The Beginning
"Hey, this place is cool."
"To you."
[/hr]
Nurse Bluehearth walked through the halls of the hospital a certain patient was residing in, each step she made getting heavier as she approached his room. Green Vanguard was in his room, the teenage colt grimacing as more spikes of pain went through his body.
Nurse Bluehearth approached his I.V and changed the as of now empty bag with another fresh one. "Honey, this will help you feel better." Bluehearth said, her face holding some amount of pity for the boy she was now looking at. Green Vanguard looked at her, his face pale and holding an expression of pain and gratitude, waiting for the moment his pain would finally clear up. His hair was frizzled and his muscles were tensed. After a few seconds, he relaxed. "T-thank you, Bluehearth." Vanguard thanked, and looked at the window away from her.
Bluehearth looked at him, worried.
Green Vanguard was a teenage colt, no cutie mark, and has a silver coat, brown eyes, and black hair. He sighed, looking out the window to what is Canterlot, bustling and peaceful. He is on the fourth level of the hospital, positioned at one of the windows so he can see what was out there. To him, it was a taunt. He's been in this hospital for a total of...five years. No -- seven. He's been in this hospital being supported by his family for years, his condition continually getting worse over the years he's been in Equestria.
Green looked at Bluehearth, smiling. "You are very generous, but I don't need your pity as well, Bluehearth. Thank you for helping me with my pain, though." He said, nodding. Bluehearth wanted to do more for him, but even as a unicorn she couldn't cure his unique condition. She nodded solemnly, and walked out of the room.
The few things Green could do in this hospital was play games using his Featherstation 3 and generally relax as the medicine worked its magic. He was taken care of in his time in the hospital, being paralyzed in some parts of your body does that to you. Sometimes he could move them, sometimes he can't.
When he first came to the hospital, he was an outcast, and Green didn't want to be seen. Being thrown in the hospital by the time he was ten, and still here at seventeen...it was heavily demoralizing. The rest of his family often visited but were almost always 'preoccupied' by other duties. What was so preoccupying that you don't even visit your son(or alternatively, your brother)?
He would have started up his Featherstation 3, but he had heard of the new game on the market: 'Equestrian Earth'. New thing and everything, he even managed to get help from one of the nurses to mail a message to the developers. Even if he was going to die in a month or so(so the doctors said), his family didn't want to see him. But who said you can't guilt-trip others? He hopes that some of the developers would message him back.
It was quite sad that he was looking forward to this all day.
[/hr]
Chaotic, take a look at this." An orange earth pony mare with black, thick, rimmed glasses brought the beige unicorn a few sheets of paper. Her cutie mark was a smiling jack o' lantern.
"What is this, Pumpkin?" Chaotic asked, taking the documents from her open hooves.
Pumpkin Fest adjusted her eyeglasses, looking a bit nervous and agitated. Chaotic could tell that there was clearly something bothering his coworker. He could see her lips quivering slightly, and the corners of her eyes were tearing up with salty droplets. Did something she had read in this paper made her this depressed?
Silently, Chaotic scanned through the paragraphs printed on paper. From what he was reading, he found that the sender, Green Vanguard, was writing to the company itself, talking about the terrible, rough life he had lived through in the past seven years. The letter spoke to him about how his was in a long struggle with his own body. How his paralysis denied him the privilege to walk normally. How it denied him the right to live a normal life. How it stole away the future he could have lived in. How the doctors told him that his illness would eventually kill him with maybe a month.
After he was finished reading the saddening letter, Chaotic let it rest on top of his keyboard where it stood still, yet its presence was still calling out the message to his mind in echos. The young stallion leaned back on his chair, pondering about what to do with the situation. Nearing the end of the letter, Green had mentioned how he heard about Equestrian Earth, and how it was going to be the first ever MMORPG game to utilize the extremely modern technology of virtual replication and simulation. Humbly, the colt asked if he could have a chance to play the game; to have one last hurrah before he leaves this world.
Vanguard huh? Chaotic smiled.
Noticing her colleague's smile, Pumpkin asked, "Is there something wrong, sir?"
Chaotic didn't answer back. Not immediately anyway. He allowed a few moments to pass before asking, "Do you remember how I once told you my dream was to become a part of the Royal Guard back in my country? How I wanted to become a soldier of war?"
"Yes sir, but aren't you already in Luna's Night Court?" Pumpkin had a confused look on her face.
"Yes and no," Chaotic replied. "Technically, I'm an honored member of their ranks. There are no official documents stating that I'm registered with Equestria's army, otherwise that would contradict with my status in the E.S.V.."
"E.S.V.?"
