Equestria's Strife Online

by Crystalis McCloud


The Eve of War

"Did you see the way Kai swung that huge blade?" Spike cooed in delight, rocking back and forth on Twilight's back.

He had been talking about it ever since they'd left the humans and Fluttershy. Irritation slowly bubbling, Twilight tried to remember that he was just a child, and it was unavoidable. "Yes, I saw it," she sighed, keeping a steady trot. "How could I miss it?"

Despite her exasperation, Twilight really couldn't deny that she was impressed too. The fact that the laws of reality had changed significantly to suit a game kept being brought to the forefront of her wonderment. Sure, there had always been wondrous feats achieved with magic, but here humans seemed to have no magical aptitude. Not even in the same sense as the magic of earth ponies and pegasi.

That only made it stranger that they had Casts bound to them, even if it was because of the game. Casts were supposed to bind to the magical flow within their user, and yet from what Twilight had been able to tell, the humans didn't even have such an aura. Then there were the sword skills. The paralysis Sasha had triggered and the winds Kai had kicked up had both had faint traces of magic to them, now that she thought back on it.

Were the Casts and the skills somehow being used as a conduit for limited magical manipulation? That wouldn't make sense though. All magic begins and ends with mana, and the game didn't seem to have changed that. The flow and aura of mana was present in all things. It begged the question, what was it that the Casts were bonding to in the humans, and how was it still allowing them to manipulate the mana around them through the sword skills? They didn't seem to have direct control of it either. Magic was supposed to be controlled through the will of the user, but all these humans had to do was hold their weapons certain ways and pre-set effects occurred.

It was as though the Casts all of them wore were operating under completely different laws than her own magic.

A low, frustrated growl rumbled from Twilight as she continued to turn her observations over in her mind. What good was it doing her to postulate like this? She could put details together until she was blue in the face, but she had no way of knowing if she was even close to correct. It wouldn't do Celestia any good either, wherever she was. No, she needed to try to find out more information on Nightmare Moon's defeat and the Elements of Harmony. She reasoned that any scrap of information could make a difference.

A sharp tug on Twilight's mane brought her attention back to the world around her. On instinct she stopped in her tracks, only to wince as Spike's head knocked into the back of her own.

"Ow! Pay attention, will you, Twilight?" Spike grimaced, rubbing the faintly glowing red mark that quickly vanished. He pointed a claw ahead of her, where she saw the path open up into a large crossroads where countless humans could be seen. Some sat around with empty looks on their faces, while others walked aimlessly about. Farther into the tall crowds, beyond sight, the sounds of metal striking metal could be heard. The clanking and crashing echoed over the indiscernible mass of voices.

Sasha and Fluttershy had been right, there had to be well over three thousand humans at this plaza right now, and the atmosphere practically suffocated her with the tension and hostility she was looking into. She was only pulled out of that constricting feeling by Spike gently giving her shoulder a shake. He pointed off to their right towards a sparsely populated street that seemed to arch along the outer edges of the plaza.

"We should go quickly," Spike said nervously. "The longer we stay here, the more likely we'll attract the wrong sort of attention."

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, the sooner we find that library, the better," she agreed.

Starting at a slow trot, Twilight headed down the safer road. Despite that, her curiosity forced her head to turn to look into the plaza whenever there was a break in the buildings. These humans were such an oddity.

She walked along in silence the rest of the way. Even Spike was quiet, only wistfully looking around at the town. When she reached the road that branched out due west from the plaza, she turned down it, keeping her slow but urgent pace. The sun was dipping lower and lower, tinting the town a rosey pink and the sky progressively melted from warm orange and pink into a deeper and darker night blue.

Twilight had to squint her eyes against the light of the setting sun for a little while, but got a welcome reprieve as the shadow of a large tree fell over her. Looking ahead, she saw what had to be the library casting its long shadow over her and her assistant. The large but stocky tree sat cozily on an isolated stretch of road where the density of buildings started to thin out. The roads were empty too. Not a single human or pony to be seen. It was just her, Spike, and a treehouse with something dangling on a rope from one of its branches...

