//------------------------------// // Level 17 Part 1 // Story: M0re Than Gam3rs // by P3RROHAMBRE //------------------------------// M0re Than Gam3rs Level 17-1 Armor Up Luna? The alicorn didn’t answer. Her head spinned violently and all sense of her surroundings were gone. She could barely make out the gentle voice that called out to her and as much as she wanted to answer, she couldn’t. She felt as if she had lost control of her body, or more like she was no longer sure if she still had a body. She felt ethereal in a sense. Luna? C’mon, get up. Those helmets that Princess Celestia gave us work. C’mon wake up! Princess Luna tried to focus on her friend’s voice until her head slowly ceased its chaotic spinning. “Luna?” she heard Derpy say again, now sounding a bit worried that her beloved princess wasn’t responding to her. “Unnng,” Luna groaned. She felt herself coming back and noticed that she was laying on something cold. Slowly, Luna opened her teal eyes and looked up into a pair of yellow, crossed ones and a smiling grey face of adorable proportions. “How’re you feeling?” Derpy asked with a sheepish smile. “A little dizzy,” Luna responded weakly with a smile of her own. It was a welcomed site to see her pegasus’ face first thing after her mind being thrown into some cosmic soup. “It seems it was worse for you than me then,” Derpy said with a laugh of what sounded like relief, “I think the dizziness should go away in a few though. Probably because it’s our first time using these things.” Princess Luna staggered up onto all fours. Her stomach felt slightly queasy, but she figured it was only due to her friend’s explanation. The alicorn looked around, expecting to see the open landscape and hills of Ragnarok, but this was not so. “Hey, this isn’t Ragnarok,” Luna said, stating the obvious, “You said the helmets worked right?” Derpy nodded, but she was at a loss for an explanation. “I’m pretty sure they do-well-I think they are. I mean, we’re not in your room anymore so it had to have worked.” What should’ve been open, virtual terrain was replaced by a metal roof and four metal walls. Luna looked around the room and saw that the only thing that accompanied them was a single, mechanical door. But now it made Luna realize another important detail. “Where are the rest of our friends?” Derpy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. When I woke up none of them were here except you.” Luna didn’t like the sound of that. This was the first time using these devices and it didn’t bode well in her mind if the others were missing. There were numerous possibilities and explanations of where the rest of their friends were. “You don’t think something bad happened to them do you?” Luna asked with worry, now staring at the mechanical door that stood idly with the duo. Derpy quickly shook her head and reassured the princess. “I’m sure they’re fine. Maybe they’re somewhere else in the game.” “Derpy this doesn't look like we’re in the game,” Luna quickly pointed out. “Then where are we because this isn’t Canterlot.” Luna had no answer for her friend. She didn’t know exactly where they were at all. This room that they both stood in was nothing she had seen within the game before and she couldn’t really say why they were here either. And then there was that door that waited to be opened. “What about that door? Do you know what’s in it?” Luna asked. “No, I woke up and saw you on the ground and tried waking you up first. I haven’t opened it yet.” Well seems there’s only one thing to do then if we’re going to find the others. “Well let’s see what’s behind it then,” Luna suggested and made her way over to the mechanical door with Derpy right behind her. The alicorn and pegasus made their way to the mysterious door and soon stopped in front of it. Luna didn’t see any kind of handle on it and it wasn’t opening by itself as she had expected. Derpy tried her hoof at it, seeing that the door wasn’t opening either. “Maybe it’s broken,” the small mare suggested and began waving her fore hooves in the air in front of the silver door as if she was a certain type of magician she loathed. “Open sesame seed muffins!” “....” “Shazam!” “....” “Go go gadget door!” “. . . .” “Booty booty booty booty rockin’ everywhere!” “Derpy,” Luna finally said, “What are you doing exactly?” Luna got that her interest was trying to help, but she didn’t see what the purpose of her little sayings were. “I’m trying to open this door and sometimes they have passwords to open them, so I’m trying out a few things,” the mare said with a coy smile, “Guess they’re not working that well huh?” Luna laughed warmly. “I’m afraid not, but I appreciate the effort. Regardless, we still have to find a way to open this door.” The regal’s eyes scanned over the door, trying to find if there was some hidden button or device that would open it and reveal whatever it held behind it. She took her silver hoof and dragged it across the cold metal of the door. There has to be a way to open this damn door. Her hoof went over something small and round in the center of the door. Suddenly, a wide green beam of light shot out, making Derpy yelp and Luna stagger back in surprised. She saw the light being emitted from a small black reticle-like device in