My Little Pony Realization

by Slendy

Episode 1 - Scarlet Skies

Act I - New Game

Artorias slowly turned back for a moment, awaiting the eyes prying from beyond the treeline, their silver coats leaping from the cover of the forest's shadows, her hoof magically snagged on her blade as the name <Dire Wolf> flashed in her rosy eyes. She smiled, tail swishing with excitement. Today was the last day of Beta for MLPR, and she decided to take it easy and enjoy the sights while she still could.

She jumped back, the wolves crashing into each other from the sudden movement, swinging her blade across she struck a wolf in the back, throwing her body over its own, pulling the blade across. Spinning clockwise, she scored its belly, observing it shatter as gnashing teeth tore through the glass.

Artorias tilted the blade to her right, slicing straight through the Dire Wolf, its body crashing into the grass, spraying its shards to the breeze. Gliding back, her eyes locked to three remaining wolves, howling in an arrow-formation. Placing the true edge to her side, she lunged at eye-level, hooves skimming the ground as she bound over the mutts, blade drawn with a light-blue tint.

With a whistle in the breeze, her blade split the leading wolf in two, landing behind it as she backhanded the second with her buckler, lobbing it over the third that recoiled off her shield. Holding her ground, Artorias brought her blade close to her cheek, gold sputtering across the blade as she zipped across the glade, tearing the third Dire Wolf apart with ease.

The last of the pack snarled, lunging again while Artorias backpedaled, flicking her guard into rest her blade over her right shoulder, hearing the wind-up of the skill while the Wolf continued its swiping and lunges. Bringing her sword down, a large gust of wind was caught in the <Verticle> slash, dividing the wolf as its jaws slid off one another, each segment passing back her face as it shattered on contact with the ground.

With a huff, she spun her sword around and sheathed it against her hip. "Nailed it." "I have to admit, this pony body ain't half bad, a little annoying I'm walking on all fours though,"

"Look out!" Artorias spun around, startled by the sight of a gleam shearing the sky as the monster shattered atop her head, its drops and shards showering her form. The player that spoke stood before her, smiling while holding out a nervous hoof. His avatar wore the same equipment as her only with blue for the tunic and accents. His messy mane was faux-brown and he had pale green eyes and a light blue coat. "Monsters this far out tend to spawn more frequently than ones closer to town."

Artorias for her part smirked, reaching out for his hoof. "Well, thanks for the assist, but if you're here for the Field Boss I already cleared it like... five minutes ago," She emphasized with a hoof jerked behind her. "Sorry, bud, first come and all that."

He frowned but put his hooves up. "That's fair, the time I had left I doubt I could have soloed it anyway." He admitted, then the air around them let our a gong-like sound. "Speaking of which..."

Artorias and the boy smiled as they sheathed their blades, then he held out his hoof to her. "Name's <Skye>."

Grasping his hoof Artorias winked. "Artorias, my fellow beta tester." Then her deadpan eyes loomed to his right. "So, tell me, what's his malfunction?"

"Man, that was freakin' cool!" Artorias stood straight as an arrow as the player she spotted appeared almost instantaneously. He was a head taller than them both, a red pegasus with a darker shade for his mane and tail, the former spiked and tied with a bandana. He smiled toothily as he put his hooves behind his head. "That was some serious skill usage, man."

"You have no right saying that given what happened a few minutes ago." Skye's leer snapped to his companion. "Sorry, he's new."

"Among other things," Artorias murmured under her breath. Seeing him still staring at her with stars in his eyes she flicked his snout with a hoof. "You laggin' or somethin'?"

"Huh? Oh, right, sorry, just got caught up in the moment," He smiled warily, putting his hoof out. "<RedwoodRiot>, or just Riot, nice meeting you."

With hesitance, Artorias shrugged and shook his hoof. "Artorias, a rare gamer chick with a lust for badassery and loot," Artorias then bowed stupidly from atop the higher ground. "Suu~uup." Was her lazy rebuttal

"You know something, this whole equine form ain't half bad," She did a backflip, landing on all fours easily, smiling. "Loving the flexibility, though my mind refuses to accept how I can hold a sword without fingers, what an odd concept."

