.hack//EQUESTRIA

by NovaSethyr

Who Are You?

I woke up to the sound of a babbling brook.

You know, you always read about how a brook babbles in books and stuff, but I could see what they meant as I listened to the calming sounds of the water moving by. I opened my eyes and got a harsh glare of sunlight in my retinas. This is supposed to be a game, and all, but seriously. Did they have to make the pain so realistic?

I sat up and look around, before realizing that in doing so I now started to feel pain in my neck. How long was I out? I voiced my thought in case the universe decided to grow a mouth and answer me directly. Instead, the universe opted to make my throat extremely dry for speaking. I looked around for the brook that had been babbling quietly to me, and quickly spotted it over to my left.

I shakily stood on my legs before giving the ground a big ol’ hug with my face. Hugging the ground gave me a bruise on my cheek, so I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. Sorry, ground, you just aren’t loved enough. I once again got to my hooves and successfully locked my knees, keeping me upright. Hooray for joint control! I looked around at my surroundings. And that’s when I noticed that feeling.

You know that feeling that something is off about the world but you can’t place your hoof on it? It was kind of that feeling multiplied by about a hundred. I was in a forest, which immediately set off alarm bells in my head but I couldn’t remember for the life of me why. I tried to remember what was wrong with everything when I saw something rustle in the bushes out of the corner of my eye. There, by the creek, I saw a white-furred foal happily drinking up water.

I was reminded of my own thirst as the foal - a filly, from the looks of it- kept ignoring me and drank that clear, cool, refreshing, delicious-looking water. I decided to implore my needs by slowly making my way towards the creek, and then unceremoniously dumping my head into the water. Luckily, the water was just deep enough for my head without cracking my skull open. The loud splash I made must have attracted the filly’s attention by now, but it didn’t stop me from taking a big gulp of water.

And I wasn’t disappointed either, the water was indeed fresh and cool. I must have taken a few mouthfuls before deciding I have had enough. I stuck my head back in the air and let the air rush into my lungs with a long gasp. Thoroughly satisfied, I turned my attention back to the filly.

And it was indeed a filly, no older than nine or ten. She didn’t wear anything, which allowed me to inspect her cutie mark. But alas, she was a blank flank. Foals usually get their marks around the age of six, but it’s not unheard of to have ponies discover their special talent in their puberty years. She stared at me with wide green eyes, and a yellow mane pulled back into a short pony tail.

Her white fur was… wait… it wasn’t white fur. It was a dullish orange color. I looked back at her eyes, and noticed they weren’t green, but a dark brown now. Making sure I wasn’t seeing things, I checked her mane. Sure enough, it wasn’t a pale yellow anymore, but a light red.

In fact, if I can concentrate hard enough, I can see the changes in color being made. It was a slow transition, and if I wasn’t paying attention I wouldn’t be able to see it at all. Her entire being changed colors slowly, but they never stayed on one color longer than any other. It was definitely a strange sight to behold. The alarm bells in my head rang louder, but I shoved them back to the depths of my mind.

I must have been staring at her for longer than I thought. She lowered her gaze after a moment and blushed; from being ogled at by a strange pony, probably. So I decided to break the ice first.

“Heya, kid. What’s up?”

She flinched at being suddenly addressed at. If her look of curiosity made her eyes wide, then her look of utter surprise made them look like dinner plates. I stood there, waiting for her to respond. A few minutes have passed by now, I thi-

You can see me?

HOLY LUNA ON A CARNIVAL RIDE WITH COTTON CANDY!

She decided that using her mouth to speak was a silly idea and instead opted to insert her thoughts directly into my mind. And that was loud. Don’t ask me how it was loud when it was only in my head. It just was. I felt my throat become hoarse, and I realize I was probably screaming in pain. I felt something warm and sticky drip from my ears. Yeah, telepathy hurts.

Oh, I apologize for giving you pain. I have never really spoken with another pony in a very long time and I forget how much I must restrain myself.

