This time, however, she moved to a counter stance and beat his attack by ducking the strike and swinging back. She followed this was a flurry of attacks to keep him at bay.
Garble got his bearings back in order guarded with his club, preventing any damage. He pushed back against her blade and swept her legs out from under her. As he raised his weapon, the fire from Twilight’s ethereal dragon knocked him back again. Garble growled seeing the two. “Bet you think I’m outnumbered, and you might be right. But I have you out maneuvered. I plan to run now, and you could chase me, but you’ll be giving up something big!” Garble grabbed a gourd from his side and tossed it into the town, shattering on the roof of one of the buildings. No one new what he was up to until he threw a lit torch after it, setting the liquid ablaze and allowing Garble and his bandits to escape from the distraction.
With the bandits escaping, the militia turned their focus to putting out the flames. Sunset moved to help until she saw Twilight’s eyes wide in horror and shock. Sunset turned to see what Twilight was looking at and saw smoke rising from the mountain. Before Sunset could really register that, Twilight was running at full tilt toward the mountain in a panic. Seeing the villagers handling the fire, Sunset started after her as the two began to scale the mountain.
As they approached, Twilight began to slow at the horror. There was no raging inferno or rising sparks, but the dying smolders of a fire long since burned out. It was more than likely the attack was a distraction to raid the Temple. Twilight fell to her knees and roared out in anger and pain. It was a grief born from only one thing, the death of a loved one.
Sunset got more than a little choked up, about to reach out to Twilight to try to comfort her. “Twilight… I’m sorry about…”
“HEY!” Both girls jerked up hearing the voice, “What did I tell you about shouting in the Temple?!” Bright Star walked out from the tree line slowly given his age.
Twilight was instantly back on her feet and looking toward him, “Master Bright Star! You’re okay!”
“I’m alive at least. I’m happy with that much. They must have scaled the other side of the mountain, the crazy bastards. I was lucky to get away as soon as I did.” He started to wobble, causing Twilight to spring forth and catch him from falling. Bright Star sighed and looked back over to the ashes of his Temple. He sighed and looked up toward the sky, “It’s a lovely evening, though…”
Sunset looked up to the sky to see night had finally fallen upon the world. She felt herself smile at what little silver lining she could find. She felt a heat rising in front of her and she looked back to the Temple’s ashes to see a bright purple flame rising from the dying embers. The flame started small before bursting into a large pillar of violet fire, causing her to fall backward in shock.
She could see a figure forming within the flame. He stood a bit taller than her in the flames, and that was all she could tell at first. A swing of the hand set the fires aside to reveal a man standing in the ashes. He had light violet skin with a dark royal purple hair. He was dressed as a Napoleonic Monarch with a dark purple, militarized uniform adorned with gold. The only thing differentiating him from a general was the golden, spired crown atop his head. He stepped out of the fire and held a hand down toward her, “I thank you, Sunset Shimmer, for helping us test the limits of Harmonia.”
Sunset looked from his hand and back to him before rising to her feet and backing away a bit. She looked to Twilight and Bright Star, only to find them having disappeared.
“They’re not here, Sunset Shimmer. The demo has ended.”
Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she looked toward the man with suspicion, “Who are you?”
“I am the one known as King.”
“King? As in King & Knox Productions?”
“Quite. My partner cannot join me today. To answer the question you truly asked, however, I am the creator of this world. The programmer, if you will.”
“Then, this really is…”
“A video game, yes.”
That lifted a weight off Sunset’s conscience. “But, why am I here then, huh? Are you keeping me here?!”
“Of course not. You are free to return simply by thinking of quitting the game.”
“Then I can return home?”
“On the contrary, you never left your home. The magic I used to bring you here left you there as well. You are a phantom consciousness. When you quit the game, your experiences will wash over your true self. Should you wish to return, you simply boot up the game again. Either way, Knox and I thank you for your time in this demo and we hope to see you next month.” King stepped back and the fires rose over him again, disappearing as soon as he arrived.
Sunset thought to herself and took a breath with closed eyes. When her eyes opened again, she was home again with shared memories of two consciousnesses.
“Okay… this is weird.”