//------------------------------//
// Pilot Episode - Link Start! 
// Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Aincrad 
// by Mindrop 
//------------------------------//


TUTORIAL 
	

The video below is the tutorial for the animated series. 
Watching before reading is highly suggested, but not required.







Real World
October 31

Sunset Shimmer ran, feet pounding along the concrete sidewalk at a steady pace. She was running to the local gaming store. She had scored an online copy of the state-of-the-art game, Sword Art Online. One of the 10,000 copies. Now she had to buy the NerveGear and she was hoping they were not out of them. The store said that the gear was one per customer. She couldn’t even hold some for her friends. They were kept behind the counter.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It wasn’t the first text message she had gotten while she was running, but she wasn’t going to stop to read them. Her friends were trying to get the game as well. They all had to do online sales because the game had an even more limited release for out of Japan sales. The text messages were hopefully confirming that they had also gotten the game. They had decided that because it was so limited, it was a free for all, with no hard feelings if one of them didn’t get a copy. They would play as friends. As many of them as possible. If only one didn’t get the game, it would be a very tough promise to keep. Eventually more copies would be sold until they could all play together.

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie already had the hardware. They had been playing other games, just nothing as high tech or immersive as Sword Art Online was said to be. Rainbow Dash had been playing Pitch Perfect: Soccer Champion. She hadn’t shut up about it since she got it a two months ago. What Pinkie had been doing on it was anybody’s guess, and knowing Twilight, it had to do with learning, or online chess.

The storefront came into view on the other side of the street and Sunset Shimmer slid to a stop. There was a line outside of it stretching down the block. She checked for traffic and burst across the street.

“SUNSET DARLING!” Rarity called out from further ahead in the line. “YOU GOT A COPY!”

“YEAH,” Sunset Shimmer yelled in between pants. “I ONLY HOPE THEY'RE NOT OUT OF THE NERVEGEAR BY THE TIME WE GET INSIDE.”

“THEY'RE NOT LETTING CUSTOMERS INSIDE RIGHT NOW,” Rainbow Dash yelled from the front of the line.

“RAINBOW DASH!” Rarity exclaimed. “YOU ALREADY HAVE THE NERVEGEAR!”

“SHE'S WITH ME!” Applejack yelled. “JUST HANGIN' OUT.”

“I’D GIVE YOU GUYS CUPCAKES, BUT I CAN’T LEAVE MY SPOT!” Pinkie Pie said from elsewhere in the line. “I’M WITH FLUTTERSHY!”

Twilight panted up behind Sunset.

“TWILIGHT JUST JOINED ME!” Sunset informed the others. “AND PINKIE, YOU HAVE THE NERVEGEAR ALREADY! YOU CAN LEAVE THE LINE.”

“OH YEAH!”

Pinkie Pie skipped up and down the line, distributing the cupcakes to her friends.

“BEHOLD, AUDIENCE!” Trixie Lulamoon said stepping out in front of the crowd. She was currently working at the video game store for a part time job. “THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE HAS A DECREE! ONLY THE ONES WITH VERIFIED COPIES OF SWORD ART ONLINE CAN ENTER MY STORE AND PURCHASE THE NERVEGEAR AT THIS TIME! GOOD LUCK GAMERS!”

Most of the crowd dissipated and the girls were able to join each other in line.

“Well that was lucky,” Sunset said.

“It only makes sense,” Twilight explained as she cleaned her glasses. “If the others don’t have the game, it's useless for them to buy the hardware. Right now, the demand for NerveGear is high because of Sword Art Online. Its full release next week means that the store will probably sell the rest of their stock online and ship it elsewhere overnight. What is the point of scoring the game and not being able to play it because you can’t buy the NerveGear? The cost for the unit online will probably skyrocket. The store will rightfully take advantage of the economic opportunity. Especially with so few units existing outside Japan.”

“Well, that just means we can all get it and play together,” Rarity smiled.

“And conquer it together!” Rainbow Dash declared with her fist in the air. “I let my buddies in Pitch Perfect know I scored a copy and won’t be on as much as I used to be. One other person got a copy, Poly Stitch. I know we're playing together, but I would love it if she could join our party at times. She plays a lot of MMORPGs and would be a big help.”

“Actually,” Twilight said nervously playing with her glasses. “Parties can only be six players at max, even within a guild. Guilds do not have a restriction on player numbers. I’ve been reading up on the game in its entirety. Everything they have released about it anyway. The information has been quite limited.”

“Of course you have,” Sunset said with an eye roll and smile.

