My Little Pony Realization

by Slendy

Episode 20 - Red Like Roses

Act IV - Faux Hero

"Why am I here again?" Rain pointed to herself as he, Klaw, and Skye sat on three stools before Silverwing, SilverCrow, and Seraph. The trio not looking particularly pleased with the trio before them. Rain's ears flattened with worry. "I just wanted to ask if you guys knew why Artorias was being... um..." She stopped pondering as she blinked. "Well, I guess like herself but more..."

"Reserved?" Skye offered, earning a perked-up nod from Rain

"Yeah! That... um, but why?" She felt like it was her fault somehow, maybe about what she said yesterday but Artorias hasn't spoken about it at all, heck, when Rain woke up Artorias had already left for the fields and refused to respond to any of her messages

"It's because of you three she's acting strange," Seraph berated. Pacing before the three. "Let me remind you that not only did Klaw send her out on a mission without a proper background check into Harmony Knights actions, which led to the involvement of the Murder Guild, Veil, and the subsequent amulet that practically manipulated dozens of ponies, but has yet to make a formal apology to her since we've returned." Klaw bowed his head shamefully at that, knowing there wasn't much he could say. Seraph's eyes softened a little. "While not entirely your fault it was very unbecoming of one of MLPR's top-ranking Guilds to conduct with such vague information."

She soon addressed her partner, Skye, glaring between him and Rain.

"What did I do? I was being influenced just as much as the rest of them?" He defended but that earned him a spiteful glare from the trio, shutting him down. "Okay, shutting up now..."

"That's exactly my point! You, of all players in this game, I expected you to understand something was wrong, you even have a charm that defends against mental abilities!" She threw her hoof wide, then gawked at his nervous sweatdrop, head turned the other way

"I... may have removed that for a speed-enhancing one..." That didn't help his case as Seraph face-hoofed, leading to his scoff, raising his hooves insultingly. "What do you want from me? I wasn't expecting to have my brain scrambled!?"

"Okay, that's fair... but I still would have thought you'd realize how unnatural the guild was," Silverwing added, crossing her hooves. "While it's true Knight's stupid Element of Harmony could affect players' minds it usually takes ten-or-so-minutes, and a handful have realized the effect before it was too late, not everyone but most like Vermillion, hence why she forged me a helmet like her own," The armored mare tapped the helmet under her forehoof

Skye now realized he had no backing and promptly copied Klaw's guilt-ridden posture. The last on the list was Rain, herself seizing up under Serpah's calm but cold gaze. "Rain, do you think... maybe what you said to her that night could still be affecting her?" Hearing this Rain felt her stomach turn at the memory, every word she said to Artorias that night still plagued her mind, that desperate look in her sister's eyes was horrible. Realizing this she felt her mood slip back into the gloom

"I... I don't know, I know she doesn't hate me but she's been ignoring me all day and..." She slumped, feeling worry creep into her head. "I... I want to make it up to her," It was an uphill struggle but she managed to hold her eyes to Seraph's determinedly. "I want to make my big sister happy."

Looking among the three of them, the trio smiled, though Silver's was concealed but gave a nod. Silverwing spoke up. "Then today focus on finding a way to convey that apology to her, knowing Artorias she may not take your word alone, but I doubt she'll outright ignore you."

"This is true, Artorias is a complicated woman," Klaw surmised, looking to Skye and Rain. "What do you two believe is our correct course?"

"Talking to her won't work without something else, but what?" Skye murmured, scratching his head. After that notion Silver slapped a hoof to his face, leveling his dull, silver gaze two the boys

Pointing his hoof at Skye he approached the stationary pony, jabbing at his chest, more specifically, where his heart was, rolling his eyes. "You want me to use my heart?" Hearing this Silver whacked his forehead, rolling his eyes bluntly. "Ack, why am I the punching bag today!?"

"Oh! I get it! A gift from the heart!" Rain answered, earning a nod from the silent pony as he motioned to the trio, then tapped his chest. "That's it, we get her a gift together, Artorias always likes free stuff!"

"You really think that'll work?" Skye wasn't certain, rubbing his chin thoughtfully even though he shrugged. "Sure, I'll pitch in."

"Not like you had a choice..." Seraph hummed under her breath

Klaw was clearly in agreement, standing up to address the pair. "Even if our efforts may take time it is best we nip this issue on the bud before animosity is allowed to fester."

"Always a way with words." Everyone simultaneously thought with a smile

Much as the name implied, it was the go-to place for any player for items, armor, weapons, enhancing materials, and so on. If the trio were to find anything of worth for their redheaded friend it would be here. Though there was a sense of uncertainty with their idea, even with Rain being the closest to Artorias, the younger sister hadn't a single clue on what Artorias would in fact like, she didn't exactly wear her heart on her sleeve.

