//------------------------------// // Prologue: The Thirteenth Day // Story: The Best of All Worlds // by NerfedFalcon //------------------------------// I needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of people in the building. I knew that it would be crowded, but since it was my first convention, I’d underestimated just how crowded it would be. People everywhere were rushing to booths or taking photos of characters they recognised. I’d bought a few things that I thought looked cool, but I hadn’t made a specific costume, so I was just another part of the crowd. That made it even worse; nobody would make a space around me to admire the costume. Seeing an empty conference room, I stepped inside, closing the door and taking a few deep breaths. I could still hear the muted sounds of hustle and bustle outside, but I definitely felt good to be away from anyone else. “Over here, stranger. Got some rare things on sale...” “Nope.” I’d heard the news reports, of course. It was the biggest story of the season. A serial kidnapping case involving people at conventions, and the last person they’d spoken to was the guy who was in the room with me right now, disguised as the merchant from the game Resident Evil 4. Whether it was one man, a group or copycats didn’t concern me. I didn’t want anything to do with him. I turned to open the door and return to the crowd, but the door was locked. I tried to push it back open, but it wouldn’t budge. A few punches later, I resorted to trying to kick it down. The merchant just chuckled behind me, but I ignored him as best I could. Nobody on the other side seemed to be hearing me no matter how hard I pounded, until eventually the door opened under my continued pounding and I fell through to the other side. Nobody was there. An entire convention full of people, two thousand or more, had just disappeared all at once. “What the fuck...?” “They’re all still there, stranger. It’s just you and me in here.” I didn’t expect a reply, and I hardly noticed I’d been given one to form my own reply to. I just stared into the deserted building, all four storeys of the luxurious convention centre feeling like a ghost town. “Stranger?” “You...” I turned around, but the merchant had already gone. Turning again, he was standing inside the main lobby, a few paces away from me. “How are you doing this? What did you do with everyone out there?” “I already told you, stranger. They’re all still enjoying the convention. I just... borrowed you for a bit. This isn’t the world you know.” I was seriously disturbed by the turn of events. I pinched myself, but nothing changed. “You may have doubts, but I’m sure you’ll come to understand eventually...” “So what happens now?” I asked, leaning over the railing. The ground was one floor below, but I didn’t feel like jumping just yet. “You put a rag over my face and I wake up three days later in a bathtub full of ice with one less kidney?” The merchant laughed openly at the statement, and I folded my arms in exasperation. “Nothing so pedantic, stranger. What happens now is you take a look at my wares. I'm sure you'll find something worth buyin'. “But first...” He looked me over a few times, walking around behind me and taking a very close look at my clothes. I’d worn a red waist-length jacket, open, and a blue scarf that I’d found in the closet at home. I also had a wooden sword I’d picked up from a novelty shop near the convention centre. It was pretty difficult to get inside, but I thought it’d give some sort of impression that I hadn’t thought of at the time. “Is this a costume of your own devising, stranger?” I shrugged. “Yeah. That a problem?” “Normally, I would sell you something to... complete the costume. Unfortunately, since you’re not anyone I recognise, I have nothing.” He murmured a few things to himself, and I almost felt bad. He was still a complete lunatic, and a dangerous one judging by what he’d done before, but I wanted to give him something to work on, if only so he’d stop talking to me sooner. “I guess it’s the kind of a thing you’d see in a Final Fantasy game?” He seemed to light up behind his mask at that, and chuckled again. “In that case... you can’t be a hero without a steed.” He opened his jacket, revealing large amounts of various objects, and one among them that caught my eye: an egg, sitting in a pocket just exposed enough to make it clear what it was. “And I have just the one for you. I’ll even throw in the riding gear for free.” “Right... How much do you want for it?” He chuckled again. “Where you’re going, your paper money won’t do you much good. And a beast like this doesn’t come along every day. I’ll need all the money you have. And one other thing besides.” I sighed as I pulled out my wallet. “This had better not lead to me losing a kidney.” “That was the last thing on my mind, stranger. No...” He pulled a clipboard from under his