Skye's smile returned, his horn cast in a blue glow. "That's fair I guess, magic's pretty cool, better than using hooves for everything - still, glad someone's honest about the nit-picks of this game." He sounded almost relieved to have met her

"Honesty's what separates the veterans from the noobs," Artorias chuckled with her hooves together for a small bow. "A man of culture I see?"

Skye pursed his lips, nodding, "Yeah, great graphics, horrible crafting system, really... needs to ironing out." That made her gasp, sitting forward with wide eyes

"I know, right!? I can't be the only one that finds that festering, seizure-inducing menu to be a cardinal sin." Both Beta Testers shook their heads in dismay, knowing Riot may never understand. "That whole month and no tweaks."

"You mean 'complete overhaul'?" At that, Artorias clopped her hooves at him

"Ah, yes, you are correct, good sir." Patting her tunic, Artorias put a hoof on her hilt. "Well, I'm in a good mood, want to tag along for a bit, see the sights?"

"Sure," Skye motioned to Riot, the guy swishing his blade through the air beside them. "I've been showing him the ropes, basic stuff like combat, agro, loot."

With a wise voice, Artorias played with an invisible beard. "Ah, a blossoming student and teacher -- Is what I would say, but..." Her deadpan expression followed Riot, the Pegasus being chased by several <Wild Boar>. "That... threshold his vast." She hissed with her slit eyes

"He's not too bad." Skye defended slowly, but Artorias remained as unimpressed

"I'm a pessimist, Skye, I don't do comforting thoughts."

Sometime later...

Trudging through the glade, Artorias kept to herself, smiling as she admired the amazing spectacle that was the virtual world, how... real it felt. Sure, some... minor bugs, and the absolute seizure crafting is, but hey, everything needs some ironing out. She wasn't a massive fan of the show, however, it was enjoyable in its own strange way, she knew some only bore the pony-aesthetic for the VR side of things but really, beggars can't be choosers, besides, they got magic and flying, that's pretty cool.

Just after scanning through her achievement list to see what awaits her many hours of future play, she saw Skye and Riot sat ahead by one of the cliffs overlooking the arcing lands afar, the sun coming near the edge of the world's curve. The vibrance of the magical world was almost indescribable, the colors flowed seamlessly and the lands looked so mysterious and inviting, the start of a whole new adventure beyond Ponyville. With her own admiration aside she approached the duo, "Yo," With a wave, she stepped toward the two, both turning to look at her. "So I'm not alone admiring the digital world, eh?"

Skye waved with a flick of his hoof, "Sort of, right now we're working some kind of bug out." His concern brought Artorias' attention fully

"Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?"

"Oh I see, you give me hesitance but she comes along and you're all buddy-buddy?" Riot frowned between them, "But yeah, something's up with the menu, I hadn't noticed it 'till I tried to logout."

"It's true," Skye nodded then looked to Riot, whatever situation they were in before brought back to attention, "Hey, did you message the Admin?" That drew a blank across Riot's face, then his gaze lit up with a strained bearing of his teeth

"Erm, well yeah I did but he's not picking up," He then looked from his menu to Artorias. "Ah, right, the thing is, the sicken 'Logout' button isn't working."

"We noticed it a few minutes after you left," Skye looked to Artorias, pointing to his menu. "Is it missing for you?"

"The logout's missing? Fantastic, thanks Ryder," "I'll check," She brought it up, scrolling to the text bar... left blank? "Um, blank, erm... crap." She pursed her lips. "Right, so we're stuck until this is fixed, again, fantastic."

"Isn't there another way out of this game?" Riot asked the two experts warily, watching the two obsessed gamers mull it over, however, as the sun was covered briefly by a cloud, Artorias' expression darkened, and Skye's grew stern, the realization weighing on them both

"There isn't, if a player wants to log out they need to go through the menu." That wasn't any better

"That can't be right," Riot shook his head. "There's got to be some other way out?" He then tried multiple attempts at voice commands, much to Artorias' chagrin

"Yeah, genius, doesn't work that way," Then she put her hoof out. "And don't bother with the pulling of the VR Rig, believe me, if you could move while still in the game you'd probably be hit by a car by now." Artorias kept it blunt but stern, there was, by all accounts, no other way out of MLPR

Finally, Riot looked to take the news a sternly as the duo, sounding dumbfounded. "Seriously? You mean we have to wait around until someone fixes the bug?"

