"«Blasting Stake»!"
A violet glow surrounded Twilight's hoof, and a brown cloak billowed around her as she flung herself forward. A creature resembling a wolf, but made entirely of logs and sticks, lunged forward in answer to her charge. Sharp, splintering claws sprung from the bark of its paws as it snarled.
Animus watched from a ways off to the side as a long, razor spine of raw telekinetic magic sprouted from an opening on Twilight's Cast. The spine emerged from just above her fetlocks and in an instant was driven deep into the chest of the leaping beast. The creature that Twilight had called a Timberwolf was frozen in midair for a second by the jarring impact, a faint creaking and rattling coming from its body.
In the next moment, the second part of Twilight's skill triggered, and the spine she had pierced the monster with exploded. Kinetic energy blasted open a huge chunk of its chest and sent the wolf tumbling back across the grass. When it slowly pushed itself back up on its paws, only the faintly gridded red damage marking could be seen across its chest.
The hp gauge hovering next to it ticked down the damage, moving from about fifty percent, all the way down into the red zone, beneath twenty five percent.
Twilight held still for a moment, no more than a second, which gave the Timberwolf a chance to strike. Glowing yellow eyes narrowing, the arbor canine came in low, bringing its claws around to swipe at Twilight's side. The unicorn shifted aside in the next instant, whirling and bringing her Cast to bear on the monster. Bright red magic flickered in the barrel as it began to expand, and with a loud bang, a wave of flames erupted outward.
“«Heat Wave»!”
The wolf was halted in its tracks as searing fire coated its bark hide, causing it to howl in pain. A ragged growl was the last noise it made before the creature's gauge hit zero, and it burst into thousands of aqua shards.
The battle concluded, and a small menu screen popped up in front of the two of them.
Cast Exp: 23
Bits: 5
Items: Timber Sap
Tapping the menu to make it disappear, Animus looked over to Twilight. Despite her initial enthusiasm, he could tell she was having a rough time. She had surprisingly good fighting instincts, but that wasn't the problem. What was getting to her was the fact that she had just killed.
Even if it worked like a game, the lives here were real. That wolf had been an inhabitant of this world, and the pain of its wounds had been as real as that of the fading claw marks on Twilight's neck. She had choked at the start of the fight, and the wolf had taken the initiative.
As impossible as the idea seemed to Animus, he couldn't deny that what he had seen of this world indicated that it wasn't like any ordinary game. The citizens, which should have been npcs, were in fact players, just like the humans. It wasn't hard to understand that this place hadn't always been a game either. Animus had always believed in the existence of both parallel and completely different universes. Games, books, television shows, and every other 'fictional' story out there; he had always held a belief that they were tiny glimpses into the infinite multiverse, but never in his life would he have believed that the FullDive system, the virtual reality program that the NerveGear uses, could link human minds to one of those worlds.
Then again, magic clearly was as natural as sunlight and oxygen in this world, so it wasn't all that hard to imagine either that a marriage of the power of technology and reality warping magic could do something like this. According to Twilight, messing with the laws of physics and bending reality was just the sort of thing chaos magic was capable of, and Discord had it in spades.
All of them turned to the south, and the three travelers began walking once more. Sitting nestled no more than a mile in the distance was a quaint looking town on the edge of a dark wall of forest. Ponyville and the Everfree Forest were contrasted with the amber dusk light of the late evening on one side, and the pitch black shadows they cast on the other, making them impossible to miss. Their destination wasn't that far off, but it would still be about a half hour if they didn't run into any more monsters.
They had taken the train most of the way, but Animus' lessons on the workings of combat could only help so much without practical application. So, about two hours walk out from the town, a polite request and a few bits greased the brake lever, and the conductor stopped the train briefly to allow them to walk the rest of the way. Two hours ended up being more like three between brief lessons and hoofs-on combat experience, but they would still have plenty of time before the morning of the next day would come around.
"I guess in some ways I should be thankful that this game stuff is going on," Twilight grumbled through clenched teeth. "This blow to my neck would have killed me if things were normal right now." Her voice was a little shaky.
"Yeah, that's one thing that's good about these games. Your body isn't like in normal reality," Animus nodded. "If I were to explain it in more magical terms than scientific, I would have to say it's sorta like an advanced astral projection magic. Your mind resides within an artificial construct body that can perceive and interact with the world. We even get hungry and everything. But we have no internal organs, don't need to breathe, and instead take damage based on numerical values. The strength of blows, the quality of the weapon, and the armor it strikes, and where the blow hits. These factors and perhaps others determine the damage inflicted."
Twilight gave him a surprised look as her weapons and armor dissipated. "You know, you mentioned there is no real magic in your world. You have a surprising knowledge of magic considering that."