I wasn’t sure if she read my mind, or just noticed the blood that came out of my ears or something. I really hoped it wasn’t the former, no pony will be safe in their own mind!

Yes, telepathy does wonders for revealing what a pony thinks what they mean to keep secret.

Great. It was the former. Alright, conversations in my mind, that’s a start. Although I could get used to this, I would like to keep my thoughts to myself and actually speak when I want you to listen, alright? I wet my hoof in the brook and cleaned the blood from my ears, amazed that I can still hear anything at all.

As you wish, Jen.

I don’t think any words could adequately describe what I felt right at that exact moment. Although if I had to guess, it would be along the lines of ‘I really hate telepathy.’

Oh, I apologize again. I’m not too sure how to strictly control myself around ponies, considering you’re probably the first one I’ve met.

Alright, ignoring what that could mean, I focused on teaching her to use her mouth and not invade my mind. I decided to demonstrate. “So you open your mouth and make sound with your voice.” Okay, that was a horrible example, so sue me. I’m not exactly an expert on teaching mind-reading fillies how to talk.

So it would be something like… “th-is?”

The word was barely audible, I actually thought it was more of a squeak than a word. When I realized she actually spoke, I smiled. I actually taught something for once! Where’s my cookie?

“Wh-y wou-ld yo-u g-et a coo-kie?”

She stumbled along her words trying to convey the meaning, and I wondered if a little more practice would help. No harm in having a conversation with a psychic pony, was there? “Well, I’d want a cookie because I’m rather hungry. But enough about my necessary needs to live, let’s talk about you.”

She seemed rather surprised, at first. Then she suddenly stared off into space and her eyes widened in what looked like surprise.

You can’t stay here! They’re coming! I’ll get you back to where you came from, but I’ll have to wipe your memory as well; I can’t let the possibility of them using you to find met!

Wait, what? Who are they? “What’s going on-”

Darkness surrounded me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A splash of icy cold water hits my face and I bolt upright in shock. My eyes cursed me for opening them when I felt the stabbing pain of light. After I adjusted my eyesight I examined my surroundings; the vast blue of the lakes, the rolling hills in the distance, and Crimson Axe and Refinity’s worried faces brought me back to reality. Well, as close to reality as the game can get. Which is, in fact, pretty damn close.

I shivered as the wind made my wet fur nearly freeze me on the spot. I briefly wondered if using the Vak Don spell would warm me up before I remembered that I can’t cast it outside of battle. I would have if I could, I hate being cold!

“Look at him now, Crimson! He’s positively drenched, and now he’s shivering his fur off! I told you; we could have woken him up without having to resort to such a brutish action.”

“Oh come off it, Ref. He’s fine! He just needs to kill a few more goblins to warm himself up!” Crimson gave one of her trademark evil grins at the thought, and I shivered from more than just the wind.

“I don’t think I want to do anymore killing, thanks.” Refinity gave a sad smile at my reply.

“Don’t worry, Fay. Everypony’s acted like you when the game was released. ‘Why do we have to kill innocent creatures,’ ponies asked. Everypony thought it was immoral and senseless violence. Eventually, ponies discovered the hard way that if you don’t fight, you’ll die; as well as the debate of weather it’s ok to kill things because it’s not real. Of course, that debate was settled almost as quickly as it arose. The majority of ponies decided that if no one was hurt in real life, then the game was harmless.”

“Uuuugh, Refiiinityyyyyy, can we please get back to the fighting? We’re almost at the Beast Temple!” Crimson did a little dance to show her impatience, and then bolted off before Refinity could answer her. She sighed the sigh a pony would sigh when a pony you know does something you completely expected them to do. There should be a word for that. I should look it up in a book sometime.

We trotted off after her, but as I stepped forward I felt a sense of vertigo. I fell to my knees and felt pain hit me; like somepony threw a bag of bricks of off Canterlot Castle onto my head. It was only for a split second, and the dizziness and pain were gone as quickly as they appeared.

