VRMMOEQGRPG

by Yarael-BJ-Poof

Episode Two: Horror

10.26.16 04:35P F#01

" Excuse me, pardon me."

Twilight Sparkle slid her way through the dense crowd. Following some ways behind her was Sunset Shimmer, carrying an enormous reproduction of a famous statue on her shoulders.

Twilight looked around the crowd and finally saw some faces she recognized. She went over and said, "Um, hi, Applejack. Rainbow. Pinkie. Rarity. I can explain..."

"Yeah, you'd better explain!" Rainbow poked Twilight's chest with her finger. "We just had a horrible time being embarrassed by Little Miss Eminem over here..."

She pointed to Pinkie, who said, "I'm a certified prostitute!"

"...And now we have this." She looked up at the approaching Sunset, and the mortifyingly humiliating statue. "This is our first time playing this game. We want it to be a good experience, not a living version of America's Funniest Home Videos!"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a clearly fatigued Sunset. "Hey guys. Sorry it took so long. It's a big crowd, and I had...this..."

Applejack took a step forward. "Explain yourself. Now."

Sunset slammed the statue down on the cobblestone street and began, "When we spawned here, we had no idea where any of you were. So we figured you might be in the market somewhere. We browsed around, until we came to this sculptor who specialized in bread art."

Applejack wondered, "Bread art?"

Rainbow wondered, "Bread art?"

Rarity wondered, "Bread art?"

Pinkie giggled, "Bread art online."

Sunset continued, "He said his business wasn't going too well, so he said he would take a request for 80% off of his normal charging price. That's where Twilight got this idea in her head to get this."

Twilight added sheepishly, "I'm kind of a fan of fine art, and I just thought the Venus de Milo would be a nice piece of art to, you know, have around."

Applejack rubbed her face. "You do realize that we don't have anywhere to live in this game, right? If we had a house or somethin', it could go in the front yard or somewhere. But no, we don't have a place to live, and that...monstrosity...really needs to be let go."

Sunset looked relieved. "That's good. It only cost five credits. It weighs a ton and it's awkward." she looked it over. "Although if we had someone stronger to carry it..."

All eyes went to Applejack.

"No!" Applejack yelled. "There is no way in hell Ah am luggin' that humongous piece of bird food around just because it's 'fine art'."

Rarity looked at it. "But you do have to admire the effort that went into making this. I could use it as a model if I open up a tailoring business here."

Rainbow looked at it. "Yeah, there sure is a lot of detail." It was indeed detailed, especially around the more sensitive parts. "Real effort, right there."

Sunset nodded. "The whole thing took him around ten minutes. He had this enormous loaf of something like sourdough behind his tent." She scanned the whole statue, top to bottom. "I'll bet he was thirsty."

The sound of the 5:00 bell interrupted any further conversation. Applejack said, "Look, Twilight. Can't we just leave this here for someone else?"

Twilight agreed with visible reluctance. Pinkie got a pen out of nowhere and wrote "MAKE OFFER" on each breast.

The group headed toward the plaza gate, where they could finally explore the vast world of Sword Art Online. It was already open and a steady stream of players was walking in and out.

Sunset stopped the group, and they all linked arms. "Are you guys ready?"

They all nodded, then took a tandem step onto the dirt road. They were finally starting their quest.

As a few hours passed, the girls got acquainted with some people they met, practice their fighting skills with harmless sword duels, and went for a swim in one of the many lakes. Pinkie insisted on skinny dipping. All around, it was agreed that this was the best game to ever exist in all of history, ever.

Around 7:00, the sun started to sink behind the hills. The sky turned a combination of soft purple and robust orange. They could only gasp at the wonder of it all.

"Whoever coded this game musta trained for decades!" Rainbow said. "You know, he must have started back when the computers were the size of warehouses."

Rarity said, "I have actually seen a computer like that. My mother and father used to own one, before it crashed and burned down the house."

Twilight was shocked. "Your house burned down? What happened? Was everyone okay? Did any valuable property get lost?"

Rarity sighed. "Yes, our most prized possessions were all destroyed, but human life matters more."

Pinkie pretended like no one had said anything and randomly burst out, "Did you notice there's nobody in this whole giant area but us?"

Sunset rubbed her ear and said, "No I didn't, Pinkie, you could have used a normal speaking voice to ask that."

Pinkie was insistent. "I'm serious! We're in this hugegantic open field with floating lakes around it with a beautiful sunset to bask in, and there's nobody else around to enjoy it too!"

Rainbow said, "That's not entirely true. I can see a couple of people over on the other side of the field." She got a visor from her inventory pack and put it on. It acted as a high-powered pair of binoculars.

"Looks like two dudes, one with black hair, one with red hair...looks like they're talking..."

"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie started jumping. "We should get their attention and see if they wanna join us!"

Before Pinkie could get a voice amplifier out of her inventory pack, they all leaped up and grabbed her arms, preventing her from pulling anything out.