Rarity spoke up. “I’m sure we can find room for her. We could do two parties of four rather than two parties of four and three.”

“It would be a more optimal set up for us,” Twilight added.

“Alright then!” Applejack said with a swing of her fist. “But what'll we call our guild?”

“How about the Wondercolts?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

They couldn’t discuss it anymore as the others were allowed inside. They bought their NerveGears and each of them headed home. They all had things to do before the official launch next week. Plus, they needed to set up the NerveGear and the game so that they could launch it immediately at the start. They could do some stuff before actually playing the game, like character design and log in info.

Sunset sat down at her computer and continued working on her history report. She was getting ahead in all of her schoolwork. She would leave the game info to Twilight. It was obvious that she had already figured out the best way for them to start. It might look controlling, but she knew her friend. It was all in an effort to maximize their fun as an individual and the group. And no doubt she had contingency plans for each of them choosing their own set up.

As the days ticked by, Sunset found herself getting too excited to not look up some of the information floating around the web. A lot of information was being withheld about the skills and the skill tree. She did find plenty of screen shots of armor and weapons. It looked amazing, and it was only low level equipment. Most Beta Testers had barely made it to the Second Floor.

Sunset's eyes were immediately drawn to the big swords. The ones requiring two hands to use. She would have to train her strength and skills without a shield to use a sword designed for two hands.





November 6th; the official release of Sword Art Online. One of the most anticipated games in all of Video Game history. And certainly one of the most influential. All VRMMORPGs would be influenced by how people reacted to playing SAO.

The seven of them 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 even read Twilight’s messages.

Sunset 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.” The geode necklace was around her neck. The NerveGear blocked out the real world, meaning she was vulnerable. The geode was useless to her in game. Still, she had learned to never take it off. Why start now?

The clock hit 13:00.

“LINK START!” Sunset Shimmer declared, starting the game.

The stream of colors was a bit disorienting. The game loaded and Sunset 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 blinked as everything came into view. She saw her own strong hands, gloved with a basic red, cotton weave. She had built her avatar in third person mode; now it was time to check out the design. The muscle definition under her red clothes and metal breastplate was good. She felt solid, but not too jacked up. Enough muscle to be strong and wield a two-handed sword, but not too much, which would slow her down. She also didn't add any height or reach to her avatar, keeping it as close to her real body as possible so that there was less of a learning curve. That key tidbit was something Twilight had mathematically proven to be the most optimal setting for height and reach to maximize performance by the mind in the game.

Then Bladescape took a look at the real Sword Art Online. The stone buildings were phenomenally designed. They looked more lifelike than many of the stone buildings she knew in the real world. She was in a large square with a tall clock-tower in its center. Players were popping up all around her in flashes of blue light.

Sword Art Online had launched!

They had planned on meeting at the West exit of the city. Sunset sprinted off through the streets and alleys to the meeting point. The entire town was made of stone. Her stamina in game was a lot more than in real life. That was a nice feature.

Sunset got to the Western gate in the Town of Beginnings rather quickly. It wasn't too difficult to navigate the starting town, despite its size. 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 are obviously a newb. 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 newb.” Astro said as a sly grin stretched his face. "A bit unorthodox, but you go with what you feel is best and hope it doesn't bite you in the butt."

Sunset Shimmer shrugged. "Blade felt right, but it needed something more. I want a large two-handed sword and I want to paint the landscape with it. I want it to be my pen, Aincrad the paper, and the monsters the ink as I craft my story in this world."

"That's the spirit," Astro praised. "Still a newb name, but that's because you can't back it up yet. Once you can, no one with question it. Like Thunderborne; She was laughed at for a while, until she started winning whole games solo. Now when she plays pick-up games outside the league, it sparks awe in her teammates and fear in her opponents. It also beats a name with weird numbers in it."

Two others came running up to them, ending their talk. The first was lean but muscled, standing upright and strong like she already owned the game. Her bright red hair was pulled back in a warrior's cut as flashy as her confidence. Her basic starting armor was backed in a sky blue while she had a yellow sheathed longsword on her hip. The other player, who was also well toned, had wavy black hair down to her shoulders, but she was not standing confidently. She wasn't wearing armor either, opting for a yellow dress. No weapon was present. It was obviously Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“Astro, is that you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yo, good to see you Thunderborne. I was telling Bladescape here you have to watch your gamer name. You earned your rep on the field, which surprised a lot of us when this cocky new girl joined up. Now the name Thunderborne makes players groan in fear."

The two of them laughed over that fact.