Wait.

"What the hay is that?" Spike muttered as he too noticed the cocoon-like mass of rope swinging gently, a good four feet off the ground.

Coming up to the swaying oddity, Twilight could only shrug in answer. She did, however, notice a strange tuft of what had to be brown hair poking out of the bottom of the wrap. It was hard to miss, since it was level with her head.

Spike shuffled to his feet on her back. He reached up and gave the cocoon a hard poke, causing it to sway even further back and forth.

"Nnnrgh! Ow," a groggy but unmistakable voice growled out. "Who the hell is poking me?"

"Animus!?" Twilight said incredulously. A slight edge had slipped into her voice already, remembering how much of a plothole he'd been to her only a couple hours ago. She used her magic to unceremoniously yank up the ropes around his head to reveal his sleepy-eyed face. "What are you doing hanging from the library?"

A pained grimace spread across his face as he grumbled, "Great, you again. How the hell should I know? One minute I was eating an apple and walking through town, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up with someone poking my collarbone." He shot a pointed glare at Spike, who puffed a small jet of fire in his direction.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk for no reason?" Twilight growled back at him. "You have the craziest damn mood-swings I've ever seen. One minute we were getting along at least a little, and the next you were treating me like I insulted your mother or something!"

Fire lit behind Animus' eyes as he shouted back, "Like I said, I don't need you to be prying into things you're not welcome in! Hell, even if I end up on your side of this damn war, that won't change a thing!" He tried to struggle against his bonds, but only managed to make himself swing more and start spinning in a dizzying spiral.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Twilight snorted.

"There you go again, trying to read me," he groaned in protest. "My reasons are my own. Besides that, once this is all over, I'll either be dead or back in my own world."

So he considered that reason enough to act like this? "So because either way you'll be gone for good whenever this is all over, that gives you the right to treat me like this just for trying to get to know you?" Twilight fumed. She stamped a hoof on the ground hard enough to send Spike teetering from her back, face-first into the cobble road. "We talked about this game; we talked about Equestria and the types of ponies here; we figured out our situation together easily! Then the moment I ask about you, you blow up in my face! What the actual rut!?"

Spike looked up from his faceplant with wide eyes. He'd never heard Twilight swear like that before. She was usually so proper and polite with her language, if a bit awkward at times. She had to be really ticked to blurt such strong profanity out without even faltering.

Animus turned his head abruptly to the side in an attempt to deliberately shirk her tirade. All he achieved for the effort was another dizzying spin in his bonds. He was abruptly halted by Twilight's magic grasping his head, and was forced to look the unicorn in the eyes as she pulled him closer.

Facts she had accumulated scrolled through Twilight's mind as she held him tight in her glow. If he wouldn't say anything, then she'd just have to show his childish behavior to be just that. She'd take what details she had heard from him and others and figure him out despite his attitude.

Yeah, that had to be it. All of the details fell perfectly into place. She smirked at him and declared, "You know what? I think I just figured out a few things about that ‘SAO’, or rather, ‘Sword Art Online’."

Animus' reaction told her she'd hit a nerve. His eyes widened and his jaw clenched. Funny how the body language of ponies and humans wasn't all that different. When he said nothing, she continued, "Sword Art Online was a lot like this game, wasn't it? Humans were trapped in a different world, and couldn't get out until someone won?"

Still no answer except for a wide-eyed glare.

"People died, didn't they? I'm assuming the rules for death were much more severe than in this game? And this all happened between nine and seven years ago, so you had to have been just a kid at the time."

"Stop it."

"For you to act like this, given the facts, I can only assume it's some sort of trauma."

"You-"

"So the question is, what the hay happened to you that makes you act like-"

"SHUT UP!" he finally snapped, his voice cracking and choking as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Twilight would have smiled in triumph, but she hadn't expected the tears. They welled up in his eyes and quickly started to flow down his forehead to drip from his brow. The sudden shift in demeanor snapped Twilight's focus, and she mentally kicked herself. She'd just said it herself; his behavior was probably rooted in a trauma. She'd just dug a big part of that up and waved it in his face just to prove a point.