the center of the door and the wide, green light began to scan both mares and a monotone robotic voice came on. Confirming Identity. Identify yourselves. Derpy and Luna looked at each other for a few seconds, both in shock and bewilderment, but did as the voice asked. “Princess Luna.” “Derpy Hooves.” There was no answer for a moment and the scanning light continued its work of going up and down over the two mares. The voice came back on and gave its answer. Princess Luna. Race: Alicorn Sex: Female Derpy Hooves Race: Pegasus Sex: Female Identities....Approved. Please enter for configuration. “Configuration?” Luna said, but her question was quickly forgotten as she watched the mechanical door slide open slowly. The door slid all the way open and the two equines didn’t hesitate in satisfying their curiosity and seeing what was hidden behind it. The two entered the room with the mechanical door closing behind them and what they saw before them made both mares’ eyes gawk in awe and disbelief. The room was exactly identical to the one they were just in except for two machines that stood in front of the two. There were metal platforms on the bottom and two hoof-shaped indentures within it. Two giant mechanical rings were intertwined with each other on both machines with clamps on the sides of them. Princess Luna and Derpy knew exactly what they were and for a moment, completely forgot about the problem of their friends as their minds processed what was before them. “Luna, are these-there’s no way that-are they...?” “They are,” Luna finished. It was in this moment that Luna knew for a fact that the helmets had worked, despite her not recognizing exactly where she was, but there was no doubt about what these machines were. She had seen them in the game before and knew what their purpose was. Indescribable excitement and pleasurable disbelief welled up in both mares, but reveling in such emotions was quickly interrupted by the robotic voice from earlier. Configuration process ready. Derpy Hooves and Princess Luna, please enter 67IO’s to begin armor configuration process. If seeing these glorious machines weren’t enough for the grey pegasus, there was surely no doubt now about what their purpose served. “Wait, did that just say armor configuration? Are we seriously going to get our own armor?!” Derpy exclaimed as she fluttered her wings in excitement. “It did,” Luna said in her own disguised excitement, but her mind went back to her friends and she turned to her secret love, “But what about the others? I think maybe we should look for them first before getting too hyped up with getting armor.” What the buck am I saying?! I want that armor!! Derpy and Luna both looked at each other for a few seconds then over to the machines, the very devices that would give them armor just like the Spartans they played in the game. The silence between them lasted for what seemed like forever, but both of their equine minds were thinking the same thing. “You know, maybe we should check out these machines first and then find our friends,” Luna said quickly, “To make sure they work and all, right?” “Yeah, let’s do that,” Derpy quickly agreed. Luna figured that their friends had to be around somewhere close since it was more than obvious that they were in the game. Or maybe she just really wanted some badass armor. Luna and Derpy made their way over to the peculiar machines, not taking their eyes off them for one second. It was crazy to both of these gaming mares that they were actually going to look like actual Spartans and the reality of this virtual world was now really setting inside their minds. This was virtual reality. They were going to be kickass Spartans and fight against Celestia and her group. “So which one do you want?” Derpy asked Was that really a question? Did it even matter which one? Luna couldn’t help but chuckle at her mare for such a question that had such an obvious answer. “I’ll take the right one,” the alicorn said and began trotting over to her self-appointed machine. Derpy simply rolled her crossed eyes playfully and went to the left. A pair of stairs materialized in front of the two mares as they approached their respective places, making both gamers drops their jaws a bit. In unison, on separate sides of the room, both alicorn and pegasus ascended the steps until they were both on the metal platforms. Luna looked down and saw the two hoof shaped holes indentured into the platform, but noticed the indentures were near the rear of the metal slab. Wait, these are for back hooves? What about the front? Her eyes scanned the platform, looking for some type of prompt or something to place her front hooves somewhere, but found none. She looked over to Derpy’s platform and saw the grey mare simply standing with a wide smile, her back hooves in place and simply waiting for something to happen. Guess this is it then, Luna figured. She slipped her silver back hooves into the metal indentures. Princess Luna: Ready Derpy Hooves: Ready Begin Armor Configuration. Suddenly, metal walls digitally materialized around Luna, enclosing her and the machine and cutting off her view of Derpy. “What the-?! What’s going on??!” Luna immediately cried, not knowing what was happening and letting fear of the unknown