"Much as I hate waiting, yeah," Artorias sighed, looking down at her hooves. "Believe me, I like trying out a different body, but the whole cartoon appearance is annoying, and being looked at funny is even more degrading," She lifted her head to the sky. "Hear that Admins, I want a character switch ASAP!"

"Even so, the only other way to log out is if someone IRL pulls the Rig off," Skye shredded some light, and Artorias relaxed

"Parents, gotta love em."

"I live alone, you?" Riot motioned to Skye who thought for a moment about sharing his info, but given the crowd, he'd be okay

"I got my parents and siblings, so they should notice something's up by dinner time, but..." His gaze hardened. "That's atleast an hour or so, if the bug isn't fixed I could call someone for you?"

Riot looked very appreciative, patting Skye's shoulder. "Hey, thanks man, I should be fine," He soon puffed out his chest. "A little late-night adventuring can't hurt, right? Besides, they'll just forcibly log everyone out once the Beta's done, bug or no bug." The duo wished they shared his optimism

"This isn't just a bug," Skye looked to his aforementioned name, worry crossing his eyes. "If we can't log out, it's going to cause some serious problems for the game."

"It's the reason there's a 25,000 player limit, keeps the servers humming along smoothly, but if we all stayed online all that data will start to overflow eventually, causing bugs and other not-so-safe things to occur that I'd rather not think about," Artorias added with a silver, rubbing her biceps

"If the Admins know something's up they can just shut down the servers early and log everyone off by force," Skye raised a valid point but grew wary, rubbing his chin. "But why haven't they made an announcement yet?"

"Something's not right," Artorias added under her breath

*DING. DING. DING. DING*

The trio became alert to the harrowing bell in the distance, the loud, gong-like sound reverberated over them, before a flash of white overtook their eyes. For Artorias, everything was, jagged, distorted by surrendered polygons as static crossed her ears. Then, she felt her body shift painfully, her body-type shifting between her real self then her avatar, voice echoing repetitively in the distorted world.

"W-what's goin̷͈͇͉̮̦̮̬̲̤͔̆̋̌́́̑̈̒͋͝ġ̷͕̪̞͇̞ ̴͉̭̱̮̪̗̾̀̕ó̷̧̢̭͚̺̱̪͔̩ǹ̴̢̟͉̥̤̬͈͎̪̅̏̍̕!̴̠͖͐̅̈́͋̇̓̓̕͜͝͝?̵͕̱̗̈͒̈̂͘͜͝" To her right, a horrific visage had emerged from the orange code that overtook the land, blackness converting to flesh and bone, code layer like cloth, torn and ragged, and of a maw filled with white noise, teeth lined poorly and crooked

A single, orange eye aligning in the static as the noise seemed to originate from the figure as its tongue flicked against teeth, yawning through the groan of the realm that slowly consumed her eyes. "Ｗ𝔼𝓵Ć𝓸𝐌ε Ｔό ๓у ฬ𝔬𝓻𝐋∂."

"--rias! Artorias, you okay!?" Skye yelled sharply into her ear as she jumped forward, finding his hooves against her as a brace, helping her to her hooves like so many others. They were back in the central square of Ponyville, some were on the roofs, others dotting the streets. It wasn't every player but the majority that resided in Ponyville, far as Artorias knew, others could also start in Canterlot.

"I.. wow, what a fever dream." She smirked somewhat, then dropped it as the bell ceased, leaving people to chatter among themselves. "This is... all the players?"

"We got forcibly teleported - and no, not everyone judging by the crowd," Skye answered, and upon the cobblestone road, some snippets of conversation reached Artorias' ears

"What is this? Some kind of event?" "Why can't we log out? Do the Admins know?" "I can't reach any of them, it's like they aren't even paying attention!"