"I-I'm sorry. I just-"

"You're right, okay? Are you happy?" Animus growled defensively. "Sword Art Online was horrible. Terrifying. I saw people die right in front of me, and not just because of monsters. The people were even worse. Where I had to live for two years, that was a literal hell! People extorted and killed each other just to get ahead and get stronger, while kids like me had only each other and a little church!" His growl quickly grew into more shouting as he struggled against the ropes. "You've hit the bullseye, you nosy know-it-all, so are you proud of yourself?"

No. No she wasn't proud. That still didn't excuse his behavior though. Sure, he had experienced horrible things she couldn't imagine, but even something like that didn't give him the right to ignore common decency.

"Would you quit acting like such a spoiled foal?" she shouted right back in his face. She held his head fast in the grip of her magic and didn't let him look away from her. "You may have had to deal with a lot in the past, but acting like this isn't going to help you get through this. All you're doing is letting your past control you. You're letting that other damn game win!"

Animus' eyes widened once more, a strange look passing over him as they went out of focus. It seemed that her words had struck a good nerve though, as the tension about him seemed to instantly deflate. His tears quickly dried up, and his eyes averted in growing shame. "Damn it, idiot," he hissed, but from his tone he clearly wasn't talking to Twilight. "Can't even keep the promise to her."

Spike sighed happily now that the argument seemed to be winding down. He turned over to sit upright and lazily clacked his claws on the hard pathway. "Her? The promise to not let a game beat you?"

Good questions. Him saying such mysterious things aloud only served to make Twilight even more curious about who he’d made such a promise to. He was cooling off now, so what kind of memory had she touched on to provoke this change?

Animus was silent for a few seconds, but took a deep breath and said, "Look, you figured out about Sword Art Online. You figured out that I lived through horrible shit. Can you please leave it at that? I'll apologize for my behavior, but I don't want to talk about this. It's personal to me."

Well, at least he was calmer. His apology seemed pretty sincere too. It would be pretty poor form for her to drag the skeletons out of his proverbial closet and not forgive him now. "I apologize too. I was butting in a little too far," she admitted.

"And I could have at least told you a little just to keep your curiosity in check," Animus grumbled reluctantly. "I value my privacy, but I guess I did act out of line."

"Oh for the love of Celestia, will you two just finish the whole kiss-and-make-up routine so we can get back to business?" Spike asked dryly, dusting himself off as he stood.

A deep blush covered both of their faces as man and mare turned laser hot glares at Spike before shouting in unison, "Who asked you?!" Their combined shout was enough to knock the baby dragon right back on his behind.

After suppressing the glow in their cheeks, Animus asked, "Do you think you could get me down from here now? I don't exactly think I'm gonna be hatching into a beautiful butterfly or anything."

Releasing his head from her magic, Twilight let him lazily swing back and forth, smirking playfully all the while. "You've got Casts don't you? You don't need me to get you down," she pointed out, walking past him to the library door. She lifted Spike back up to ride on her back.

"Oh. Right," he nodded, clearly vexed that he had not thought of that himself.

Twin lights flashed underneath the ropes, which suddenly began to fray and unravel. A long spear shot down along the length of his body and cut through the ties, finally releasing him. Releasing him into a head-on collision with the ground, that is. Twilight let out a long snerk as she fought back the urge to laugh, watching Animus clutch at his head and loose many profanities into the air. Spike was less successful, cracking up loudly at the graceless display.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," Animus said as he finally rose to his feet.

"Ooooh immensely," Twilight grinned. Spike chortled at her side.

He shot a mildly irritated but playful look her way and relented, "I suppose I deserve that."

He sure did, but she supposed he'd had enough now and motioned her head for him to join her at the door. If they could manage to at least be civilized with each other, it could be to their advantage to peruse the library together and return to the cooperation they'd had before. Twilight had to admit, she enjoyed having someone around that she could speak to on the same level. He didn't come across as the bookish type like her, but he was undeniably intelligent and quick-witted.