“Let's hook up now,” Thunderborne said after she was done laughing. She swiped down with her right hand, bringing up the game 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. Which speaking of owning names, she's one who better learn to live up to hers. 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. She accepted it and another one from Doombunny popped up. Astro's request was next.

“Why is your name Astro?” Bladescape asked. "I already get Thunderborne; Doombunny is an interesting choice."

“I hate AstroTurf. It's tough, unyielding, and uncomfortable to play on. Nothing better to name my avatar than after the very thing I hate. Why Doombunny, especially with the way you stand? Put that chest out, girl.”  

"Oh, um, well," Doombunny stuttered, barely an audible squeak. She was slapped on the shoulder by Thunderborne to get her to straighten up. She composed herself a bit better. "Well, I was going to go with another name, but Angel kept throwing a fit for each one I wrote down. I was going to do just Bunny for him, but he didn't like that either. He helped me add Doom to the front of it, and then he approved. So, um... I'm Doombunny."

Three more players came down the road towards them. One was dressed in white with blue and purple accents, another was in plain brown shaded clothes and had a hammer hanging off their waist, and the third was trying to push up nonexistent glasses as she ran in her purple backed starter chest plate.

“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. "So, why did the newbs choose those names?"

"I live on a farm," Applejack stated. "You can try and break my back, but you won't succeed. I'll be so strong in this here game, that you'll break yours tryin' to break mine." Applejack blushed. "Or at least, that was my thought when I first did the name. Now I ain’t so sure."

"I see what you were trying for," Astro said. "Now you'll have to earn that respect and fear so that others believe you are strong enough to break their back."  

"I like diamonds and shiny things," Rarity stated. "I can make amazing outfits to fit any style of fashion. So, Diemond. And that is with an E darling, not an A. It has to have some bite."

Astro gave a wink and flashed a finger gun at Rarity in respect. "I like that bite."

"Um," Twilight stuttered. "Well, I like stars. And astronomy. It's fascinating. It is a play on knight and night, and star. So... yes?"

"You need more confidence," Astro stated. "But a clever play on words is always nice to see. You'll need to get full plate armor and a cape with your favorite constellations. Maybe even make the belt of that belt constellation. I obviously know nothing about astronomy."

Astro was so confident that his acknowledgement of not knowing most of what he was talking about didn't warrant a laugh, only respect.

“Aren’t you a girl?” Applejack asked. “Dash, er Thunderborne, said you were on her soccer team in Pitch Perfect.”

“Yeah, I am. Pitch Perfect has a male league, a female league, and a co-ed league. Thunder and I play in the female league and co-ed pick-up games. But with an MMORPG like this, I prefer to be a dude. It cuts down on the harassment I get for being a gamer girl. Too many guys hit on you if you're a girl in-game. Especially a real girl. They all think they have a shot with you.”

“Well I for one am a lady, and always will be,” Rarity said. “I do hope this game has fashionable garments to wear. Unlike these dregs.”

“Depends on what you mean by fashion,” Astro smirked. “It's not going to have a lot of frilly dresses if that's what you're looking for. Particularly for battle. Sometimes the best armor looks like crap. But there are going to be some awesome looking pieces for sure. Just from the small bits released, the higher Floors will unlock some gnarly gear.”

“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 asked. “Pinkie, I thought you were going by a different name? I thought 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 cinnomony strong, I thought 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 were all smiling, shaking their heads, or rolling their eyes at AFCK being her normal, animated, Pinkie Pie self.

“And the K?” Thunderborne asked.

“K is for Knight, silly!” AFCK laughed a snort. “Seriously, how did you not know that?”

“The gang is all here,” Sunset said. “What now?”

The bells at the center of the town began to toll. Suddenly all eight 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.

“Forced teleport." Astro chuckled. "Looks like it's the opening ceremony. I'm not surprised there is one after all the hype they did.”

More and more players glowed blue, being pulled back to the center. It quickly became packed with little room to move. All different types of flashy colors, shiny weapons, brash armor, and flashy hair and hairstyles were around them. None of the players looked ugly either, as exotic and beautiful skin tones and bone structures were chosen for their avatars. The scene made up one shimmering and shifting rainbow of people. All players online, nearly 10,000, were packed into the square.

Some players got anxious and began getting angry about not being able to log out and wanted to talk to a GM. Someone's piercing scream silenced the entire area. "Hey... look up!"

Sunset looked up to see the sky, which was actually the bottom of the Second Floor above them, was checkered with red, glass like, panes which had English Text on them: "WARNING" and "SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT."

"Here we go," Astro chuckled. "We get to have some fun. I wonder what exactly we have gotten ourselves into with all this showmanship."