"I say the red one, because, duh, she likes red," Rain knew the obviousness of that statement but digressed. Skye on the other hand, or hoof to be specific, pointed to another artifact, unlike the ruby one with several spikes jutting from the necklace, his was silver with a sapphire as the centerpiece, and looked far more elegant than the jagged ruby

"Blue's a good contrast, plus the stats are really good, a bonus to stamina regeneration and stamina reduction." He argued, watching the bat pony's muzzle scrunch up with irritation, a red tick pulsing atop her head

"It's not about the stats! It's about it looking pretty!" She enforced her point by lifting the placeholder for the necklace. "It's red, her favorite, and it has a cool design, sure, it only has a small buff to health but that's not the point! Not everything is about good statistics."

Skye for his part didn't quite process that information, it was foreign to him, why would anyone wear something that provided next to no positive advantages in a fight? "Artorias doesn't strike me as the person to care for looks so long as it's useful." His clueless brow-raised only seemed to drive the bat pony mad, her hooves flailing through her mane

Then she deadpanned. "For a guy who's considered one of the best players your sense of fashion is the last thing I'd ask for," He felt her eyes scan his body from top-to-bottom, more specifically, toward the blacks he seemed so accustomed to wearing with a hint of dark blue

Off to the side watching the two bicker, Klaw put a claw on his face, shaking his head. "Today may not be as simple as we intended,"

Skye and Klaw looked over a few shields that were displayed on the inside of a large stall, the many designs, and stats displayed before their eyes while the pair discussed the verity. "This stuff's pretty generic, anything in the Purple-Tier is either well out of our price range or something you could scavage off a boss after a few attempts." Skye summarized with a defeated sigh. "Guess it's back to the drawing board."

"Indeed," Klaw murmured, then spotted Rain leaving a rather vibrant store, her face completely crimson as she shuffled up to the boys, eyes adverted to just about any other place of interest. "Ah, Rain, anything that caught your-"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!!" She yelled sharply, eyes spinning with stars. "I-I-I don't think w-we'll f-find anything e-else here..." Her voice was a complete mess while she tried her hardest not to think of what she saw, of anything she saw. "

Now they were really curious. "Are you sure? You seem a little redder than usual?" Skye inquired, rubbing his nape feeling a little worried for the young girl and what she might have seen. "Maybe we should check the place-"

"Sweet Irene, whatever you do, just... don't!" She shoved her wings over his mouth, releasing a shaky breath. "L-L-let's just go, please." "Sis was right, who the hell is this stupid game catering toward!?!"

The hours were slipping by and yet the trio were left without much. They had a few ideas and were desperately trying to filter down their options to just one if that couldn't happen they'd offer one gift from each of them. What made this worse was the fact that Artorias has been completely evading their messages, and not just from them, almost anyone who had her on their Friends or Squad Lists couldn't get in contact with her, not to mention she's been hopping from place-to-place all day.

Klaw was only a few steps behind Skye and Rain as they discussed their plans when they finally catch up with the elusive redhead when his eye caught something peculiar inside a small stall. It wasn't anything more than a passing glance at first, but then he turned to inspect further. A white and red striped tarp and an array of vanity items with varying degrees of style, from clothing to copies of layered armor to a few pendants and trinkets to add flair to one's equipment. One item, in particular, caught his interest.

"Hey, whatcha find?" Rain flew over, Skye strolling in beside her as they too noticed the item in question. Rain's eyes shimmered with her smile. "Oooh, that looks really cool."

"It's a vanity item too, so it won't sacrifice anything for the sake of style." That comment got a jab to his side from Rain's wing. Wheezing he rubbed his neck. "I-it's really good too."

"Hmph, well, what's your take, Klaw? You did find it first?" Rain inquired, seeing the agreeable smile cross his scaly snout

"I believe, my friends, this will do nicely," It was pricy for a vanity item, but the trio had more than enough between them

"-Look, if you seriously want to gain levels fast take on a quest that pits you against the Temple of the Lost's Region Boss," Artorias sighed, waving her hoof dismissively. "Not that it counts as anything more than a waste of air but hey, levels are levels."

"Sure, thanks again, Artorias!" A female player thanked the busy Arotrias before trotting off, leaving the redhead to mull over her established funds with vigorous mathematics

"If I take out the cost of living and the material cost for enhancements that leaves me with atleast thirty-five percent of the revenue for myself, perhaps a little extra given the number of requests lately..." Her drilling of numbers and percentages was cut short by the clipping of hooves

The trio spotted their friend walking away from a player while she stared at her private menu scornfully, then her ears perked up as well as her surprise at the sudden arrival of the three. "Hey, Artorias, mind if we talk for a moment?" Skye asked, the girl closing her tab to view them directly

"Yeah, I don't mind." She answered nonchalantly, then saw the worried looks on their faces, drawing her own confusion back from the dead. "Um... am I missing some context here? Who died when I was gone?"