jacket, with a pen and a piece of paper held under the clip. “A contract.” I looked through it, but there was only one piece of paper, and the text on it was large enough to read easily. “Just the usual matters.” “What’s the catch?” I asked, frowning and squinting as if it would reveal more fine print. It didn’t appear, and I started to wonder just who the merchant was, but he spoke again before I could ask. “None whatsoever.” I put the pen to the paper at that, but he held up a hand and interrupted me. “But I will expect you to remember it, stranger.” Nodding, I signed it, and he chuckled again, taking the egg out of his pocket with one hand and accepting the clipboard with the other. “Take good care of her. We’ll be seeing each other again shortly, if all goes as planned...” “What plan?” No response, only more chuckling. I started to feel dizzy all of a sudden, and nearly dropped the egg as I fell to the ground. I carefully put it down before I fell next to it. The world around me took on a red tint, as the now-cackling merchant’s mask disappeared, devoured by a hundred jagged teeth in the mouth behind it— ~~ “Kweh! Kweh, kweh!” The squawking jerked me awake, and I quickly stood up, already awake from the shock. Karin was panicking, perhaps from my own reaction to the dream turning surreal, and a panicked Chocobo could be dangerous with their talons and beaks. “Easy, girl! Easy,” I coaxed her, moving in closer carefully. I started to rub her neck, knowing that she liked it. She calmed down quickly; she’d bonded with me almost as soon as she saw me. I still didn’t know how long I’d been unconscious for her to be an adult as soon as I met her, assuming she actually hatched from the egg the merchant gave me. It was just another question that would probably never go answered. It was just Karin and me, travelling across an empty plain that seemed to stretch to eternity in every direction. It was in the hope that eventually I’d come across someone or something else that we travelled. For the last two days, I’d been following a river upstream, giving me an opportunity to wash myself. I wasn’t too worried about modesty; the only other one around was Karin, and I doubted she had any concept either way of what decency was. Before I started, I drank from the river, and took a look at myself in the rippling reflection. I still couldn’t grow any facial hair, unfortunately, making me look a lot younger than I actually was. I remembered again, though, that that didn’t matter. Karin was preening herself as she did every morning, usually after waking me up by rolling me around with her beak. She seemed to find it funny, but I didn’t hate her for it. I would probably just lose sight of my goal and sleep forever if it wasn’t for her wanting to move on with me. I watched her methodically run over her wings, pull out and straighten feathers, and even flick out her tail feathers as I bathed. She finished at about the same time I did, and I pulled a large green herb out of a saddle bag. She ate it as I wondered once again why I didn’t have to eat. It had been twelve days since I arrived here, and despite having not eaten a single thing, I felt completely fine. It was just another mystery that would never be answered by the golden plains surrounding me in every direction. Karin sat down to let me saddle her, using motions that I never remembered learning but could perform from muscle memory. Before I put the bags back on the saddle, I checked over my meagre list of possessions: a bundle of the herbs Karin liked; an empty leather-bound journal; my clothes, naturally; and the wooden sword. I hadn’t ever had to use it, but I kept it around anyway, just in case it ever came in handy. A chirp pulled my attention to Karin, who had stood up and was stepping back and forth, eager to get going again. I’d done everything I needed to as well, so I swung myself into her saddle and clutched the reins. Tapping once with them, I felt her jerk forward into motion, taking almost no time to accelerate before settling into a rapid but steady gait up the river to, I presumed, our destiny. Between the rushing of the air and the river, I quickly settled into the ride, letting Karin’s instincts take over as she ran along the river’s bank. Occasionally, I turned from side to side, watching a mesa pass by on my left side. It must have been miles away for how slowly it was moving, but even from the distance it was, it seemed huge. Karin didn’t turn towards it at all; she was too focused on moving forward, though I couldn’t blame her. The sun bore down on us as it reached its zenith, and Karin eventually came to a stop. I could see that she was sweating, and felt that I was too. “Alright, girl, I get it,” I said as I dismounted. I looked around for any kind of shade, perhaps a pointless effort in the middle of a flat plain, and quickly spotted a large rock nearby. Taking