Animus took the invitation and pulled himself up to look at the tree he'd been hung from. "So this is the local library, you said?" When she nodded in answer, he asked, "Trying to find more information that might not have been in your study?"

She nodded again. This was why he could be rather enjoyable company, when he wasn't throwing a tantrum like a little foal. He was perceptive. He was smart. She never felt like she had to explain what she meant when speaking to him. He was just a freaking jerk when it came to talking about himself. Seriously, what was his problem?

She was only more curious now.

Out of respect of his privacy - and a bit of shame for her earlier behavior - she bit her tongue to prevent further inquiries from slipping out. Instead she said, "Let's get inside. It's almost nighttime and we only have so much time before morning is supposed to come."

"Right," Animus agreed, reaching for the door and turning it open.

One second the air around them had been dead silent, but the moment the door cracked open it was suddenly swung violently outward. Music and voices blasted out of the doorway and assaulted the ears of the unsuspecting mare, dragon, and man. The cacophony of noise was accompanied by a rousing shout of "SURPRISE!" from countless voices within.

A library, a veritable sanctuary of quiet and learning, was instead a den of chatter, music, and general disorder before a shocked Twilight. Countless faces peered from within and waved to her, Spike, and Animus; most of them human with a handful of ponies. One pink mare in particular rushed forward from the crowd and leaped into the doorway.

Just calling her pink didn't seem to do it justice in Twilight's mind. She was pink from head to hoof except for the sparkling blue of her eyes and the yellow and blue balloons of her cutie mark. She smiled wide and giggled, "I hope you two grumpy gusses made up. Wouldn't want sour faces spoiling a great party, after all."

Animus let out a noise that was somewhere between a groan and a laugh, "Clever. Very clever, Pinkie. You knew about both of us from the start, didn't you?"

Twilight blinked in bewilderment. Animus had met her already? Well, Pinkie was certainly a fitting name for her.

Pinkie looked up at Animus with a sly grin and proudly declared, "Yessiree-doodle. Never underestimate Pinkamena Diane Pie's ability to track down new friends and turn their frowns upside down! You two really needed it too, after that big fight you had, but I can tell it's worked out now."

Animus leaned down with a fake sneer that clearly was more smile than anything else, "That reminds me, I seem to remember now that it was you who ambushed me and knocked me out."

Pinkie shrugged the accusation aside and motioned them inside. "Silly, you wouldn't have attended your little therapy session if I hadn't. Now get your flanks in here and enjoy the party. We're gonna keep going till the game starts tomorrow morning!"

Animus was quickly dragged inside by Pinkie before he could voice any objections. Spike wasn't far behind, running into the party with a whoop of excitement. Twilight just stood in the doorway for several moments. Her sanctuary from the insanity of the world right now, a place she thought would be safe and quiet, was a roaring party ground. Human children ran around shrieking happily, playing with what looked to be a hoard of small animals. The older humans and all of the ponies present were scattered about the main room talking, laughing, and drinking punch.

How was she supposed to research with all of this going on? She'd never be able to focus!

A sigh of defeat escaped Twilight as she trudged through the door and followed Pinkie Pie. So much for her plans.

Pinkie seemed to notice how upset she was and turned back to ask, "What's wrong Twilight? Don't you like the party? I threw it just for you and all of our new human friends. No one should be sad at a Pinkie Party."

The look on Pinkie's face... She was obviously concerned, and she did seem to have put a lot of effort into this party. Twilight just couldn't bring herself to say that she wasn't really the party type, or that she would rather the whole party be gone so that she could have some quiet. The fact that Pinkie had deemed it necessary to play therapist in her own way didn't help either.

She obviously had the best intentions though, so Twilight just said, "Oh, it's nothing. I really want to know though, why are you throwing a party now of all times?"

The question confused Pinkie, her head tilting to the side. "Why not throw a party? I always throw a party for newcomers to Ponyville," she answered as though it were the only logical conclusion. "Right now everyone is scared or angry, so I got together all of the nice humans I could find and all the brave ponies willing to leave their houses so that we could all break the ice. Some of those icon-y thingies over the humans' heads have even turned yellow too because of the party."