The center began to shift and then sagged. It morphed into a giant drop of blood which began to slowly move downward, but not breaking from the ceiling to drop onto their heads. Suddenly it changed shape to a more familiar figure. Although it wasn't that familiar. It was a man about sixty feet tall, swathed in a crimson robe with the hood up.

"This ain't right, y'all," Applejack gulped.

"Where is his face?" Fluttershy squeaked. Her squeak became barely a whisper. "I'm terrified now."

From where they all stood, they should have been able to see under the hood. But under it was nothing but the inside stitching. There was no face, no head, and probably no actual body wearing that robe.

"That's the robe of Argus GMs from the beta," Twilight said loud enough for their group to hear. "But the males had white beards, looking like gentle, but skilled magicians of age. And the women were beautiful and radiant beings. That is nothing but the robe and gloves."

"Maybe something is wrong?" Rarity asked. "Like a bug? I read about those types of things for new games."

A white glove peaked out from the robe as the right sleeve moved. By the time it stopped, there was a clear break between the glove and the sleeve. Both were nothing, filled with a void of empty space to keep them puffed out. The other sleeve moved, so that both swept over the entire crowd, emphasizing them as the players.

Sunset felt the pit that had been forming in her stomach drop. She lost her concern and was now certain that something was wrong. SAO was an MMORPG that took a unique risk by not having any magic skills. But this magic, or trickery, whatever it actually was, it felt like dark magic from Equestria and Sunset's heart rate shifted as her mind prepared itself for a fight. A fight she could never win as a level one player against a GM, especially without her Equestrian Magic, but she felt ready to fight.

For whatever good that would do here.

A voice, calm and deep, soothing even, came out of the ghost robe. "Welcome to my world, dear players."

Sunset Shimmer gulped. That was exactly what an evil demon or magic user from Equestria would say, but Akihiko Kayaba was just a producer and designer of the NerveGear and SAO, and he was too far away for him to be influenced by Equestrian Magic. Besides, this was in a game, not real life. A demon in the game was a coded object, just like a sword, or a stone, or even the player's avatar. There was no magic to any of this.

The arms lowered, done with their current dramatic purpose, and the figure continued to speak. "My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world."

Sunset was confused. That wasn't the Equestrian Magic, "bow to me you mortals," language. They were at least safe from that.

"You have likely noticed by now that the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug - It is a feature of Sword Art Online."

They had been too busy trading names to notice something like that. And while some players had been able to access the game for a few hours, the fact that they were not in Japan meant they had a time connection delay to try and balance the different time zones. They had no need to try and log out after being in the game for such a short time.

"From this point onward, you will be unable to freely log out of the game until the summit of this castle is conquered. Furthermore, the NerveGear cannot be removed or shut down via external means. If forceful means of exit are attempted..."

The ghostly robe from Akihiko Kayaba paused, most likely from dramatic effect. But it gave Sunset the moment to think. Aincrad was 100 Floors. It was a game designed to be slowly conquered. A challenge as each floor unlocked more. But each floor got slightly smaller which was an advantage.

Sunset's next thought was even worse. 'At least I submitted my history report before I logged in. It isn't due until next Friday. I have some time to spare.'

The pause ended. "The high-powered microwaves emitted by the NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down your vital processes."

Sunset Shimmer had thought about a stupid school report when her very life was now on the line. And unlike in the real world, she and her friends had power they could use to easily shut down Akihiko Kayaba. But he wasn't some possessed person or banished Equestrian demon. They couldn't just barge in and take him down. He would have prepared himself for that ahead of time. The Japanese military and police could handle him. She had to handle her friends.

"Technically speaking," Twilight started before hesitating. "Well by the specifications and design of the NerveGear, what he said is entirely possible. He isn't lying."

"Why would he lie?" Applejack snapped. "What're we supposed to do?"

Sunset was surprised her words were as cold as they were; she didn't intend them to be ice. "Beat the game." She locked eyes with each of her friends and then Astro. "The eight of us do everything we can to beat this game. We can do it. I am sure of that. What is a game compared to Gaia Everfree, or the Dazzlings, or two demons? Come on, this should be easy. Now we know the rules. The code gives us that. We know how to get stronger. We know what the levels unlock. We didn't know that back in the real world.

The demon of this virtual world, Akihiko Kayaba spoke again. "To be more specific, the brain frying sequences will commence upon any of the following circumstances: Ten minutes of no external power; two hours of network disconnection; removal, dismantling, or destruction of the NerveGear. The Authorities and media in the outside world have already announced the details of these conditions to the general public. At present, the friends and family of several players have already ignored these warnings and attempted to forcefully remove their NerveGears, the result being..."