"Equine Shieldium Vanguard. It's the official term for our country's entire military, but we usually call it the Royal Guard as well." Chaotic got out from his cushy office chair and made a walk towards the door. "I can't help but think that this colt was named so that he could protect his country," he smiled. "Well I'm going to give him the chance that his parents never could."
"Where are you going, sir?"
The unicorn brushed the red, blue, and cyan locks of his mane away from his eyes as he looked back at Fest with a merry smile. His cutie mark, an hourglass with two twin silver swords crossed in front of it, seem to have gave off a bit of a shine. "Outside. Call the hospital hosting Green Vanguard, and tell them that a special visitor is going to visit him today soon."
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Green Vanguard looked out of the window by his bed, gritting his teeth as the pain came back. This happened all too often. The nurses, when they checked the empty bag, talked to the doctors to ask if they should put in more morphine. There was only so much morphine to go around, and they couldn't give it to him as they have more higher priority victims in the ER and beyond. This hospital, all too often, ran out of its supplies at times.
That wasn't to say that this hospital is the bane of every hospital everywhere, almost everyone left the hospital happy and healthy. Green Vanguard's mind thought of his name. Why was he named 'Green' instead of 'Silver'? Everything could have been a lot more convenient(at least his name). Nothing and no part of him is green, his coat stands out as silver and it just doesn't make sense. Sighing, he looked at the white ceiling that greeted him. It was depressing, but the other parts of the room wasn't.
Paint was used on the walls to brighten things up. Nurse Bluehearth and his brother came by, with paint cans. He remembered that day as clear as any other. His brother and Nurse helped him into a wheelchair. His hooves weren't paralyzed, and neither was his chest. Green remembered painting the walls with vibrant colors, rainbows in fact. All too often, he'd look at them on a depressing day-- and smile brightly.
Bluehearth walked in, smiling. "Green, I have some news. You are going to have a visitor."
"Who would visit me?" Green croaked, his voice not sounding right today. Bluehearth brought up a hoof to silence him. She started talking, clearly happy. "That letter I helped you with, which I so guiltily wrote..." Green smiled, but grimaced as pain came back. He had to stay still. "...A good pony contacted us, saying that we have a representative of the company coming by just for you."
Green, naturally, was flabbergasted. "Uh, okay...? When is he coming?"
Bluehearth smiled, nodding. "In about an hour or two." She said, walking out of the door thinking their conversation is finished. Green looked at himself, moving his head slowly. Sure, he looked like a wreck, sure, his family thought he was going into the royal guard, but this was a victory. Snickering to himself and trying his best to ignore the pain, he rubbed his hooves together. He was evil. Very, very evil. He stopped for a moment, almost contemplating whether to cackle like a villain, but thought against it.
His family thought that he was military-material. He obeyed his family and respected them, until the age of ten.
Where he got the illness. He remembered jumping around in a meadow, happy until he remembered a small...something on the ground. It was so long ago, he forgot how he got it. Sighing, he closed his eyes and got some well needed rest.
Two Hours Later[/hr]
He woke up with pain.
Green bit on his tongue, drawing a bit of blood. He wondered-- how many ponies got up normally and spent their time waking up with a bit of coffee? A lot. Green thought, and Bluehearth came in, trying her best to hold a stern face. In fact, she looked better, as if she put makeup on and she had a sparkling blue-starred dress. From what he learned of, sometimes she took up desk duty. By that, he meant that she acted as a temporary receptionist.
Green watched as a bag of some liquid...stuff, was put in as a replacement compared to his empty bag. In a few minutes, everything got a lot more calmer and way less painful. "I'm normally not supposed to do this, but, for you, I'll make an exception." Bluehearth said with a heartwarming tone, her once-stern expression now replaced with that of...he didn't quite know at the moment. Was it melancholy or slight happiness in the fact that she broke a few rules...?
Nevertheless, he decided to be a gentlepony. "Thanks, Blue." Bluehearth nodded, and looked at him. "By the way, the companies representative has arrived near the hospital. He'll be here in a few, honey." Green nodded, smiling. As Bluehearth left the room, he looked at his blankets for a moment, and as the liquid pain killer worked its magic, he clapped his hooves together, his very quite neutral face he held all the time replaced with that of happiness.
"Oh wow, I can't wait to meet this pony. Can't wait to see if all of the 'rumors' I've heard are true! I know I should feel guilty about throwing a guilt-trip letter to the company but it's going to be worth it! I haven't walked in seven years!"
The Representative Arrives[/hr]
"So this is the place, eh?" Chaotic judged the hospital with his eyes. He had to admit that it looked pretty swell.