the reins in one hand, I walked her to the rock, and she gratefully lay down behind it, warbling as I removed the saddle. I watched her sleep for a few hours, finding a kind of Zen peace in the way her chest moved rhythmically up and down. Sometimes I placed a hand on her neck for a moment, gently so as not to wake her up, but still able to feel her breathing in sync with the movement. I almost fell asleep myself before I spotted something on the horizon. A strange light was coming from a distance away, glowing a strange purple against the blue sky and yellow ground. It might have been a mirage, but anything that was a different colour to the endless plains, I thought, was worth checking out. As Karin woke up, perhaps noticing my anticipation, she stretched out as best she could without being exposed to the sun’s harsh light. Despite the heat, she willingly let me saddle and mount her, and I pointed her towards the strange light I’d seen before. We set off again, more slowly than before due to the heat. When we came to the river, Karin looked down at it, but splashed through it and kept going without a complaint. The light grew larger and closer, before it suddenly disappeared, revealing something in its place. I couldn’t make it out clearly, but it seemed to be the same purple as the light, still starkly contrasted against the dirt it lay on. It shifted as I grew closer, and I reined Karin in to a dead stop close enough to make out what the object was. As it stood up, I saw that it was a unicorn, though much smaller than I’d imagined unicorns to be. She, or I assumed it was a mare, only seemed to be about four and a half feet tall, not counting her horn or her ears. She was also purple all over, with a dark purple mane and tail. She looked up at me with wide purple eyes, before studying my Chocobo and then the ground beneath her. I dismounted, leaving Karin standing behind me. As the unicorn turned, I noticed something else interesting once I had a side view of her: she had wings, and a strange pink tattoo on her flank. Before I could ask myself what the deal was, she asked, “Why am I in the Great Plains?” “Kweh?” “And why is there a strange bird with something growing out of its back?” “What?” “Just what is going on?” “I wish I knew,” I replied, dismounting Karin to prove that I wasn’t just a parasitic growth on her. “But you might want to not call things ‘strange’ at a whim, considering you’re a talking winged unicorn with a tattoo on her ass.” “I’m a pony! I’m not strange!” I shook my head dismissively. “Didn’t have ponies like you where I came from, so from where I’m standing, you really are. And if you don’t see my point, then I don’t think we’ll enjoy each other’s company much.” “Wait!” she cried as I started walking back towards Karin. “I didn’t really mean it... I meant that your bird was strange, not...” Karin let out an angry ‘kweh’ and took a step towards the pony, her eyes narrowed dangerously, but I reined her in despite her annoyance. “You might want to be a little more careful, ‘pony’. Chocobos are smarter than they look.” Making sure that she was relatively stable, I let go of the reins and walked up to the pony. “Maybe we should start again. You seem nice enough, if a little ignorant.” “Hey!” “And I’m a bit of a jerk, but that’s just part of my roguish charm.” I laughed at that, but the pony didn’t, so I decided to try something else. “So what’s a nice young lady like you doing in a place like this?” The pony looked off to the side slightly, completely missing the pickup line. “I wish I knew. I woke up in the middle of the night in my palace, and then... there was a bright light, and I was here.” “Do you remember anything else before that? Anything you might be able to tell me?” She shook her head. “I feel like I should remember a lot of things...” As she said that, she collapsed. I moved in to help her, but she quickly said she was fine. “Just a little tired, is all.” Even so, I offered her my hand to help her up, which she eventually took with her foreleg. That’s when things got weird. As soon as my hand touched hers, another bright light started to surround her, except this one was pure white instead of her coat’s purple. She looked as surprised as I was, and even Karin was making surprised noises behind me. My arm started to feel strange, but I couldn’t let go of her, even as the feeling spread through to the rest of my body. All at once, it disappeared again, passing down through my arm into the pony. When the light faded, she wasn’t a pony anymore. Her tail had disappeared entirely, and most of her body was covered in a skintight purple costume, only exposing her shoulders, though those were covered by a star-patterned cloak; thighs; and face. As I noticed the tattoo had moved to the inside of her right thigh, I quickly averted my gaze, feeling that the costume was going rather too far. There