"Wow, really? That's great!" Twilight smiled, genuinely surprised. Looking again, she saw that almost every icon in the room was glowing the same golden yellow color. All of the children had them. A number of the adults too. Twilight even spied Sasha and Kai here, and their icons, that had been gray last she saw, were now yellow.

This was all thanks to a party? Something so simple had given immediate results, and what had Twilight been concerning herself with? Just looking in books for answers that very well might not even be there. Suddenly she felt very much like a fool for her single-minded focus. The humans understood this game better than anypony could, so what good would her research do them if they didn't have any human allies to help them?

Twilight thought back to her brother and Commander Asuna, who from all indications seemed to have calmed down the entire huge city of Canterlot together. In barely an afternoon's time too. What had she accomplished since coming to Ponyville? Nothing at all. The whole place was a powder keg and she'd just walked past it.

A part of her mind argued against that though. What could she have even done? She wasn't a soldier or leader like her brother. If she'd tried to bring any peace to Ponyville, it could only have ended badly, right?

Right. She belonged with books; finding facts, and learning anything that could help. She couldn't have accomplished what this little party had anyway. So why should she feel foolish? She shouldn't. She should just keep focused on the task at hoof... Right?

"Come on, cheer up!" Pinkie encouraged, "It's a party, so loosen up and just relax! We won't be in any condition to fight if we stress over it all night anyway."

Twilight was quickly tugged across the room by Pinkie and deposited against her will at a table, beside the punch bowl. As Pinkie bounced away cheerily, Twilight found herself looking up. And up. And up. Towering beside her was a dark-skinned man with a bald head. He looked down at her with a surprisingly gentle smile, only for Twilight to immediately be grabbed by her forehoof and spun around.

"Awesome, another pony!" said the woman that had so abruptly accosted the hoof. Her dark pink eyes gleamed from behind her auburn bangs as she looked Twilight over intently. "You've gotta tell me, what kind of Casts do you have. Are they swords? A spear? Axe? Don't keep me in suspense here!"

Twilight jerked her hoof back reflexively at the sudden contact. "Huh? W-what?" she stammered.

"Lisbeth, dear, please calm yourself. You're hardly acting very lady-like," a unicorn mare with an alabaster coat and an elegant coif(?) of purple hair stepped from behind the woman. A light blue glow from her horn quickly swatted the grabby hands away from Twilight's hoof.

The veritable giant of a human shook his head, "I know you're really excited about the Casts in this game, Lisbeth, but you really can't go around yanking everyone by their arm just to see them all."

A determined fire lit behind Lisbeth's eyes as she looked up to the man's towering figure. "No, you don't understand, Agil," she asserted, "These aren't just regular weapons. They're magic. They're polymorphic. Most importantly, they evolve. These are a weaponsmith's holy grail! The blacksmith skills still exists too, which means I'll be helping each and every weapon that comes to me advance and get stronger."

She waved her hands around enthusiastically, nearly bapping Twilight in the face in her vigor. Casts winked into being around her hands, causing a nervous Twilight to back up a step, as did the white unicorn. From her right Cast manifested a plain black hammer, which she waved around even more fervently and pointed at. "This is a blacksmith's dream! No more making weapons only for them to inevitably be destroyed in battle or sold away when a stronger one is found. No more making tons of average weapons just to sell them at cheap prices to those who can't afford the best. Each weapon my hammer touches will continue to grow stronger and more beautiful the more they are used and tempered. They'll keep growing until they are the best they can be. These Casts are the most perfect weapons I've ever seen!"

Agil shook his head, raising his arms in an appeasing gesture. "Alright alright, I yield," he chuckled.

Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw the other unicorn mare break into a grin as she re-approached the woman. "I really do admire your passion for your craft, you know that," she chided Lisbeth. "However, Mister Agil is absolutely right. You really must exercise a little self control and respect others' personal space. Wouldn't want to scare off a future customer, now would you?"

Lisbeth wilted in defeat and sighed, "I get it, Rarity. You're right." Turning back to Twilight, she gave a short bow, "I'm very sorry for my behavior, miss..."