The glass panels were polished the the point of perfection, while its white marble walls stood strong like a castle. Proudly displayed above the entrance was a symbol of Celestia's cutie mark, shining brightly in all of its glory. The name of the hospital -- which Chaotic had learned earlier when talking to some of the ponies on the way -- was Celestia's Remedial Hospital, a hospital that was founded by Celestia herself since a few centuries ago. It was famous for its miracle performances, spouting out patients who came out a lot healthier than they came in.
Ironically though, they kept one of their patients in here for seven years, Chaotic grimly thought. He wondered if either the hospital was past its prime, or that the quality skills of the staff had diminished over the past couple years.
Walking through its front doors, he looked around for the front desk. Quickly locating it, he trotted up to it and gave the unicorn mare at the desk a charming smile. The mare was gold-yellow with a grass-green mane. She stared into his skyblue eyes with her set of beautiful topazes.
"M- may I help you?" the mare stammered.
"Yes please." Chaotic knew he caught her attention. "I need to see a Green Vanguard. Perhaps you've heard of him?"
"Yes! Second floor, Room 210 on the left! You can't miss it!"
"Thank you," Chaotic smiled. "You know, I didn't catch your name."
"Sunny Trees!" she squeaked.
"Sunny Trees eh?" Chaotic slowly walked towards the elevators, still teasing the mare with his charms. "That's a beautiful name right there. I might see you later."
But first I have to give a stallion my regards.
[/hr]
Green was pumped. He had all of his accessories out. Which meant he had a party hat, his mane was falling apart from what Bluehearth tried to do. She even exclaimed that 'Your mane has a life of its own', which may as well be true.
He was excited, the chance to meet a developer, or at least one of its employee's, was too much to ignore. In that regard, he did ignore plenty of things, like the nagging of a nurse or the way the ponies outside the hospital are so perfect and they didn't even know it. His tongue hung out as he tried his best to shove his mane in the party hat. He looked ridiculous, and the fact that his main reached his hooves, he might as well abandon all of his pride, braid his hair, and become a Japonican.
Successfully shoving his hair inside the party hat, a bang came out of it, causing him to growl in frustration. He sighed, giving up on his hair(It was just hair), and laying back in his bed. The pain medication Bluehearth gave him would last a few hours. More then enough to meet the representative.
Putting his hoof to his chin, he wondered something. He hasn't been visited by any ponies aside from the nurses, the doctors, and Charlie. Charlie is a crazy pony(in his opinion), his alternate room. He even seen him walk out of his room with the IV still in his hoof. At least he still had his smarts. Then again, he only knew so much of math and other subjects.
Bluehearth approached the representative. "Chaotic, is it? I was hoping you'd come. He's been waiting for you. I just thought I'd fill you in before you go in. As of now, I bet you are wondering why he is still in the hospital, and why he has been for those agonizing seven years," She began, breathing deeply in, "His father and mother are almost ashamed of him, and what he's become. I've even talked to them, and...they are not exactly a happy couple at the moment. But they still pay for him to be in this hospital and his brother comes by, every once and a while to check up on him-- more then his parents." She paused, pulling out a chart of his possibilities of beating what he had, his recent visits, and of course, his history.
"This is his chart, just in case you want to look at it. His sickness is still unidentified, some doctors are calling it the Parabias Virus. Massive pains throughout his body and his white blood cell count is down. The virus is making it's way to his spine and...that's why he is stuck in the hospital. We have to periodically do surgeries sometimes to make sure he doesn't die in his sleep-- or go into seizures while awake. Generally, Chaotic, this boy has had a tough time. He's paralyzed from the waist down and hasn't walked in seven years, only using the occasional wheelchair. Being an Earth Pony, he hardly has any other way to do something himself aside from using his two hooves." She finished, taking a few breathes of her own. "If this is right, your miracle game may give him some hope, but..."
Bluehearth looked down for a moment, almost prone to sigh sadly. "We have tried everything, but it hasn't left his body."
"I wouldn't go as far as to say our game is blessed by the goddesses, but it is built upon the finest of technology, codes, and magic," Chaotic commented. "And I have to say that it's a shame this colt had spent most of his days in a hospital, no matter how beautiful it is. A young stallion deserves every gorgeous right there is to use every muscle in his body to explore the outside." Chaotic stopped to think for a moment. "Are his parents here right now?"
"Unfortunately, no. His parents are having problems at their home, and thats the last I heard of them. I'm sure you can get a lot more from Green, though. He's a good boy." Bluehearth replied, "Indeed he does. I think that, even if it is a game, that it would do good for him. Room 210 on the left, easy enough if you want to talk to him."
"Thank you." Chaotic gave the nurse his regards and continued his short journey to Room 210.