was no denying what had happened, though: somehow, the pony had turned into another human. As she tried to stand up, she realised that her balance had changed, and she gasped. I respected that she didn’t scream despite her surprise, and helped her to assume a more human posture. As she brushed herself off, she started to take in the details of her new form, studying how I moved and stood to help herself. “Well, at least now we’re both strange,” I said, shrugging. “Indeed, stranger,” a raspy voice said from behind me, and I turned around as the ex-pony gasped again. “I apologise that I could not meet you sooner. But... there were still a few things left to do, which have now been done.” I drew my sword and tried to frown as best I could. “What are you talking about?” “The two of you have been chosen to play the Game.” The way he said ‘game’ implied a capital letter, and the statement threw me off. As neither of us said anything, and Karin squawked confusedly, he continued, “It is a game created from the best of all worlds that has been played since the dawn of time. The greatest heroes and darkest villains of existence and history have played the Game, and now...” he chuckled again, “you have been chosen to join them. “I am not the Game’s creator, before you ask,” he added as I opened my mouth. “I am merely an arbiter, one who oversees the Game to ensure that all play by the rules. I have other roles as well, but first...” He waved a hand between the two of us. “I am sure you have many questions. I shall accept one from each of you. Choose wisely.” The girl spoke first. “Where are we right now?” He chuckled and swept his hand around. “This land is known as Equestria.” He pointed at her and added, “But it is not the Equestria you know. It is one where ponies have learned to harness magical power, and power their entire society by it. But nothing comes without a cost...” “You said you had roles besides an arbiter,” I recalled. “What exactly do you mean by that?” “I am a merchant first and foremost,” he replied, opening his coat again. “There are many beasts that roam this land, and you will doubtless come into conflict with them and with others. Any battles you win will earn you a bounty, which I shall record for you. I can reimburse you in the local currency, of course... but also in things that money can’t buy.” “Kweh, kweh kweh?” Karin suddenly asked. The merchant chuckled, before replying in a similar series of chirps, pointing towards the horizon. “Now, I must leave you. But one more thing... That book you have,” he said, pointing towards the saddlebag where it sat. “You may well find it very useful. That is all, for now. I wish you good luck in the Game, for you cannot leave except by two methods. Win... or die. Oh, and stranger. Remember the contract. Bad things will happen if you forget.” He started chuckling as I recalled the single sentence written on the contract: I understand that I may not have control over every outcome, but nonetheless take responsibility for all actions I undertake, and accept this fate of my own free will. His chuckling suddenly cut off as he dropped something on the ground and a large amount of smoke exploded everywhere. When it cleared, and the girl and I stopped coughing, he was gone. “Who was he?” the girl asked. I shook my head. “A merchant. And a few more things besides, but that’s just another question that needs answering.” I looked around, and then continued, “We need to find some other people. Maybe there’s a town somewhere, but...” “Kweh!” Karin interrupted, pointing with her wing and her beak towards the horizon. I squinted, trying to see what she was talking about, and spotted what looked like rising smoke. “Kweh, kweh?” “Good girl,” I replied, rubbing her neck again. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and where there’s fire there’s civilisation. We should go check that out.” I mounted Karin, reaching out a hand to pull the girl onto her back as well. “There’s plenty of room, and I’m sure she won’t try to throw you off. Even though you insulted her. Right, girl?” Karin squawked in what I thought was agreement. “Just be sure to hang on tight.” As the girl climbed into the saddle behind me, I added, “Oh, and I can’t just keep calling you ‘pony’, especially not now. You got a name?” She thought for a moment, presumably trying to remember. “Twilight Sparkle,” she said at last, grabbing me around my waist. “Call me Soren. It’s as good a name as any,” I replied. “My Chocobo is Karin. And you might want to hold on tighter than that.” As Twilight asked why, I snapped the reins down, and Karin set off quickly. Yelping, Twilight quickly tightened her grip on me and shifted back into a stable position, and I laughed to myself. At least she hadn’t fallen off completely the way I had. Leaving nothing behind but a trail of clawed footprints, we set off towards adventure.