What… what was that? A concussion or something? I wondered what it could be before I noticed that both of my companions looked back at me with concern written all over their faces. I got back to my hooves and cantered up to them. “Sorry, I just tripped a little. Anything interesting over here?”

They both relaxed a little bit, but Refinity still watched me in case I suddenly tripped again. Crimson turned and looked across the islands. There were only a couple of bands of goblins left, but I noticed that on one of the furthest island, there was a big building that looked very temple-esque. The 10-foot high entrance was flanked by a statue of each side, depicting a pony on it’s rear legs, with a hoof holding a sword high above it’s head, shouting a battle cry.

Crimson noticed my interest in the temple. “That’s the Beast Temple, kiddo. It’s where the treasure that we’re fightin’ for resides. There also might be a boss in there, but I’m not sure. If there is a boss, we can totally handle it!”

And with that, Crimson once again charges headfirst at the closest group of goblins. Me and Refinity quickly joined her as the goblins recovered from their surprise. We kept fighting through the groups of goblins; all the while I was thinking about what Refinity had said. Is it right to kill something that never lived in the first place? What about those screams I heard when I killed those three goblins? Was that just me being the pacifist pony that everypony was taught to be? I mused over these thoughts that buzzed and whizzed around my head like the angry hornet nest I set on fire when I was younger and stupider. Those hornets were mean!

But as a pacifist race, it was only natural that ponies would find something like killing another creature - despite it’s actual non-existence - would be traumatic whether they realized it or not. I was fairly sure I experienced a shock and gave those goblins voices they did not possess. Or I was crazy - both were plausible, after all.

But what was that sensation back there? That feeling of pain and disorientation was real. Why did it happen? And how? I felt it in my normal pony body, still lying on the bed back at the dorm. Oh no, what time was it? I think it was around midnight by now, but who can tell how long I was out? I'm glad I decided to give this game a try during my off days.

Eventually, we fought until we were near the temple, at which point we decided to take a break and heal up. I spotted a small bit of movement out of the corner of my eye, near the top of the hill nearby. A small, rounded creature stood there, before noticing it was spotted and scampered down the other side. I softly cantered to the top with the intent to investigate this new discovery.

The creature was at the base of the hill, where it thought that It was safe from prying eyes. It was a very rounded creature with no arms, four legs, and a white teardrop outline on it’s chest. The more curious thing about it was the light that floated above it’s small pointed ears; it seemed to bob up and down with the creature’s movements.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

I jumped up at the sudden intrusion of my personal space and unexpected voice by my ear. “Geez, Crimson! You nearly gave me a heart attack! I really wished you stopped doing such things.”

Crimson chuckled at my expense. “Aaah you’ll live, you filly. So what’cha doin’ up here?” She spied the creature down at the base of the hill. And in Ponyville they say, her eyes widened three sizes that day.

“Oh no way, you found a Chim-Chim! Hey, Refinity! The newbie found a Chim-Chim!”

Refinity trotted up next to me, her eyes also widened with excitement and wonder. “Oh my, you’re right. This is incredible! Oh, Berry will be most pleased with such a find!”

“It’s you and me, Chimmy! CHAAAAAAARGE!” And with that, Crimson ran down the hill at the frightened little creature. It was quick to recover, and ran Crimson in circles to evade its pursurer in any way it can. Crimson soon started having difficulty trying to catch it.

I, on the other hand, just stared out of curiosity at the small little creature no bigger than a filly. “So, what’s a Chim-Chim?”

Refinity gave me another one of those read-the-ruddy-instruction-booklet looks. “A Chim-Chim is a rare creature, Fay. The world is powered mostly by magic and the like, but Chim-Chims have a special property that is neither magical nor an element found in the natural world. It’s a substance that can be used in weapons and armor to make special enchantments more powerful than they normally would. They can also be used to create more powerful versions of items such as health potions, stat increase potions, and potions that can cast a magic spell, much like the ones you cast.”

“Oh, so I can be easily replaced by an item? That certainly makes me feel special.”