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Spike glared at him as he hopped up on Twilight's back again. "I felt as confused hearing that explanation about construction and astro magic as when Twilight goes into Lecture Mode."
"Oh, you call it that too?" Animus chuckled "All fear the dreaded Lecture Mode!"
Poorly stifled laughs from the two boys were cut down by an irritated look from Twilight. Animus fought back his mirth and explained himself properly, "Well, magic doesn't exist where I come from, but we have all sorts of stories about it." He could see the curiosity in her eyes growing as she listened intently. Her thirst for knowledge was rather refreshing, he had to admit. "We have stories about all sorts of magic, from magic influenced by imagination and willpower, to magic controlled by arcane language or even mathematical equations. Fire magic. Water magic. Teleportation. Necromancy. Alchemy. Enchanting. You name it. Since our world is so firmly rooted in science alone, many humans fantasize about worlds where mystic forces are real, and people have strength beyond what is normally possible. That's also why we play games. We escape the limitations of our reality by entering fake worlds where we can fly or cast spells, and in some cases, be our true selves."
Twilight was silent for a moment as they walked, hardly batting an eyelash when Spike laid himself out flat on her back. No questions, no interrogations about how the menus worked, she just trudged forward with her eyes on the grass in front of her. The silence crept on into uncomfortable territory before long, and the town was practically within reach.
Just when they were about to reach Ponyville, Twilight finally spoke, "So why do you play?"
What did it matter to her? They had made it abundantly clear that they were merely using each other to learn. He had no idea yet whether he would be her enemy or not.
His own confusion at her curiosity irritated him somehow, and a bit of venom slipped into his voice as he said, "I don't. I hadn't dived into a game for nearly seven years."
Still more wary curiosity danced in Twilight's eyes as she began quizzing him. “Seven years? What made you stop? And why did you come back to it? Does it have something to do with a game that you were in with Asuna and that Kirito guy you mentioned?"
That little bit of irritation grew at the prodding into his past and his mind, causing Animus to stop and turn on the pony with a sharp glare. "It doesn't matter to you. I had my reasons, but I have no reason to tell you anything about them."
Taken aback by his change of attitude, Twilight countered right back in reflex, "What the hay is wrong with you? You were being very polite just before! Out of all the questions I've asked you, this is what turns you into an insensitive jerk? I just wanted to know more about you!" She stomped a hoof down.
Spike quite perceptively turned himself around on Twilight's back and reclined. No way was he getting in the middle of this.
"You're just studying me, trying to figure me out like a book!" Animus shouted right back at her. "I don't go asking about your past or your family. I only know as much as you yourself have volunteered in those areas."
"Well excuse me for trying to be nice and make conversation," Twilight huffed, face burning red.
"If you really want to know, you can figure it out yourself," Animus growled, fists clenching tight. "If you find a human willing to tell you, then just ask what SAO means and fill in the blanks if you can!"
Twilight's red cheeks faded and were replaced with indignation in her eyes. "Fine!" Turning towards town again, she flicked through her menu rapidly and hit the disband party button. Their names and bars disappeared from each other's displays, and she stormed into the town while shouting back, "Our business is done then! Good luck with joining Nightmare Moon's side, and good riddance!"
Yeah! Fine! Good riddance, indeed! They had both learned enough to get by on their own, better to go their separate ways now, lest they just piss each other off more!
Turning and storming down along the edge of town to find another road to enter by, Animus grumbled incoherently to himself. What business of hers was his life? He didn't talk with anyone, not even his parents, about what happened in SAO. Hell, he had just barely mustered up the will to try to talk to Kirito about it before all of this crap happened. No way was he going to blab his guts out to some magical pony he'd just met.
When he reached another small path leading into the town, Animus turned down it. With tightly clenched fists tucked into his pockets, he made his way in. He didn't know whether to be surprised or not, but he didn't see a single pony or human anywhere. He did, however, feel eyes on him from all around. Quick glances around gave him a few signs of life, as curtains ruffled and small shadows moved inside the windows of the quaint homes all around.
It seemed like all of the ponies had shut themselves indoors, but then where were the humans? Did they leave? Unlikely. Being thrust into a situation like this, people were more likely to stick together in one place for a while to figure things out. Perhaps-
"Hiya there!"
"Aaaah!" Animus screamed at the loud, high pitched voice in his ear, jumping away from the noise and unceremoniously falling on his backside.
A mare of pure, poofy pinkness with ice blue eyes filled his view, and he was assaulted by a barrage of hard to follow jabber. "Hi! You look like a nice human! Why are you so frowny though? You should smile more. Smiling is good for the soul. I have a very happy soul because I smile a lot and love to make others smile. Hey! I haven't seen you around here yet, and I'm pretty sure I met every human that was brought to Ponyville."