"Um... Oh right. Twilight. I'm Twilight Sparkle," the nervous mare answered, tipping her head in return. She shuffled nervously on her hooves and in a bid for distraction, used her magic to scoop a cup of punch and take a drink. She was quietly thankful that Rarity and Agil had been there to calm Lisbeth. They seemed much more mild-mannered.

On the other hand, Twilight could hardly blame Lisbeth's overwhelming curiosity. The Casts really were everything she had declared them to be. Even Twilight had to admit she wanted to find out everything she could about the new kind of Casts that this game had equipped them all with.

So Lisbeth had wanted to see her Casts? Well, what was the harm?

Making the decision, Twilight put her drink down on the table and cleared her throat, "I'll let you see them, Lisbeth." Calling her own Casts out, she held up one hoof to allow a good look as the cylindrical barrel of her weapon formed over her fetlock. She turned her hoof over as her armor appeared soon after, the simple brown cloak draping over her with a gentle ruffle.

Lisbeth's eyes lit up like stars in the sky at the sight of the weapon. The unabashed curiosity got a small giggle from Twilight.

"The menu says the Cast is called Spellshot," she explained. This was a chance for her to educate a curious mind, so best to take advantage of it. She channeled some magic into the Cast, and the inside of barrel started the glow with her magenta light. Further tweaks to the magic she pushed in caused the barrel to expand and contract. "I use my magic on it, and it starts focusing it. It allows me to fire the basic telekinesis spell in two forms. The wide barrel turns into a concussive wave; that one is called the Impact Driver. When the barrel is narrow, it shoots a beam even more finely focused than I could manage just from my horn, and that's the Bracer Beam mode.”

A bit of excitement started to settle in and she activated the last mode, the barrel producing a five inch cone of pure, concentrated kinetic force. Twilight started talking a bit faster in her eagerness to share knowledge. "And this here is the Bunker Spine. This is basically the melee attack mode, and if I release it while it's still out, the force inside blasts in every direction. All of this doesn't cost me any Mp unless I use elemental spells."

"Oh wow!" Lisbeth squeed when the explanation finished. Her eyes lit again with a determined fire as she exclaimed, "I've never seen a weapon like this one before! I may have a preference for melee weapons, but this is really something else. You just have to let me be your blacksmith, Twilight. I absolutely have to see how this weapon grows."

Twilight was taken aback by her intense drive, but managed to slowly nod and answer, "Oh, um... Alright."

The fire that seemed to swell around Lisbeth was far from shared by Rarity. The mare looked on in what could only be described as disappointment before interrupting the two with a chiding click of her tongue. "Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. How can you even stand it?"

Both Twilight and Lisbeth turned to look at Rarity. Twilight's expression was clearly confused, but a smirk spread across Lisbeth's face.

"Heh, here it comes," the young woman said knowingly.

"Hush you," Rarity snipped at her in return. Now it was the elegantly groomed mare's turn to invade Twilight's personal bubble. She reached across and grabbed the hem of Twilight's cloak, holding it up for inspection. "This fabric is just not right at all. It's too coarse, too heavy, and the color is all wrong," she critiqued as her eyes and hooves examined the cloth. "How anyone could bear to battle in such garish attire is beyond me. It simply must be changed to a soft violet color to complement your fur."

"Uh, okay, if you say so," Twilight nodded, backing up a step from the new invasion of her space.

This time it was Rarity's turn to be ignited with a powerful flame of determination behind her eyes. She nodded and took a step closer for every step Twilight took back. "I absolutely insist on it, my dear. It's absolutely unacceptable for anyone to have to wear something so hideous. You really must come down to my boutique when you have the time. I'll give your battle garb a look all your own." She practically glowed with ambition and pride as she held a declarative hoof up.

Twilight was a tad flustered at the display. So much for her being calmer and more sensible than Lisbeth. That just got thrown out the window. Agil seemed to share the sentiment, holding his palm to his forehead and shaking his head despairingly.
The Lisbeth's smug grin only seemed to grow as she teasingly chided the mare, "You know Rarity, you really must exercise a little self control and respect others' personal space. Wouldn't want want to scare off a future customer, now would you?"