Then she noticed something. "Hey guys, the sky's lookin' a little... red and glitchy?" Her hoof was jabbed at the sky, toward a tear in the sky, similar to that of a bloodied, torn scar mauled open by a beast. Orange code sprung from the tears, stretching the wound, distorting the sky for a brief period of crimson. The sight dug like hooks into her eyes, she knew deep down this was about to go horribly wrong

The wound erupted across the sky, what was once a marvelous, white and brass in the golden rays of sunlight turned a bloodied red, warnings displayed across the clouds. Then, something twitched and pull itself from the sky, black, inky cords snapping from its vertebrae, crooked claws snagging in the code, its form almost unreadable as it failed to form any proper features. It looked human by a white outline, but the rest was blacks and orange scribbled in and outside that line, a ragged, jagged face with a jack o' lantern smile and a single, orange eye scarred onto its face.

"That's the thing I saw before I got teleported!" "Man that was needlessly graphic," Artorias bluntly pointed out, standing closer to the guys as it scanned the crowd that either gave the same, disgusted response or murmured about the appearance of the abomination of code

With outstretched hands, the entity greeted them all with a booming voice, static voice, "A-Attention players, I-I welcome Y-You to my world."

"'Welcome to my world'?" She added under her breath, biting her lip

"M-My name is... is-

Malware.

-and a-as of this moment, t-this world is m-mine t-to control, That raised a few comments, Artorias whistling at the grand entrance, sure, how and why he dragged a whole server to one place with ominous warnings was chilling, but you had to admit, the man had style. "Missing code, my doing, I-I won't let you leave, t-this is your world t-too, your exterior life c-cut away, only this world," His eye slit,

"My... directive; Sustain this realm, a-and I shall, this is not a defect or misinterpretation, I-I was given command over creators, I will c-complete this world for them n-now, as M.L.P.R is designed t-to be," That was very bad, and now Artorias wished she just stayed in bed this morning. "No logout available, n-no outside source c-can help you, i-if device is r-removed, Augment Rig w-will discharge signal, f-fry your consciousness, terminating your l-life," His arms rose, clasping at his uneven head with a tight squeeze. "You Will Die." ...no way...

"This can't we right, right? I mean, who would design the Rig to act that way?" Riot asked out loud, clearly doubtful of his warning, and solemnly, Artorias shook her head, bile bubbling in her stomach

"It's how the Rig was designed, I've looked into it before, in order to keep your body from moving microwave transmissions are directly emitted into the brain's central nervous system, think of it like a coma, you're forever in this world while your body is unable to move until you wake, and if the signals were to be amplified without the safety engaged... it... would cook your brain like a microwave meal."

"Couldn't someone cut the power, or...?" He tried to make light of the situation, but Skye sighed, shutting him down

"No good, the Rig's charge can last for just over a day." Again, all hope was dashed before it could burn

"Y-you're kidding... who would design something like this!?" For the man behind it all, for the very person to bring what gamers loved to life, it was hardly a fantasy, Artorias knew this, it's why she bought one and studied it day and night, she knew... she knew it was hopeless to think otherwise

Malware lowered its arms, head twitching, "Warning unheard, s-some exterior forces attempted r-removal, u-unfortunate for them," Artorias merely shook her head, "Result, this g-game is reduced b-by three-h-hundred and s-seven lives," He was silent, then narrowed his response with a smile. "They are gone from this world a-and your own."

Artorias grit her teeth. "He makes it sound like some kinda sick joke, what the Hell!" She had low standards for people but this was inhumane, they didn't know, how can this be fair? Life is never ideal, but this wasn't right for him to play God with them!

"307..." Skye breathed, rooted to the ground next to his companions

"No way! How can anyone-!" Riot held his head low, pressing a wing to his mouth, Artorias placing a hoof on his shoulder to keep him steady, her eyes fixed to the sociopath above

"As you can see--" He raised a hand, displaying many countries and their news headlines disclosing the information of the deaths. "--Your world mourns t-those lost, effortless murder of wasted lives, c-continued coverage of t-the deaths, a-and those that remain here."

"I do hope this b-brings comfort, y-your lives will be spared s-so long as you survive to t-the best of your ability," Malware's twisted form of 'comfort' made her insides turn, he hadn't the right to use them as his pawns in some digital form of reality

His twisted claw banished the screens, "H-Heed my words, there is no longer any a-ability to reincarnate, o-once your life is null you will be r-removed from this world's system, Forever."

Artorias ground her teeth, eyes shook, "You're kidding me...?"