The verbal torrent was unrelenting, and Animus found himself slowly sliding back along the road to put distance between him and the blindingly pink pony. It didn't help, as with each scoot backwards she took a step forward, keeping her face uncomfortably close to his.
This pony didn't know the meaning of personal space, did she?
"I tried talking to the humans that appeared here, because nobody comes to Ponyville without getting a special Pinkie Pie greeting! Most of them just ignored me, though. Others tried to attack me, but they couldn't hit the broad side of the Apples' barn. Thank goodness that hp stuff doesn't in down in town though, right? A hoofful of humans were nice to me though, and did talk to me and everything. I'm not giving up on the others though, I'm sure I can make all those Negative Nellies my friends sooner or later. I mean, this is a game now, right? We should all be trying to have fun together! Oh, what's you're name? Mine's Pinkie Pie if you didn't guess already, and I'm mmrphrng brrvm!"
Animus sighed in delighted reprieve from the deluge, his hand placed firmly over Pinkie's mouth.
"Please, please, oh please by all that is sacred, slow down for a little bit," he begged softly. Her energy seemed boundless, and there was a glittering in her eyes as she stared intently at him. "Okay, so your name is Pinkie Pie. I got that much."
Pinkie shook her head vigorously.
Not hard to see why she was called that. She was pink from head to horseshoe, aside from her eyes and the triad of balloons that adorned her flank. What had Twilight called them? Cutie marks? Right, they were magical markings that appeared on a pony when they discovered their special talent.
Taking a deep breath and slowly pulling his hand away, Animus continued, "Well, my name is Animus. I just got here from Canterlot."
Pinkie's smile cracked even wider and she started bouncing around him giddily. "I knew I hadn't seen you yet! I never forget a face, you know," she declared. "I'll have to add you to the party list!"
Party? He had just been in a party, and look how that turned out.
"Don't know why you want to form a party with me," Animus mused, pushing himself back up onto his feet, "but I'm afraid I have to decline. I have important business tomorrow morning, and I don't know what's going to happen after that."
Pinkie stopped in confusion, but seemed to quickly realize something and chuckle, "Oh silly Ani! I didn't mean that kind of party! I meant a fantastical celebratory bash!" Leaping up, she wrapped an arm around his neck and hung on tight as she pointed her free hoof out in a grand sweeping motion.
Personal space! Violation! His mind protested, but he found no moment to object as she just kept going.
"Just imagine it! Streamers! Balloons! A punch bowl! And more cupcakes than you could eat in a month! Smothered in creamy, creamy frosting!" She trailed off slightly, loosening her grip and sliding to the ground. She mumbled more about frosting and other sweet treats, licking and smacking her lips.
Animus was more than a little annoyed by this Pinkie pony, but despite that he felt strangely happy. Sure, she was violating his space like no other, and she was bombarding him with sentence after sentence, but she was being genuinely nice. So despite being easily pegged as the annoying, hyperactive party animal type, Animus couldn't manage to muster up much more than mild irritation towards her.
"Well, that sure does sound nice, Pinkie," Animus admitted, "But the thing is, when tomorrow comes around, I may end up being your enemy."
The pink mare turned a curious look on him, and a rather devious thought entered his mind. Should he? Well, why not? She had ticked him off by trying to delve into his personal life when she wasn't welcome. It may have been petty, but at this very moment, he didn't really care.
Leaning down and pulling Pinkie in for her to hear, he told her, "There is somepony here that would love a welcome party though."
A giddy gleam appeared in the mare's eyes as she exclaimed, "Really?"
"Mhm," he affirmed, "Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she arrived just a few moments before I did. She loves surprises, parties, streamers, and all those other fun things. So how about you go give a special Ponyville welcome to her?"
He had hit right on the mark, as evident by the ridiculously wide smile on Pinkie's face. No doubt frantic ideas were already dancing in her brain. "A new pony too?!" she exclaimed, "Best! Day! Ever! Thank you, Ani! I'll get on it right away!" Zipping off in a blur with surprising speed, she called back, "I'll get to your party later! That's a Pinkie Promise!"
Animus shook his head as he watched her bolt away in a hurry. That mare sure was lively. A heck of a lot braver than the rest of the ponies here too, it would seem. She may be a bit of an airhead, but she had also mentioned that humans had attacked her, but they couldn't hit her. It was unlikely that was because of a lack of skill on their part, but rather because of that exceptional agility she had displayed. If he did end up as her enemy, she could be a fearsome foe.
"I'm surprised you didn't try to cut her in half or something," a voice called out.
Animus gave a start and whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice. Nothing behind him. Nothing to his right.
"Jeez, you're awfully jumpy, aren't ya?" a new voice snickered, clearly amused.
