//------------------------------// // 23 January 2020 // Story: Equestria Legends Online - Macca's Mission // by Merseybeat //------------------------------// 23 January 2020 Liverpool 16:41 --- I’ve set up the Nervegear, and power it on. I put me helmet on me head, and insert ELO. Before I do that, though, I take off the helmet, and look at me surroundings for a bit, okay, beige walls, kind of small, bookshelf on the south end. I take me laptop out of its bag, I power it on, open up Firefox, and go on GameFAQs. I search up the game, and got a result. Good, it’s worked. Hey, I don’t want to be stuck without a map. Alright, now that that’s over, I put the helmet back on, lay on me bed, and <> Sight: Ok Hearing: Ok Smell: Ok Taste: Ok Touch: Ok Now, it wants me to set a username... How about me OC’s name? (I’m using the term very loosely here.) Language: English User Name: McColtney Password: ************ Enter. Hol-wow, it actually worked. Now, it’s saying one of those generic “Welcome” screens that have been shown since, like, Windows 3.1, from 1990. Or was it 1991? Anyway, it says to choose what I want to be (When I grow up?). Since it’s me OC I’m restricted to his race. -Earth Pony >Pegasus -Unicorn Okay, now it’s asking me to choose whether or not I want to throw a fastball and ponify meself. No, I don’t think I will. Wait, there’s a text box over... here. The bottom left of the screen, hidden because only the developers were supposed to access it. I press it and it gives me a prompt. I enter: >AJ LOVES NERVEGEAR -Back Legs unlocked. Wonder what that does. I guess it’s just what it says on the tin. I choose OC. I’m at the character creation screen. Huh, kind of reminds me of a mix between Fallout and the Sims, the ones from the 1990s. (Well, the Sims was released in 2000, but it’s close enough.) >Gender Male >Mane I select the closest thing to a moptop I could find. It’s pretty close, but isn’t going all the way down to the eyes. Dark brown >Eyes Droopyish, kind of like I just woke up. Dark brown >Face Kind of thin, with puffy cheeks. >Fur coat Light cobalt >Voice =-----|--V--= That seems about right. It’s the voice that you hear during “Can’t Buy Me Love.” >Back Legs -o-|-V- >Continue Please make me cutie mark? I’d call it a butt talent tattoo, but this is Hasbro we’re talking about. Oh, hey, Photoshop 5.0, not like that’s 20 years outdated at all. I tried. It was supposed to look like a Zenith Model 17 acoustic with a white pickguard, but it looks a little more like a Martin D-28 acoustic. Well, that seems pretty close. Not the best, but it’s because they don’t have model manipulation. Or a polygon studio. The Mario Studio games had a polygon studio. That was 2000. Anyway, yeah, this looks... actually I’d rate at an 8/10. Of course, there was a limited number of assets there. All right, let’s start this. On second thought... I go back, and modify the cutie mark (I feel me masculinity slipping from me as I speak!) to be a green-labelled gramophone record. “Good luck,” a voice said, and I know I’m slightly crazy, but I could swear I heard it say “Try not to die!” Wait, this is My Little Pony. That wouldn’t get past their radar. Then again, it did get a PEGI 12 rating (which I confused with 13 even though I should know it doesn’t exist after eight years of living here.) --- 23 January 2020 (Either the year 1010, or the year 1052.) Ponyville, the Princedom of Equestria Midday I feel like I fell two storeys. The blackness fades from me eyes as I get back up. Oh damn, this is a pony game. I’ve got to get on all fours. Well, I don’t think anyone saw me. Wait, maybe they’d just think I was weird. Plus, this position is very slightly uncomfortable. It’s about the same as sitting on a chair. I look around, and notice several two-storey houses, a couple one-storey houses, and a bunch of shops. Some of these shops are weapons shops, some are potion shops, others are assorted other types, but all of this is made of wood, probably oak and birch. I flick me wrist down, and a menu pops up. I decide to look in me inventory. A brown leather instruction manual. Two, in fact. Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to look. I tap the icon for the flight manual. Who knows, maybe this is just a modified pilots’ manual. Probably not though, they paid enough for a fully-fledged history. The book falls onto the ground. I pick it up, and look inside. Huh, so that’s how I fly. Um, I wonder if there are miscellaneous items in this game. I walk over to a shop, and see a black stallion NPC with a sandy brown mane sitting behind the counter. “Hello! Care to buy anything?” the NPC(?) says. “Show me what you’ve got.” 200 bits, huh. I’m skint. Weapons, armour, stuff li-oh me mum. Is that a “Instruments” section? I open it. Spoon, Fork, Fender Telecaster clone. That was a description whiplash if I ever saw one. This Telecaster is painted in a tye-dye pattern, and is a left-handed model. It has several modifications, including a better microphone and a more sturdy neck. I’m pretty sure that the guitar is enhanced with magic, to make it not need an amp. I select it and a wooden sword (it’s dangerous to go alone, take this,) well really, dagger, and a bright blue UI box (yeah, real submersive,) pops up and reads Will you purchase these items for 190 bits? -Yes -No I wouldn’t have selected it otherwise. Yes. Well, now I have these items, I will need to make use of them soon. I leave the shop, and contin-yes! The opportunity