take her. She summoned her magic within her and concentrated to free herself, but her horn was not channeling it. What’s happening?! I can't use my magic here?! [Arrival Remix] Luna began to pull her back hooves out of the metal indentures but it was too late. Two metal bars clamped over them and the two metal rings of the machine began to move. Ohshitohshitohshit! Luna screamed in her mind, thinking that she had just made a horrible decision for the both of them and they were somehow going to be obliterated in this digital world. But this was just the misplaced fear of the new and unknown. Armor configuration beginning in 3. . . “Wait! Where’s Derpy?!” Luna exclaimed as she struggled trying to get her back hooves out of the clamps. This is not what she had seen in the game and her mind and heart was consumed with worry for the pegasus and herself, but she failed to realize that there were changes since they were now part of this virtual world. . . . 2 . . . “Derpy! Can you hear me?! Derpy?!” Luna cried out as loud as she could through the walls, but there was no answer and two, transparent gravity tethers shot out from the rotating rings around her lifting her forelegs off the ground and splaying out her entire body until she stood only on her hind legs. “Wait! Let me out of this! Where’s Derpy?!” . . . 1 . . . “Shit! Let me out!!” Armor processing ready. Prepare for configuration. Immediately following the command, the rings spinning around her went even faster until they were only a blur in front of the alicorn.  Blue lights began to emit from the rings, scanning over her body and she could only watch as her heart worried for her mare on the other side of the walls. The walls began to make mechanical sounds and revealed several plates opening from them. Metallic arms exited out of them and surrounded the alicorn, ready to complete their unknown purpose. The lights then suddenly disappeared after a few seconds and the rings stopped on a dime. Armor processing complete. Begin second phase. The metallic arms extended towards her with haste and Luna’s wide, teal eyes watched not in fear, but now in amazement as she saw body armor pieces digitalizing in their clamps. A dark blue chest piece was pressed against the alicorn’s chest while a back piece was pressed against her back. Two interlocking pieces around the shoulders and rib cage clicked together and clamped around her torso. Whoa! Luna’s mind had little time to comprehend and take in what was upon her chest, as the metal arms began attaching armor to her entire body. Dark blue leg plates with small white lights were attached along with metal hoof pieces that formed over her silver ones. “Gah!” Luna yelped as she felt something cold squeeze one of her flanks, making her turn her head to see that the one of the metallic arms had seemingly groped her backside. Flank Size: Petite Re- analyze. . . “Hey! My flank isn’t that small!” Luna retorted with blushing cheeks, though this probably wasn’t the appropriate time for such a comment. Luna felt two more pieces attach to her both her flanks. The pieces locked around her inner thighs as she heard them click and lock into place, but the best part was yet to come for the mare. Within seconds, her entire body, with the exception of her head, was covered in dark blue and black armor. The metallic arms retracted back into the wall plates and the gravity tethers that held her upper body gently lowered her until she was back on all fours. The metal clamps around her back hooves unlatched, freeing the princess, but Luna had completely forgotten about her earlier bondage. Her eyes scanned over her armored body. Engraved on the corner of her chest piece was her gamertag and the number 343 next to it. She lifted one of her legs and looked in awe at the dark blue metal. It wasn’t the fact that she was seeing it, but she was actually wearing it. She turned her head to look at the rest of her body and found that her cutie mark was imprinted on both her flank pieces. There was a change though that made the alicorn squee. Her cutie mark had her moon and black splotches, but there was an addition of a Covenant energy sword that was crossed with her crescent moon. But there was one piece missing; the crème de le crème of the entire set. Where’s the helmet? As if the machine had read the regal’s mind, one of the walls that surrounded her de-materialized in front of her and a dark blue helmet sat on a small metal table that lifted out of the ground. Luna walked over to it as her metal-covered hooves clapped against the floor. “No bucking way,” Luna said to herself as she put her hooves on the helmet and took in its details. It was a Mark VI helmet with a full dark blue color. The visor was black, but it wasn’t one Luna had ever seen. She could see what looked like small sparkling stars within the black visor, as if the visor itself was the night sky without a moon. She took the helmet in her hooves and slowly began to put it on, trying to contain her utter gamer excitement. She put the head piece on, feeling the padding around her neck and sides of her face. Begin Phase 3. HUD optimization and Loadout configuration. The visor screen flashed on and a small loading bar appeared in the middle of