The voice had to pause for breath. It had been the longest it had talked since he started.

"...that sadly, two hundred and thirteen players have already been permanently retired from both Aincrad and the real world."

Sunset's heart stopped and she felt her senses being choked out from the outside world. She was left with just her thoughts and what she saw in her mind. And it wasn't good. MMORPGs, any game really, required you to die so that you learned how not to play. There was always the risk that a single error could mess up a perfect game. Sunset had never played a "perfect game." Now conquering the castle didn't seem like a good idea. But what else could she do? What else would she want to do?

Sunset Shimmer didn't lose. Sunset Shimmer didn't fail. Sunset Shimmer didn't back down because something was hard. She always found a way. And six of those ways were with her in this nightmare.

Not all of them were going to be as prepared as the others, and under this pressure, any of them could crack. They all had the same starting stats, meaning it was going to be a mind game to survive. Sunset had to make sure her friends didn't crack and that they learned they could do this. She had to learn it as well. And that would require her to make sure they learned that lesson in the next few hours.

That now volatile voice continued, breaking Sunset's protective isolation before she was ready. "There is no need to worry about your physical bodies back in the real world. The current state of the game and today's fatalities have been covered far and wide on television, radio, and the Internet. The danger that someone will forcefully remove your NerveGear is already much diminished. The two-hour offline leeway period should provide enough time for your physical bodies to be transported to hospitals and other long-term care facilities with proper security, eliminating concerns over your physical well-being. You may rest assured... and focus on conquering the game."

"So much for this being a 'game,'" Rarity sighed. "I didn't find the idea of this adventure very appealing, but I wanted to enjoy something fun and unmagical with you all. I guess we got the magic part right."

"Look, we can still do this," Sunset said. "It's not what any of us planned, but it's not outside our skill set. We have overcome worse."

"Have we?" Rainbow Dash asked with enough sass that Sunset wanted to slap her for even speaking. Fluttershy was even holding onto Rainbow in a death grip.

"Look, we play our best, die a few times, but each time we become stronger!" Sunset exclaimed. "Are we Wondercolts, or are we-"

They were cut off by Akihiko Kayaba speaking again. "However, please proceed with caution. As of this moment, Sword Art Online is no longer a game to you. It is another reality. The standard means of player resurrection will no longer function as they did previously. When your hit points dwindle to zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

Bladescape didn't finish her statement. Her assumption was wiped. Now she had to "play" a perfect game. And that very idea terrified her. But she had to try it. It had to be better than living in this city for who knows how long. Besides, her friends needed her. And if she didn't lose, she wouldn't lose this.

"There is only one condition through which you can be freed from this game. Simply reach the hundredth floor at the pinnacle of Aincrad and defeat the final boss who awaits you there. In that instant, all surviving players will be able to safely log out once again."

Bladescape looked at the players around her. She heard one shout abruptly, "Clear the hundredth floor? W-we can't possibly do that! I heard the entire group of beta testers barely got through the very start of the game!"

That was not good. Sunset was beginning to see exactly how badly the odds were stacked against them. Odds or not? What could they do? The die had been cast. What was their move?

Sunset looked around at the avatars of her friends. Each one brought out their beauty or inner confidence. With that as a base, they could keep an even keel and do this. They would not be alone. Even Fluttershy, could become as strong as her avatar was built to be. No doubt Rainbow Dash had helped her design it, but she could earn that strong avatar's figure.

Another declaration was made, which stopped Sunset's mind, grinding to a stop like a train putting on all the breaks to avoid a collision. It hurt too as she heard the squeal of metal on metal on metal.

"Finally, let me prove to you that this world is now your one and only reality. I've prepared a gift for all of you. You may find it in your item storage.

All of them opened their menu and found it: HAND MIRROR. They all tapped it and selected the option to materialize it into their hands.

Sunset looked at the face she had crafted. It had taken the better part of two hours to get her hair perfect and the face to shine like it did, while still holding a perfectly strong jaw line. Rarity probably had to take even longer on her face.

Sunset Shimmer's mirror shattered, blinding her in the process.



Bladescape / Sunset Shimmer: Lvl 1
Knightstar / Twilight Sparkle: Lvl 1
Thunderborne / Rainbow Dash: Lvl 1
Backbreaker / Apple Jack: Lvl 1
AFCK / Pinkie Pie: Lvl 1
Diemond / Rarity: Lvl 1
Doombunny / Fluttershy: Lvl 1
Astro / Poly Stitch: Lvl 1