“Well, they can only be made using Chim Spheres, those little lights on their head. Finding a Chim-Chim is no easy task, either. They used to be abundant and found in every field, but eventually they were reduced in numbers. I guess CC Corp realized that ponies having that much access to such good weapons and armor could break the game.”

“Huh. So collecting these Chim Spheres can help us improve our equipment? Well, glad we found one.”

Refinity frowned at my words. “Yes… we found only one… they usually are found in groups of ten or more, so what’s this one doing here all alone? And for that matter, I heard they were at least as tall as a dog, why is this one only half the size?”

I felt the gears turn in my head as I tried to explain Refinity’s concern, when I noticed that Crimson had finally cornered the poor creature. She herded it towards the edge of the island, where it swiftly turned to its left. Crimson was quick on the new direction, and started to run at where it was headed, quickly closing the gap between the two. She got the Chim-Chim to run alongside the edge of the island, and the Chim had nowhere to turn. Refinity figured it out quicker than me, and she yelled, “WAIT, CRIMSON STOP!”

Too late. Crimson already reached the Chim-Chim and gave it a swift kick from behind. It stumbled forward and rolled a good few feet before coming to a halt on its back. The Chim-Chim stood up, and the Sphere on its head become dislodged; it floated through the air towards Crimson. Crimson grinned as the light disappeared into her chest, and then started dancing and chanting. “I’ma get an upgrade! I’ma get an upgrade!”

The Chim-Chim stood shock still, and then it fell back down. It’s eyes were starting to water up. No way… it's not going to-

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAHAAHAAAAA!”

It did.

The Chim-Chim’s bawling it’s eyes out. Tears were flowing freely, and it stomped all four legs on the ground as it rolled around on it’s rounded body.

Refinity galloped towards the dancing pony, and I followed closely behind her. I was nearly out of breath by the time we reached the Axemare. “CRIMSON! Do you know what you just kicked! It wasn’t a full-grown Chim-Chim! You just kicked…” Her words trailed as she stared off into the distance, now ignoring Crimson.

“Come on, Refinity, what did I just kick? My ticket to getting an awesome axe, if you ask me. Oh man, Faylin; you’re not going to believe what this Axe that I have in mind can do! I’ve been planning to get one of these for a while and-”

“Crimson,” I said, looking out towards the distance.

“Yeah?”

“I think you just kicked an infant.”

“What?” Crimson turned towards what held our interest so much. Her jaw fell as she beheld the spectacle.

A wave of dark blue charged directly for the crying Chim-Chim, and a second layer of white lights that hovered just over the blue gave them away. There were hundreds of them, and they were speedy. Soon, they had us surrounded, each and every one of them had a look of pure, unhindered rage. One Chim-Chim walked to the weeping infant and gave it a nuzzle. This seemed to calm down the crying Chim, and they quickly all turned to us. As a single unit. It was extremely creepy, watching those eyes suddenly turn to us.

It was at that moment I decided that maybe everything wouldn’t be so bad. It wasn’t like we were going to die or anything, Chim-Chims can’t harm us, right? I certainly hoped not.

Refinity had a look of absolute horror on her face, and she stood there determined to live through all of this. Crimson, on the other hand, looked very, very excited. Her grin could have cut off her head. She readied herself in a battle stance, and was going to charge at any minute.

We just stood there for a long while, I was feeling the tension thicken with every passing second. Any moment now, one of us had to make a move. And I had a bad feeling that no matter what we did, those adorable little creatures were gonna eat me up. I felt sweat dripping down my neck, and I prepared a leg for the inevitable kicking.

We sat there as we waited for the eternity to end.

There was a bird chirping somewhere in the distance.

Refinity shuffled her hooves.

Crimson lowered her head.

We charged.

Comments

[Festus]

So the plot thickens, eh? Hmm, a cute filly... Where are we going with that? Maybe it's for another chapter, I guess. Still, it was quite an amazing chapter.

Honestly Crimson, get your act together! She'll probably be the death of her firends.