"'Missing something'?" Rain's brow furrowed. "You were gone all day and didn't reply to any of our messages!" This turned Artorias' confusion to a dry bluntness

"I'm working, and I already told you I don't respond to messages unless they're tagged as 'Urgent' while filling in requests, you idiot," Her sharp tongue shot Rain and the boys' worry down, watching her run a hoof down her face. "God all mighty, what the hell is so important that I'm going to have to spend twenty minutes deleting messages because SOMEONE didn't add a 'Clear All' filter? Thanks, Ryder!" She threw her hoof skyward. "Moving on from insulting your Dad, what's up?"

Klaw, having been the lucky one out of the three to not be in the girl's sharp firing range stepped forward with the gift in his hands. "Well, as already know, the incidents involving the Harmony Knights were placed upon you by myself, and while you knew nothing of the events that transpired it was my own lack of background checks that could have aided in preventing all of it," Klaw bowed his head. "For that, I am deeply sorry."

Artorias kept a neutral face, both Rain and Skye looked away guiltily as her silence reigned for almost a minute, then she chuckled softly, drawing back their gazes to her admittedly nice smile. "You guys are idiots, honestly wonder how you've survived this long..." Rolling her eyes she continued. "You even got me something? Jesus... look, I don't hold it against ya for what happened, Christ, if you didn't send me who knows how many that dumbass would have led to their graves," Then she jabbed her hoof at her friends. "And you two, both of you are idiots for not listening to me, but again that wasn't your fault, even I felt that amulet's influence, even if only for a second, it was my fault for bringing you guys with me."

Skye spoke up. "But you couldn't have known that-" He stopped himself at her hoof, watching her pink eyes carefully analyze him

"I already forgave you three, bet my ghosting didn't help but hey, bad timing," Then a giddy smile stretched over her muzzle, wiggling a hoof between her and the gift. "But I'm not one to pass on a free item, sooo...?" With a mere chuckle, Klaw handed the small, red box over to the excited Artorias, herself sitting down on a bench to open it properly

When removing the cover, a single item displayed itself before her whimsical eyes as they slowly filled with a startled curiosity. Inside was a deep-blue rose with three green leaves under a clip, the shade was that of the ocean, a fade of light and tint of dark blue around certain edges of the petals. The very rose itself was almost indescribable to the girl who never fancied herself keen on fashion or atleast 'normal' fashion that is. All she did was stare back at it, gauging the vanity item in silence.

Since no one else spoke up, Rain took the initiative, "We struggled all day to find something you'd like, and this was a shot in the dark if we're honest, but," Rain smiled happily. "Hope you like it, sis!"

"...beautiful..." The word came out but no one really registered the reply

"What was that?" Skye asked, then stared as Artorias, for a brief lapse in time, smiled warmly at the gift in her hooves, eyes unnaturally soft compared to the norm

Pressing the 'Equip' tab she closed her eyes while the item materialized to the right-side of her mane, tucked beside her ear. To the trio's delight, the color was a massive contrast to her otherwise red, white, and black appearance, and yet it worked so well, for Artorias, it felt... right. Blinking, she offered them a smirk while striking a small pose.

"So, do I lean more toward badass or beautiful, take your pick?" She moved side-to-side as an emphasis

"A fine addition, Artorias, fitting for a beautiful warrior," Klaw's formal yet kind comment made her chuckle between her teeth, happy the effect was working

"So beautiful~!" Rain immediately wrapped her hooves around Artorias, squealing. "You look so cute!"

The older sibling chuckled, patting her off her neck. "Noted, though I wonder if it'll suit you better given your purple scheme? Huh?" Now Artorias was glaring down at her sister while she nervously put her hooves up

"Ehehehe, I'm fine, thanks." A Shame really, Artorias could see it looking really cute on her too, perhaps another time. The last to reply was Skye of course, and yet nothing came out. "So, Skye, think it worked?"

"Yes, you've gone rather quiet, my friend?" Klaw's nudge did snap him out of a trance but again, nothing really came out while the redhead hummed, looking back into his pale-green orbs for an answer

"Aw, is the strong, Black Swordsman at a loss for words? Hehehe." She closed her eyes, flashing him a toothy grin while he continued to stare, recalling something from what felt like an eternity ago

I've kept wondering what she meant by that, did she intend to fight and keep herself from wallowing in grief like so many others? Or did she want to live in this world until the very end, whatever that may be?

Whatever the case I couldn't take my eyes off her. Even now, her name would ring out across this world as the strongest and most beautiful warrior in the game.

Even though he kept himself from catching flies his flustered smile managed was unmaskable, "You look amazing, Artorias."

To Be Continued...