arose! A user, more specifically, a dark orange Earth Pony with a lighter orange mane, and with the name “MrP0stman2001,” oh, this’ll be good. I grab me guitar, and start singing. Wait! Oh yes, wait just a minute, mister postman, (Someone else joined?) Wait! Wait, mister postman, ... And after a while (three minutes really, I’m just impatient,) we finish the song. Huh, it doesn’t need an amp. Anyway, I look at the guest. Huh he had the same ideas as me, more specifically, he made his Unicorn character with a green body, small eyes, and a brown moptop mane. His username is “Lenneigh.” So this is John, huh? “Hey,” I start looking at him with a bit of surprise in me face, “that was pretty good.” “Yeah, you too, I mean, being able to memorize that in the first place takes skill,” he compliments, looking around. “I have practise,” I backdoor brag. “Yeah, it’s noticeable, you sound like you’ve been doing it for years!” “Actually, I have. Back in... 2014, that was when the guitar found it’s way into me heart,” I inform him. We get to know each other nicely. Party Member added! Lenneigh --- 23 Winter I 1052 Just outside the Everfree 18:35-ish --- We’re walking to the forest, when suddenly, a bright light shrouds us. It’s... wait, I think this is an admin teleport. We’re being teleported by administrators. Oh goodness, they’re going to ban me because of the harassment of Mister Postman! It was a joke! I promise! Then, the light faded away. I open me eyes and saw that, like, a thousand multicoloured midget horses along with us (sorry Lenneigh!) Good (well, better,) that means that either everyone’s in trouble or it’s a meeting to discuss something important, like how apparently we aren’t allowed to log out. "Gamers and Players, May we have your attention please!" Okay, it’s a PSA...? Hopefully. Four Alicorns flew down. Well, at least they have a reason to be Alicorns. All of them are different colours and sizes. Really, though? Four? That means there’s no symmetry unless there’s two talking at once! It bugs me! "Everyone, we are the administrators of Equestria Legends Online. We are in charge of analyzing the system and keeping it running in top condition. However, right now we are experiencing several technical difficulties in the system. One of which, as some of you might have noticed, was the absence of the log out button in your player menus,” everyone who didn’t know about that gasped, “This is a major problem, since there is no other way for anyone to leave the game. We do not know the cause for this malfunction, but please bear with us as we try to fix this problem. While we try to find what's causing this, for your own safety, please remain in the Ponyville square for the time being,” one of the Alicorns said, I think it’s the leader. He’s all red with a long white mane and tail, and is the tallest. He definitely commands a bit of fear into the more timid. Cue speculation. The entire crowd bursts into murmurs, probably of “What do you think it could be?” “Maybe,” I theorise, “it’s the Nowhere Man.” “It could be, we have no proof he doesn’t exist, seeing as he doesn’t originate from our universe,” he says, turning to face me, looking thoughtful, “The only argument against him is LSD.” He does have a point. Suddenly, a Pegasus, flies up and asks "What do you mean you don't know what the problem is?!" That brought on a bit of attention. Actually, it brought on a lot of attention. Prepare for the worst? "This problem isn't from a lack in the system, so we don't know where the problem might have originated,” the Alicorn says. Well, that wasn’t the worst, but it was pretty bad. Suddenly, the lights shorted out. Oh great, now there’s no light. Just perfect. The light has been shut off. From light to darkness. Huh, that’d make a good album name. Then, he spoke, "Oh, I think that I might know what the problem is." "That would be me,” the Draconequus said, holding back grinning madly. "Hello, my little bronies,” then, he looked at the Admins, saying "And hello to you, my good administrators." “It is him!” I said, mostly to meself and Lenneigh. “What? How?!” Lenneigh asked, surprisedly. Unfortunately, he puts a silencing spell on me and me friend, so nobody but Lenneigh can hear me. I can still try, though. I stand up and yell out, “You’ll never get away with this, Nowhere Man!” Oh, young Macca, don’t be so foolish! It’s only me. Great, now he’s invading me mind. You bet. "How can you be the cause of the problem? You are a program in the system that we designed ourselves. You may have partial control of Equestria, but you don't have the power to change the layout of the system completely,” one of the Admins, probably the leader, exposite. Of course, if they give him some level of control, they give him all control, and in this case, they pretty much gave him as much power as a moderator. The Nowhere Man teleports to behind the lead admin, saying "Oh, but you already know the answer to that,” he refuted their assumptions, “You designed me to be exactly like the 'me' in your television show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic." He teleports to someone named “Shadowflame,” a character with a messy red mane and dark grey fur, afterward. "That really is a terrible name for a show, don't you think?" Actually kind of got a point, Nowhere Man. He then teleport-mounts an Admin, "You see, you gave me control over reality in Equestria,” a design flaw on their part, “But with this power, I hacked into