"Aw, you guys are party poopers."

"Nope, we're just trying to save other people's sanity." Applejack said with a smirk.

"The question is, what if Pinkie affects their sanity without ever coming into contact with them?" Sunset smiled.

Twilight didn't get the joke and asked, "Is that possible? How could someone affect another person's mental stability without physical contact?"

Rarity laughed, "It's possible, just get used to Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie dabbed.

"It's getting kind of late," Rainbow noted. "I guess we'd better get back to our real lives, huh?"

Everyone agreed. They did have school tomorrow, even though Principal Celestia gave them all free passes for the day.

"It's been loads a'fun so far," Applejack said. "See y'all tomorrow in the real world."

Rarity said, "Oh yes, positively. And maybe we can come back here on the weekend!"

Sunset said, "You bet." She turned to Twilight and asked, "Are you enjoying this game?"

Twilight answered, "Yes I am. It turned out to exceed my original expectations. Most other games don't let you hang out with your friends all day."

They all shared a laugh and opened their menus to logout.

The logout button wasn't there.

"What the hell?" Rainbow shouted. "Why can't we logout? It's a freaking online game, there's gotta be a way to get out!"

The eight o'clock bell rang in the distance.

"Ah shoot," Applejack said. "Ah gotta help Big Macintosh with the evenin' chores!"

"And I have a piano lesson at 8:15!" Rarity exclaimed.

"I gotta get to my baseball game!" Rainbow said. "I'm practically carrying the whole team on my shoulders!"

"I need to be at my book club meeting!" Twilight gasped.

"I have a pizza coming to my apartment! Its probably there and I don't want to keep the guy waiting!" Sunset said.

"I don't know where I have to be, I just wanna get out of here!!!" Pinkie screamed.

All of a sudden, they felt light-headed. A blue light engulfed them. In about a second, that were back at the plaza again. So were all the other players. There was general commotion going on, with people talking among themselves about what just happened.

Pinkie pointed upwards and said, "Look!"

A red light was flashing in the sky, with a single word on it: WARNING.

It was soon joined by thousands of other identical red lights, until they covered the whole sky, bathing the area in an ominous red glow.

The crowd gasped as some sticky liquid resembling blood started oozing out of the lights. It floated in the air and took a humanoid shape, before transforming into a hooded figure with a long cloak.

"Is that the game master?" someone asked. The figure was silent, until it finally spoke.

It raised its arms and said in an unusually friendly voice, "Attention, players. Welcome to my world."

Rainbow thought, "Your world? Does this world have a king or a god or something?"

"My name is Akihito Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world."

Applejack thought, "You're in control? Ya mean we don't get to do our own free will? This sucks."

"I'm sure most of you have noticed an item missing for your main menu, the logout button. I can assure you that this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect."

Rarity thought, "How could it not be a defect? Is this how they're making games nowadays?"

"This is how Sword Art Online was meant to be. You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the nerve gear from your head."

Arnold thought, "I knew I should have stayed in the real world today."

"If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the nerve gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain, and ending your life."

Terror struck everyone deep in the gut. Most were too shocked to move. Some general chatter could be heard, usually along the lines of "What?" and "That's such BS."

"Despite my warning, the family and friends of some of the players have already attempted removing the nerve gear. An unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has 213 less players tban when it began. They've been deleted from Aincrad and the real world."

Twilight stammered, "But, but, how would the players' family and friends have known about his warning? Only those who are in the game can see and hear him."

Sunset answered, "I don't know, but let's hope none of our family or friends tries to attempt that." In her head she added, "Man, am I glad I live alone..."

Computer screens showing newly deceased players and their grieving family members swirled around the shadowy figure of Akihito Kayaba. "As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths."

Rainbow thought, "Oh god, I really hope my fking dad saw that whole he was watching tv!"

Twilight thought, "Oh my, I really hope someone tells my parents about this before that try to remove my nerve gear!"

"It's safe to assume that the likelihood of a nerve gear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you comfort as you try to clear the game."

It didn't.

"You must remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the server. Forever. And the nerve gear wil simultaneously destroy your brain."

Many players were on the verge of tears. Rarity was one of them. A single collective thought arose from the crowd: Their death in the game leading to their death in real life. Every last individual felt as if they had been punched in the gut.

"There's only one way for a player to escape now: you must clear the game. Right now you are gathered on Floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next level. If you can defeat the boss on Floor 100, you will clear the game."

"What?!" Sunset shouted. "That's impossible! I've heard this game is even harder than Dark Souls!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Why should we believe any of the crap you're saying?!"

Someone else shouted, "Even the beta testers never made it that high!"

While his face was invisible, it was obvious that Akihiko Kayaba was enjoying terrorizing everyone with their lives at stake. "Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player."