The words seemed to suck the wind out of Rarity's sails, and she turned on Lisbeth with a glare. "Don't you turn my own words on me. This is different. This is a crisis of fashion, not some silly weapon fixation."

The air between the two of them seemed to crackle as Lisbeth put her hands on her hips. She leaned forward so that she was almost nose to nose with Rarity and growled, "A silly weapon fixation? I'll have you know that a beautiful, high-quality weapon being used expertly in battle is way more beautiful than any little outfit."

From that point the bickering erupted into a full tirade in their little corner of the library. The two of them went back and forth arguing their own definitions of beauty as Twilight and Agil both slowly and carefully backed away from ground zero.

A long and irritated sigh from off to Twilight's side nearly made her jump out of her fur. She whirled around to see an orange earth pony mare with a honey-blonde mane tied up and hanging from under a wide-brimmed hat. The new mare was looking at the bickering pair and shaking her head. "Those two at it again? Ah swear they argue 'bout as much as Rainbow and ah do," she muttered to herself. She quickly reassured Twilight, "Ya'll don't need to worry 'bout those two. They've already gotten into it like this twice since the party started."

"Knowing females, human or pony, I just wonder how many arguments it will take for them to come to blows," Agil commented dryly.

"Well, that's why yer gonna help me break it up," she answered right back.

"I don't suppose I have a choice in the matter, do I?"

"After that lil' crack about females? No. No you don't," the blonde mare chuckled. She promptly grabbed Agil's hand with her hoof and started dragging him closer to the danger zone. She did, however, take a moment to wave Twilight off, cheerily saying, "Ya'll go on and enjoy the party some more. We've got this covered."

Twilight stood there in bewildered silence for a moment before slowly turning away and looking for somewhere else to be. Everyone here was acting as though everything was perfectly natural. Just another day. They were arguing and talking and carrying on as though nothing had changed at all. The atmosphere of this whole party was completely different from anything going on in the town outside, and Twilight had to wonder if that was even healthy

 None of them were preparing, or even treating the impending war looming in the morning with the seriousness it should warrant. She had to wonder if she was the only one that was worried about what would happen in only a few hours. How could they all act so carefree? Sure, they had managed to make new allies with this, but shouldn't holding some kind of war conference be the priority?

Looking around the crowd, Twilight spied Spike running around with Kai. The two children were among an even larger group of human kids that were taking turns trying to bust a pinata being hoisted by Pinkie. Off to the side of that group, Fluttershy and another crowd of children were sitting on the floor, doting on a bunch of small animals like squirrels and bunnies. A woman with long blonde hair was chatting and swigging punch with a pegasus mare that had a stunningly colorful rainbow of a mane.

And off in the far corner of the room, she spotted Animus walking up to... Sasha?

~*~*~*~*~*~

A party, huh?

That Pinkie Pie... she was a much smarter mare than he had given her credit for. Sure, there was nothing inherently wrong with Twilight's idea to try to find more useful information on Nightmare Moon, but that was also very likely to produce nothing of value. This party, on the other hand, was already strengthening a tiny bit of human/pony relations, and was creating a comfortable atmosphere to counter the stress of the current situation. It was only helping a small group, but reducing the pressure, especially for the children, was a worthwhile difference.

Animus could remember it clearly. That terror of being trapped in a game of death. This may be a bright and colorful world full of talking ponies, but that didn't hide the fact that a very real war was about to start. Death wouldn't come immediately, but once commanders started falling, those they lead would too. Plus it seemed like the pain absorption program was only running at about half, so fights would actually be painful. Half as painful as wounds in the real world, but painful nonetheless. This wouldn't be like in SAO at all, where one death was the end for you, but you could fight without your wounds affecting you. This new setup was equally terrifying by its own merits.

Yeah, even if the attending number was rather small, this little party was probably one of the best things that could have been done in this situation. It was thanks to a mare he'd taken for a spastic airhead too. Managing to pull all of this together, and even having the profound insight to arrange him and Twilight meeting again to clear the air in their own way... She was smart. Surprisingly smart given her extremely peppy and seemingly scatterbrained behavior.

