//------------------------------// // April 15 - Equestria // Story: EQG:SAO - Aincrad Asides // by Mindrop //------------------------------// April 15 - 161 days trapped in SAO - Equestria Princess Twilight Sparkle was still trying to get the cables sorted out. On the Equestrian side, it had to be able to connect up to the device on the other side and show that it was connected. If they couldn't get a connection to cross through the mirror, nothing mattered.  She had lost track of time, and had tried several different things. The simplest of all of her contraptions made the lightbulb turn on. The second one was similar to what she had used to test pinkie sense. The final contraption was a set of switches. If it worked, they could flip them with the program on the other side. At least, that was the theory. The door opened and her friends entered. Pinkie Pie was bouncing and Flash Sentry was hovering with Rainbow Dash. Bulk Biceps and Sandalwood seemed to be content in their pony and Zebra forms as well. Rarity was missing, but Spike had joined them.  "How is it going?" Flash Sentry asked. "It’s rather late." "Well, if everything works right, I have three options to try," Twilight replied. Starlight Glimmer and Micro Chips popped into the room via teleportation. "Well he has that down," Starlight Glimmer said. "His lessons are going significantly faster than Trixie, plus I don't have a room full of teacups. Mirco Chips is smart and intuitive. Last I checked, Sunburst and Starswirl were done arguing and writing. They are getting close to a spell, but that was...a while ago." "Good," Twilight nodded. "I have some things to try, so it is back home for them." "Awe," Dash whined. "Can I at least go with them?" "No!" Twilight exclaimed. "Right now, if they get caught, well you are supposed to be in the hospital, not out and about. We don't need that complication." "Fine," Dash grumbled. "It's not that great over there," Pinkie Pie absentmindedly said. "Wait, you have been?" Flash Sentry asked. "Lots of times," Pinkie Pie replied with a shrug. "I would switch out with myself." "How do we know which Pinkie Pie you are?" Flash Sentry asked. "Oh, I am Pony Pinkie Pie. You can ask Maud. She could instantly tell human Pinkie Pie from Pony Pinkie Pie with just a glance. Nothing gets past Maud. Plus, I would know if I was human Pinkie Pie and Human Pinkie Pie was adamant about playing SAO first. I guess it is a good thing I wasn't over there. Then she couldn't switch back to her real life. Short swaps are fun, but living like the other person is a totally different thing." Sunburst entered the room. "I hope I am not interrupting anything." "Nothing important," Twilight said. "Is there something you needed?" "Starlight," Sunburst said. "We need her for the creation. You too if you can manage. We could always use your abilities to pull this spell off." "I can manage," Twilight said. "If it isn't a disruption, can the others watch? Some of them are new to this whole magic and pony thing." "That shouldn’t be a problem," Sunburst shrugged. “I don’t mind and I don’t think Starswirl will either.” They all headed down the hall to the room Sunburst and Starswirl had been working in. It was a mess, with books and scrolls scattered about and multiple chalk boards full of calculations around the room. Starswirl wordlessly levitated a scroll to Twilight. She captured it in her own magical field and rolled it open. It was a complex spell, but it didn't take long for her to memorize.  Twilight shifted her focus to the table. On it was a metal briefcase like box. It was big enough that the NerveGear would fit inside.  The four magicians nodded to each other and then cast their part of the spell. The magic shot from their horns and to the box, making glow in a swirl of color. They kept it up as the others silently watched.  It took time, but the spell ended as abruptly as it started. The only difference was that the box had a yellow warning triangle on the face with the mirror inside it. It was a sign that the spell had successfully taken and its purpose. Twilight levitated the box. And the others all followed her back to the mirror room.  "This box should be shielded from transfiguration the portal causes," Twilight explained. "First off, we need to ensure that it works, with a simpler piece of technology, like a phone. Then we can try the NerveGear. Getting one was hard enough since they recalled them and officially destroyed all of them not in use. I don't want to accidentally destroy it without a trial run.”  "Then I guess my time is up," Micro Chips said. "It was good meeting all of you. Thanks for the magic lessons. I won't forget it. You have broadened my mind in a good way." He was the first to go through the portal. The other three reluctantly followed.  "I can't believe he turned into a Zebra," Starswirl stated once they were gone. "That was unexpected. I wonder what it would take to get a griffon or a hippogriff, or even a dragon." "Let's not find out," Twilight said. She walked to the portal. "I'll be back shortly.” The world turned as she went through the portal. She came out the other side and found it darker, but in the same shape as when she had left it. The moon was full and overhead, giving them plenty of good light to work by. Micro Chips was working on the device, checking things. "I'll take my phone over, which converts to a notepad," Twilight said as she began to fish through her backpack. "If the spell works, then we can also check connectivity. If not, no harm done. Micro Chips, I'll connect the lightbulb one. If it works, it should either light up right away, or light up when you switch it on." "If I don't see it on my screen, I'll try to manually switch it on in 2 minutes," Micro Chips said.  "Good," Twilight nodded as she put her phone in the briefcase. She locked it up and jumped back through the portal.  On the other side she immediately connected up the lightbulb device. It didn't turn on. She ignored it and opened the box. The others were anxiously waiting to see if it had worked.  Inside was her phone. She levitated it out of the box and nothing changed. It was easy to manipulate the controls with magic and check all her contacts and stored information. It was all there. The phone had no signal.  Twilight looked at the lightbulb, but it hadn't lit up. They had passed the two minute mark, indicating it was not something that would work with his device on the human side. "I'll be right back," Twilight said. She left her phone but took the case and jumped through the portal.  "Well?" Micro Chips immediately asked. "Nothing," Twilight said. "The bulb didn't light up. I have a device to measure the reactions of a test subject which get recorded as lines on a scrolling piece of paper. We can try that next.  "However the case worked. My phone didn't change and everything remained the same on the other side. All of the data was intact, but I was lacking a signal." "Try this first," Micro Chips said as he dug through his bag. "I have a spare cable and a signal booster card. Flash can go back with you, and then bring the cable back with him." "Alright," Twilight nodded.  They packed it in the case and went back to Equestria. The cable and device were unchanged. Flash took the cable back as Twilight plugged everything in. After a moment, a wireless signal popped up on her phone. Twilight jumped over to the others, with the case, to explain the news. "Good," Micro Chips said. "However important this is, we need to wait for the morning. It is almost midnight, and we should get some sleep to ensure we are thinking straight. It also will give me time to factor in magic to the equation. We will pack up for the night and meet back here at 8 am." "That sounds logical," Twilight said. It will also give me the chance to see what other end of the cable will do when it goes to Equestria." Micro Chips disconnected her cable and packed everything up. Twilight bid the. Goodnight and headed home. The cable stayed the same. Being disconnected, she didn't have any internet access to her phone.  Twilight explained the strategy and sent her friends home so they would be well rested for the morning.