Everyone opened their item packs and selected the new "present". It was a simple handheld mirror. Rainbow looked at the reflection of her eyeshadowed face and half-shaven hair and wondered if she had gone overboard with the avatar design. But then, all the mirrors glowed. The plaza was engulfed in a bright light. All the players felt pain in their faces, as if their faces were being moved around.

When the light died down, it seemed like nothing had happened. Until everyone looked in the mirrors again. They were themselves. They now sported their true faces, their true hairstyles, and their true body shape. Rainbow wasn't disappointed, but she did miss her half-shaven hair.

The murmur of "who are you" floated through the crowd. There were quite a lot of rather ugly people in the crowd now, they were trying to hide behind sexy player characters.

The entity spoke again. "I'll bet you are all thinking right now, 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayabo, developer of Sword Art Online and nerve gear, do this?' Ultimately, my goal was a simple one: the reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. Thus ends the tutorial, and marks the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck."

With those words, Akihito Kayaba disintegrated into the sticky liquid again and vaporized. The red sky went away, leaving the once calm setting sun to reign once again.

For a minute, everything was silent. You could have heard a hat dropping from the other side of the plaza. And then realization hit.

"AAAAAAAAA!!!"

"OH MY GOOOOOOOOD!!!"

"I HAVE A MEETING AFTER THIS!!!"

The six girls just stood there with heavy hearts. They were not leaving this game.

In a daze, they walked in six different directions. Rainbow went to an alley where there appeared to be no one. She looked down through it and hung her head. She didn't see the figure rushing towards her.

They both fell to the ground. Rainbow rubbed her head and was about to say something about how people would not stop hitting her, but she stopped.

She recognized him.

Author's Note:

YO what's goin on guys? This was quite the entertaining chapter to write, with going back to the first episode to copy down all of Akihito Kayaba's quotes. But I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

And let me know what you thought of all the players' reactions to AK's news. I think I did a pretty good job conveying all the sheer terror and dread they must have felt. Feedback is always appreciated!

Also, I TOLD YA Kirito was gonna be in here! You never doubted it for a second did ya?

Comments

[Yarael-BJ-Poof]

7715444 I have not watched season three yet, so can we please be careful about spoilers?
After all, I'm pretty new to the SAO fandom, I only got into the show less than a month ago. And I'm only on S1E7, so I'm just watching as I go along and getting inspired for more story ideas.
And thank you so much for the positive feedback, I genuinely appreciate it.

[violet_star_267]

SSQQQUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! I'm gonna love this story!!!!
...............................................
Okay, voilet, woosa! Sorry 'bout that, I kinda had a fangasm, sorry!
I'm really liking this story. I've watched every episode of Sao, Sao II, even the ova's! So I'm really looking forward to some good storytelling. Better be accurate, or ill brohoof your ass! (I'm just kidding. Little joke there!)

[Yarael-BJ-Poof]

7715618 Glad to see you're enjoying it And I'm making it a point to be true to the story, so my ass doesn't have anything to worry about! XD
But seriously, my brain needs a chance to rest for a while, I've been up all night and I've been thinking about story material, rewatching the first episode, and studying for a few tests I have to take next week, not to mention being hyper busy with my job. So yeah, give it about 2-3 weeks and I'll be back on track again!

[violet_star_267]

7715629
No worries Take your time! I understand the studying for a test I graduated last June, so its still fresh in my mind
Good luck on your tests! And try to get some sleep (says the person up at 4:00am )

[Yarael-BJ-Poof]

7715638 Thanks, I know there's no need to rush being tomorrow today is Saturday, but I just want to be sure I don't get Fs.

[violet_star_267]

7715643 no prob! Enjoy your Saturday!
lovethispic.com/uploaded_images/100301-It-s-Saturday.jpg?1

[Massager 32]

So is there going to be a relationship with rainbow dash and Kirito.
Also what's going to happen with the others where are they going

[Yarael-BJ-Poof]

7715686 It was possible at some point, but I don't ship Kirito with anyone except Asuna I haven't planned too far ahead with the story yet, but I'll probably have Rainbow have a sort of close bond with Kirito like she has with Fluttershy, while Kirito still has a romantic relationship with Asuna.
And the others will be back, don't worry. I'm making it a point for this to be a Mane Six story and not a Rainbow Dash story, which is hard because all plot points seem to be around Rainbow Dash. Maybe I'll have a chapter about another Mane Six member, or two or three.

[Lord Nopony]

OMG! Rainbow must have the devil's own luck! She's run into Kirito! But what about the others?! Keep it up!

P.S. Found some errors.

1: Arnold thought, "I knew I should have stayed in the real world today."
WHO IS ARNOLD?!

2: Kayabo = (Kayaba)

FYI.

[LWOverFlow]

Kirito xD nice

[Yarael-BJ-Poof]

7716293 1. That wasn't an error, that was a Magic School Bus reference.
2. I was watching it with subtitles, and it said Kayabo...

EDIT: Nevermind, it was a typo. I'll fix it at some point