Above? Turning to his left and looking up, he spied two onlookers high above him. Laid out along the slanted roof of one of the many houses that lined the street was a human woman. Long golden hair, tied back in a ponytail ironically enough, hung in short bangs that veiled piercing red eyes looking down on him with a sidelong gaze from her lofty perch. She held her arms crossed over a crimson top patched with accents of gold. This was complemented by a similarly colored pair of slacks, striped with the same golden hue down the sides of the pant legs. Her expression was hard to read. A smile played at her lips, but at the same time the look in her eyes was surprisingly critical. He could feel her stare lancing through him.
Accompanying her, floating lazily on a puffy white cloud, was a cyan pegasus with a dazzling multicolored mane. The mare had her neck craned over the edge of the cloud, stifling uncontrollable chuckles behind her hoof. She sure seemed to be enjoying herself with that poorly hidden smug grin on her face.
The woman, which he identified as the first voice, spoke up again, "You looked like you were in a bad mood already, but you didn't lash out at that mare. You handled yourself a lot better than most of the frightened idiots around here."
Animus crossed his arms and looked up at the pair, particularly eyeballing the pegasus that seemed to find so much amusement in him. They had been watching him at least since he entered town? Why?
"So why did you come here all the way from Canterlot?" the woman asked, pointing off to the north where the regal city could still be seen. It jutted out of the side of a high mountain far in the distance. The size of it, even at this range, testified to its magnificent scale.
"You know, eavesdropping isn't a very polite hobby," he replied flatly. "Laughing at someone, or asking questions without introducing yourself aren't much better either."
An amused smile broke on the woman's face, and she nodded softly, "You're right. My name is Mia, former Salamander of Alfheim and head of the Thirteenth Aincrad Raid Squad." She gave a slight bow before reclining on the roof once more and gestured to the cloudbound pony. "Chuckles here is called Rainbow Dash. She calls herself the greatest flier in all of Equestria, and is a walking, talking ego trip."
"Yeah, well you can shove those opposable thumbs where the sun don't shine," Rainbow Dash shot back with a grin.
"Bite me, Skittles," came the retort without missing a beat.
"Heh, sounds like someone wants to taste the rainbow."
"Hah, you wish I swung that way."
"You aren't packing what a mare needs anyway."
"No one would get a chance anyway with that swollen ego in the way."
"Bitch."
"You know it."
"Ahem!" Animus cleared his throat. His cheeks were also a tad flushed from the implications being thrown back and forth. "You've gotten a bit off track ladies, and as entertaining as it would be to see you rip each other's heads off, I have something important to prepare for."
Both turned to look back at him and started laughing together. "We're not angry at each other," Mia explained. "This is just how we tease each other."
"Yeah dude, chill out," Rainbow agreed. "We were messing around is all. Mia's awesome to bounce insults with."
Animus sighed and looked up at the two expectantly, waiting for them to return to the topic at hand.
"That something important is what we're curious about," Mia said in a welcome shift of brevity. "Ponyville is a little town that's out of way, and yet you and another pony come walking in with some sense of purpose. That makes me think that you know a bit about what is going on. If I'm putting two and two together right, then am I right to assume something big will happen here when the game officially starts tomorrow?"
Wow, all that from just a bit of conversation and a few other clues? "Impressive," Animus admitted, "You're right, me and that other pony I mentioned before, Twilight Sparkle, figured out that a being called Nightmare Moon is going to awaken from a thousand years of imprisonment."
"Why is it always a thousand years with these things? Why not seven hundred and forty two or something?" Mia wondered.
Animus just shrugged.
"Nightmare Moon is just an old pony's tale though," Rainbow pointed out.
"Given everything that is happening, do you really think it isn't possible?" Animus pointed out. When Rainbow gave no counter argument, he continued, "We figured that this was the most likely place she would appear. So we came here and went our separate ways."
"Well, thanks for the info. It's a heck of a lot better than being in the dark until the moment it starts," Mia thanked him. "So what do you plan to do?"
Lowering his eyes, Animus glanced further into town, seeing how the barren path stretched beyond sight. What was he going to do? His biggest concern was getting home. He had a life to get back to, a life he had already lost two years of. He would get home. He would not let the game beat him. He would hold tight to the happiness of his real life and never let it go.
"I don't know yet," he answered truthfully. "I may join Nightmare Moon's alliance. I just need to figure out the way that will bring everything back to normal."
"If either of you join Nightmare Moon, I'll take you down personally!" Rainbow Dash asserted. There was no anger in her voice, but he could tell she was serious. It wasn't a threat, but a simple promise.
"We'll see," was his answer. With one last glance up at Mia and Rainbow, he gave a small smile and added, "It was a pleasure to meet you both. Good luck tomorrow."
The two of them nodded briefly and returned to their relaxed postures. Animus took that chance to make his exit, making his way deeper into town.