it. Luna’s heart pumped furiously within her chest and her fur stood up on her neck. She couldn’t comprehend that she was actually wearing Spartan armor and now really inside the helmet of one. It was hard for her not to get over-excited and start hyperventilating while making a wet mess of herself from her metaphorical girl boner. The loading bar made it to one hundred percent. A motion radar flashed on near the bottom left corner of her visor along with her shield bar at the top. Select loadout Princess Luna. . . Suddenly another wall dematerialized and behind it was an enormous cache of weapons along with armor abilities. “Holy shit!” Luna blurted, seeing the assortment of weapons as she trotted over to the cache. Battle rifles, DMR’s, Carbine’s, Assault rifles, pistols and plasma pistols, frags, plasma grenades; all of it was present. She turned her head to see all of the armor abilities besides the cache of weapons. Active camo, hologram, jet pack, promethean vision, regeneration field, and the hardlight shield waited to be chosen by the regal. And she knew exactly what she wanted. She grabbed a battle rifle and ran her hoof over it. It was surreal that she was actually holding the real thing and to make it better, she was going to use it to pwn her sister and her team. Next, she picked up two plasma grenades. They were shiny and she smiled deviously as she looked over the button that would activate them. Tia likes to get stuck all the time by some stallion, so these would be more than fitting for her. Luna attached the weapon to her back and attached her plasma grenades to her belt and chose her secondary weapon, the plasma pistol. If there was one mistake that Celestia had made in challenging her to this match, it was letting her pick the map. Ragnarok was full of vehicles and she would be damned if Celestia or any of her team was going to try and splatter her. Last but not least, Luna chose her armor ability. She picked the module up and attached it to the compartment for it on her back. Her HUD in her helmet began adjusting itself, showing her new additions. Her ammo count appeared in the top right of her visor and her armor ability, promethean vision (fuck campers), flashed on near her motion radar, ready to be used. Loadout Complete. Armor Configuration Process Complete. The remaining walls dematerialized and Luna quickly looked for the other machine that Derpy had entered, but it wouldn’t be needed. As soon as the last wall disappeared, a metallic grey armored pony stood in front of her with only a blonde tail showing. “Derpy!” Luna exclaimed, not forgetting how worry she was worried earlier for the pegasus but now letting the mare’s appearance take hold of her focus, “You look awesome!” The pegasus’ visor was a shiny metallic frost color and Luna was not surprised by the weapons she saw on her friend’s back; an Assault Rifle and pistol. Derpy’s gamertag was also engraved on her chest with the number 117 next to it. “Thanks! You do too Luna. Your visor looks super badass,” Derpy replied with a squee following right after it. They looked each other over, complimenting and expressing their amazement of what they now were. They showed off their weapons to each other and began discussing tactics and how they were both going to whip some flank. They were no longer two mares in front of a television with controllers playing a game. They were Spartans and replacing their controllers were weapons that they couldn’t wait to use on Celestia’s team of unfortunate victims. But there was still one problem that needed to be solved that the two friends had almost forgot amidst the excitement. “Hey wait,” Derpy began as she put her pistol away, “What about the rest of our friends? We still don’t know where they are.” “Crap, I almost forgot,” Luna replied, but once again, as if the robotic voice knew their questions before they asked, an answer came. Derpy Hooves configuration process complete. Princess Luna armor configuration process complete. Commencing transportation. Destination Ragnarok. Rendezvous at Lunar Base. A mechanical sound of sliding plates on the metallic ground made both mares turn. A dark grey metal platform rose from the ground with two pole-like structures on each side. A small spark flashed in the center of the two and immediately a spinning, blue portal appeared in the middle of the structures. “I guess that answers that then,” Luna chuckled. Please enter. Match will begin in two minutes. Have a good day. Derpy and Luna smiled behind their visors and locked and loaded their weapons. They walked over to the spinning portal with all worries and doubts gone about this new world they were in. The two looked at each other and read each other’s mind. “Bet I can get more kills than you,” Derpy teased, letting her competitiveness and hype rise in her. Luna grabbed her battle rifle and smirked. “You’re on.” The two went through the portal. Derpy Hooves and Princess Luna, the best gaming mares in all of Equestria, were armored and more than ready to own and dominate. *** Error///Error/// Authenticating/// . . . . M.O.D override/// System recording/// Clause M.O.D 1340-GH-90004 activated//// Princess Luna////Derpy Hooves////Princess Celestia Project Ring///Phase One---Activated