the rest of the system, giving me power over the entire program. Oh, and to make sure that I stay in power, " Great, he’s just about to de-empower the Admins. What happened to the... I don’t know, lead developer? Shouldn’t he be here? The Nowhere Man cackles madly, after dropping the Admins to the ground, "Now the admins are just plain earth ponies, and I've also taken power over their admin codes. They won't be able to do a thing to change my world. As for all of you, I will let you keep your wings and horns while you play in a game of mine." Great, I might as well have bought Sword Art Online. That’s all this game is, SAO with a pony texture pack. Everyone yells with anger at the Nowhere Man, and he just snapped his fingers, and everyone but me and Lenneigh’s mouths were zipped. I’d assume since he already Silencio’d us, "My, I haven't even told you what the game is, and you're already anxious to get started. The game that I have in mind is a bit of a scavenger hunt. I have taken the Elements of Harmony and placed them all in secret hiding places, inside and outside of Equestria. Your job is to find the Elements and use them to reach me. There, we will have a fight to the death. If you manage to retrieve the elements and defeat me, then I will allow everyone to log out,” he says as if he thinks it’s impossible. He stares more intently at the crowd, lowering his head for a better look (Gee, he must really like them,) "But it won't be as easy as you think, you see I've added a few features to the game. In the original system, if you died in the game, you would instantly re-spawn in the last town you were in. But that's too boring for me, so I re-wrote the system so when anyone died, their avatar would be lost, and their Nervegear Helmet in the real world will fry their brains. In shorter words, if you die in the game, you will die in the real world." Oh, yeah, it overloads the circuits in the brain and sends it into shutdown. That’s not abusal of power, not at all. Great, even more reason I should have bought SAO, at least I don’t die in that game. That’s more than I can say than this game, what with the being killed by a cartoon based on love that really loves the colour pink. I’m not surprised, having watched this exact plot six years ago, but everyone else gasps. That gasp was very loud. Then, the Nowhere Man beheads himself by slicing his neck with his claw, for the laughs, and proceeds to pun it up, "No need to lose your head over it." I actually laughed as well. It was more of a chuckle, really, and then he spoke up, "And also, if there is any tampering with the helmet in the outside world, the helmet will kill the player instantly. Actually, quite a few of players have already died this way." Well, good thing I forgot to do that softmod I was going to, it saved me life. In fact, I’ve forgot about it completely until he said that. Unfortunately, I’m not out of the ballpark of death just yet. The Nowhere Man went on, "Now, in this game, there are a few rules. First, you cannot receive help from the outside world, that is, if you can even manage that. If I catch anypony communicating to the outside world, all of you will die. Second, any tampering with the system from inside the game, the rule-breaker will die instantly." Great, there goes me idea. The Nowhere Man laughed, "And just so you know, I have a couple of monster friends who want to go out of their designated areas, so I'm letting them roam a bit. Maybe you'll meet them when you go out of town, but they won't follow you into a city or town. They hate crowded places." I looked at me mate with a bit of hope. He returned the favour by looking at me with a ‘are you daft?’ expression plastered on his face. Well, at least? I mean, it’s better than having to deal with these enemies in the towns, or there’d be a lot more people dying. "But a few of you might have thought, 'There's only six elements, so this will be easy.' Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble," Then he proceeded to burp a large bubble as though he swallowed a bubble gum factory. Taking that phrase a little bit too seriously, huh, mate? "But I thought that only six elements would be boring. So I added four new elements." Well, that means more people can find one. That’s good. Then he burst the bubble, figuratively and literally. "They will be hidden all over Equestria, but they will be guarded by my favourite kinds of monsters, just like a boss of each element." I could swear he looked me straight in the eyes and mouthed “Good luck.” "If you find the element, and defeat its guardian in a boss battle, then you may walk away with it in hoof. But I must warn you, my guardians are no push-overs." There, I know I saw him silently say “You’ll need it.” Jeez, how long will this last? "Well, there you have it. So just remember, your lives are on the line, not mine." Well, that’s perfectly fair. "So, my little bronies, let the games begin!" We were teleported to Ponyville, and Shadowflame looked at his friend in complete horror. "What... just happened?" His friend replied, with a scared look on his face, "I think... this is more than a game now." Yeah, it stops being a game at around the point it becomes SAO. Shadowflame agreed, "This has become... murder." Yeah, I think we all heard that. Well, I guess it just takes a while to settle in. I want to pipe up, but something’s compelling me not to. I don’t know. Just in case I don’t come back, this is McColtney, over and out.