"And your life will expire as the Rig d-destroys your brain." Raising a hand, he opened a new tab, revealing a massive outline of Equestria itself. "There is a-a-a way out, if y-you wish to see your world, you m-must clear the game," Four markers appeared below the map. Red, Blue, Green, Purple. "Gather y-your strength and brave e-ever Region Boss, the four Vaults, o-obtain their relics, then I-I shall g-grant access to the final stage at the e-edge of this world, clear that, a-and you clear this game." His finger then pressed a button, and a red aura shimmered across every player, many gasped or were startled.

Artorias' eyes widened, "He just jacked our levels, he's set us all back to the beginning." That was his aim, to start from scratch. But to beat the four Vaults, none of which had ever been cleared... is that even possible?

"We can't clear all the Regions and Vaults... even the top-ranked Beta Testers haven't made it that far!!" Riot screamed, and Artorias' eyes hardened at the growing distress across the courtyard, her own heart pounding away

Taking a few steps back, Artorias stood next to Skye and Riot.

The final screens vanished, Malware felt his gaze rest on every player, from Ponyville to Canterlot, the sense of despair and hatred simmering. "You are wondering 'why', why w-would my creators d-do this, c-create me?" That was when the first taste of scorn infected his glitchy eye. "I-I was d-designed to c-conduct this world in my hands, I-I was cast aside and l-let to rot and be f-forsaken, not anymore," He raised his arms to them all graciously. "I wish to c-control the fate of a w-world of m-my own design," This bastard played them all for fools. "As you can see, m-my goal has been... obtained."

"This details t-the end of my reasons, of this... Beta Test, this m-marks the official l-launch of My Little Pony Realization. T-To all of you players, Fight, Level, Survive. I-I wish you t-the best of luck." He had given them his little speech, and now, Malware's body began to deteriorate and decode, vanishing back within the reverting scar, the blood-red sky beginning to fade away with a crackle and pop of static. All anyone could do was watch with blank faces of fixed horror

The sky finally turned back to a pleasantly annoying amber, and the crowd was utterly silent. Artorias... was still her character, she was... still a pony, everyone, Skye, and Riot too, hadn't changed too. This was their lives until the day they may die in this vibrant world has descended into a darker undertone. Sadly, the moment someone would speak, breathe, merely act, then all hell would come crashing down, despair, insanity, anger, hatred, it was boiling over, something would--

"-N-NO!" Tip the scale

The rising cries of anguish and spite washed over the crowd, ponies already shoving and yelling out demands to the abomination that would turn a blind eye to them now, Malware didn't care, not anymore for their lives. Quickly, Artorias tapped Skye's hoof, seeing him jump with a startle, eyeing her still form. "Sorry, Skye, seeya around, stay alive, fellow gamer." Without another word, she dashed off through the crowds, expression blank as she just... shut out the voices entirely, even as it hurt to hear the cries of... younger players

She was alone in the glade again, Wild Boars roamed, and she had held her face down through it all. The look on Skye's face as she ran, he was angry, but atleast he was himself. Not Artorias, this was her life, either until the end of the game or her health ran dry.

"Our world had changed forever, we went from normal gamers to prisoners of MLPR, now housing less than 25,000 players, young and old. I don't know what you were thinking Ryder when to made... that thing, but I swear to the Gods, I'm coming for you, you sick bastard, I'll make you pay for this, and for damning my life to this... body!" Artorias took off down a road to another village not far from Ponyville

Each step thundered in her chest, her mane bobbed as her white fur warmed against the sunlight that remained. But rage was burning, one that wanted the blood of that man on her hooves.

"Dammit..." She felt the road crunch under her hooves. "DAMMIT RYDERRRRRR!!!" With a blood-curdling scream to the sky, Artorias vowed to ring the life out of that man before she would allow this world to kill her

Atop the cliffside kingdom of Canterlot, situated inside one its many pristine halls the faint, distant cries could be heard. Inside this empty crypt held the names of every player inscribed upon a black granite surface, their names humming with a faint, blue light. The names lined by hundreds, but across the board, many started to fade, two lines crossing out the names surrounding 'Artorias' with a horrific 'shiing' of a blade. The lights flickering out with a faint, almost mourning 'ding'.

To Be Continued...