Still, he'd never really been the kind of guy that really knew what to do at a party. So as Pinkie dragged Twilight away to another end of the room, Animus took to leaning against the first wall he reached. The energy of the whole room was fun, warm, and energetic, but he was quite content to view it all from afar and just bask in that feeling. He watched as the kids played and the adults talked and every just generally drank punch and had a good time. It was all really very nice. A welcome change of pace.

Out of the corner of his eye, Animus spotted something. A woman doing the same as him and watching over the party. Those glasses. That hair. Her face. She'd obviously aged a little in the last seven years, but he'd never forget someone he'd known for almost two whole years.

Moving along the wall, he headed straight for her. She was so focused elsewhere that she didn't see him until he was almost right next to her. She gave him a curious look and asked, "May I help you, young man?"

Of course she wouldn't recognize him. He had only been perpetually ten years old in appearance for those years. She only knew him as that young child. And on top of that she'd watched over so many other kids too.

"I just wanted to catch up on old times, Miss Sasha. It's been so long," he answered with a small smile. "You may not remember me, but my name is Animus, and I was one of the children you used to look after in Aincrad.”

"Animus?!" she looked him over once, clearly surprised. "I don't really remember what you used to look like, but you've obviously grown into a fine young man." She seemed to recall something and added, "By the way, this is around the same time it happened, right? How are you feeling? It can't be easy being in a situation like this again."

She still remembered that? It was Animus' turn to be surprised this time. Miss Sasha was the only person he'd ever fully confided in in the virtual world. She was the only person that knew what had happened. They'd talked about it for hours back then.

It was painful to have her bring it up, but he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her. It wasn't like with Twilight, who was just nosey and butting in where he didn't want her.

"I'm alright. Really, I am," he assured her. He was really grateful that nobody in here could have heard his and Twilight's shouting match outside. The system prevented the transfer of noise through doors unless someone knocked or leveled a listening skill.

"You sure? I know how much you lost last time," she asked in concern.

"I'll be alright," he said again. "That was a long time ago. I've had a lot of time to deal with it." His argument with Twilight would clearly say otherwise, but that's why he was glad that no one could have heard it.

"Alright, well it's really good to see you again, Animus," Sasha smiled warmly. That motherly smile she'd made so many times back then. It was enough to put him at ease.

The night went on like that for hour after hour. Everyone whiling away the time as it dragged on to the inevitable morning hours. Animus happily spent that time talking with Sasha, discussing what each of them had been doing with themselves since they last saw each other.

Everyone lost track of time

-Grand Quest-
The time has come. Adventure and battle await. Sides will be taken and lines will be drawn. Those of Equestria and those of Earth, you must make your choice and decide your fate. The war to decide the future begins now.
[OK]

The party halted as the quest menu popped open in front of everyone. Everyone looked to those around them. This was it. The moment where it would all begin. The time for choices to be made.

What would he do? Animus honestly didn't know what he wanted at this point. However, his eyes drifted up to Sasha's icon, spinning over her head. The bright golden prism flagged her already chosen allegiance.

Could he even choose the same? He desperately wanted to get back to his own world, and if he sided with Nightmare Moon, he might be able to do just that. Could he fight Sasha to do that, though? Fight... Twilight?

Why did that bother him?! She was a nosey little know-it-all that forced her way into a painful part of his past. She dragged out his trauma, knowing it was just that. And yet... She was smart. When she wasn't butting into his privacy she was actually very kind, but she was stern and not afraid to smack him upside the head if she felt he deserved it.

Gah, why was he letting himself fret over this? It was still too early for that. He needed to see what would happen with his own eyes for him to decide.

While everyone else hesitated to hit the button on the quest window, Animus took the initiative. If he did it, then everyone else was bound to follow suit. Then they could all follow the quest tracker to where they needed to be.

Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself.

He pressed the button. The window collapsed into nothingness, and in an instant his body was eclipsed with an unmistakably familiar light.

He was teleporting.