Just as Bluehearth said, Room 210 was right there a few feet away. As he walked up to the door, his mind processed what the colt could really be like. Did the illness cause any deformities? The nurse didn't say anything about that, but his mind couldn't help but run on imagination. It was one of the few things that kept life interesting to him.
Building up for the awaited conversation, he sucked in a deep breath and let it out. He then knocked on the door and called out, "Hello? May I come in, Green?"
Green jumped when the door was knocked on, likely by the representative considering he hasn't heard the voice before. "Y-yeah, sure." His face was as normal as any other ponies, aside from him being awfully pale. A party hat was on the floor, and his hair was tucked behind him-- likely a attempt to make him stop looking like a Japonican.
Green lightly considered braiding his hair before the representative came, and saying 'yeah, mon' like one of them. He chuckled, that would have been funny. Making your voice deep may just come across as a nuisance, but, it would have been worth it. Moving his two hooves around and putting one on top of the other to make it look like this was some sort of formal meeting, he looked at him.
"Uh, hello. My name is Green?"
"This was so much better in my head..." He mumbled.
Chaotic opened the door and walked right in, getting a feel for the place before turning his attention towards the only other occupant in the room, Green Vanguard. The room felt a bit simplistic compared to the other parts of the hospital. He supposed it was because of the pile of 'Get Well' gifts that was left at the earth pony's bed. Although, it looked like some of them were starting to show their age. How long was the last time somepony brought this poor colt a gift? A few days, weeks, months even?
"So... you're the colt I've read about, are you? It's good to finally meet you." Chaotic trotted up to the colt's bedside and offered his hoof. "My name is Chaotic Noteworthy. I heard you could use some help," he winked.
"What gave it away?" He chuckled. "It's nice meeting you, Chaotic." Green looked at the 'Get Well' gifts, almost visibly wilting because of the fact his family was starting to have problems at home. All because of him. Looking back at Chaotic, he smiled. "Thanks for coming here. I haven't had somepony come here in a while, aside from the nurses and doctors and the like. I actually didn't think my letter would reach you guys. In the heart, I mean."
"I've done this only once before and that time, I was pretty sure I sent it to the wrong address. The ponies who sent a letter back said that they were waiting for me, and that was the last I heard of them. It was uh..." He deadpanned. "creepy."
"But anyway!" Green said, getting a smile on his face quicker then butter melting in a active volcano. "I've been hearing great things about your game, sir. It sounds like its a miracle."
"The game is great, but I'm afraid what you mean by miracle. I mean, Equestrian Earth maybe be the first MMORPG game to use virtual reality as a mechanic, but it isn't the first one. There have already been developers readjusting their currently selling triple-A games' codes so that they would be compatible with the Interactive Pony Visors. What makes you think Equestrian Earth is different from all the others, and what are your true desires for it?"
"My true desire, is to live." Green said with a sad voice, but continued.
"The reason why I 'want', this game, is mostly because I can interact with ponies as a whole. From what I heard of, its a 'Medieval' setting, and I don't mind that. I want to get away from this life, help others as much as I possibly can. Here, I can't even do anything, and even if it's virtual, I can still interact with ponies as a whole. I haven't been able to talk with anyone aside from the nurses and doctors, and even then, they are occupied." He pawed at the bed for a minute, trying to think of more to say.
"I haven't experienced the game myself, but, I'm sure that its going to be as nice as I imagine. I know what I'm saying may seem stupid later on, but..."
"I dunno. I just think that this is a good move for me. And from what the doctors say, these games can make my body relax and not overexert myself." He looked at his hooves. "As much as over-exerting I can do with two hooves."
Green looked at Chaotic, smiling. "I'm not sure anymore, actually."
"... Heh. I like you kid. You truly do have an adventurous heart for a young lad." Chaotic dug his hooves inside his flank pockets.
Once again, the subconscious question popped up in his mind on why they had a carefully concealed flap of skin on their sides acting as a storage unit. And like the other times, he pushed away the question like it was an annoying piece of of paper that slapped on his face. You don't question the laws of nature and expect to get away with it scot-free. You might over think yourself into the loony bin.
Now where was that Faust-darn game? Ah, there it is!
Chaotic pulled out a small, rectangular box with a colorful box art of some warriors on the front. He also pulled out a white visor and laptop (once again, didn't question the size of the flank-pocket), and let them rest on the bed in front of Green. Multitasking, Chaotic lifted the screen from the keyboard, used his magic to press the power button to turn it on while popping open the case, and then floating the disc from inside it into the open disk tray.
"I came prepared, knowing that you would want to play the game as soon as possible. I don't know if you have a personal laptop or anything, but I've already installed the game onto this one so that you can play it now." Chaotic connected the visor to the laptop, ran the game, then offered you the visor. "Go on... try it."