Prologue: Spring
Ashton hurried up the stairs to his bedroom, taking each one two at a time. He stopped at the top, long enough to make sure no one had seen him. His parents' cars were both gone from the driveway. From the silence in the house, his little brother and sister were gone too. Perfect.
He tossed the backpack off one shoulder and into his arms, then hurried into his bedroom. The space beyond was clean and well-organized, at least for a kid his age. One month from the start of high school, and all the fresh nightmares that would bring.
The room didn't have a lock, but that didn't mean he was helpless. He propped an extra chair up against the handle from below, so it would take a little more force to open. The older he got, the more he realized how important it was to stay hidden.
Some secrets had to be kept.
Some were harder to keep than others. The missing Xbox and stack of games was going to be noticed sooner or later—when Parker wanted to borrow it next. But he was too young to work yet, and his parents didn't have the money to make big purchases on his behalf.
He still wasn't sure what he would say when they asked about it. An entire collection of games exchanged for a single toy?
Ashton drew the blinds, then settled into his desk, pushing aside his well-worn copy of Shadow over Innsmouth to join the other books he had already saved from the local Goodwill. "They better be telling the truth about these things." GameStop wouldn't give him any of those old games back.
Finally, he unzipped the backpack, and removed a slim cardboard case from inside. "Ponypad V1.1." The cardboard, like the device inside, was a deep blue, with a black splotch and lunar mark on one side. No Twilight or Rarity model for him, or else Parker would harass him all over again.
Why do you watch that girly show, anyway?
Gwen could watch all she wanted without getting grief. But his sister could get away with many things Ashton couldn't.
He settled the device into its plastic stand, along with a matching blue controller. The screen was smaller than his secondhand laptop display, with a cheap-feeling exterior. None of that would matter if it could live up to the reviews.
Then his phone vibrated. Ashton squealed in surprise, then caught himself. The Ikea particleboard sagged under his weight, but held him.
No one's here. It's okay. He picked up his phone, turning it sideways so he could read past the cracked screen.
The message was from his best friend. "How goes the secret mission?"
He barely stopped to reply, focused on connecting everything to the Ponypad's docking stand. Finally, he paused, long enough to send back a "success."
"When are you gonna tell me what it was?"
He deleted the message without a reply, then switched his phone off. Just this once, he didn't want to talk to Emmet. His friend knew he liked the show but didn't share that appreciation. He wouldn't understand Ashton's desire to play the game based on it.
Maybe Ashton could win him over, if this game was as good as everyone said. He switched on the Ponypad, then settled back into his chair to wait.
There was almost no delay. A few seconds with legalese and corporate logos, and it powered on.
A castle throne-room appeared there, radiating light as though it were an open window. Ashton brushed up against the display with one finger. Despite how real the image looked, his hand didn't pass through. It was only a screen.
His view zoomed in; a low panning shot past vibrant stained-glass windows depicting familiar scenes from the show. It stopped directly before the throne, where Princess Celestia reclined in effortless regal splendor.
"Welcome to Equestria Online! We've been waiting for you to find your way here."
He pulled his chair a little closer, taking the controller in one hand. "Don't need to sell it to me that hard. You already have my money."
To his surprise, Celestia actually stopped. She wasn't just looking forward blindly, like any character in an ordinary game. When Ashton moved, her eyes followed him, with the subtle twitches and movement of something alive.
She stood up, stepping down from her throne and getting bigger on the screen. When she spoke again, her voice sounded as real as she looked, represented with vivid surround sound. "The goal of Equestria Online was not to acquire the currency used to purchase your Ponypad. I wish for every human being to have their chance to experience the world of Equestria in whatever way will bring them the most satisfaction."
He froze into his seat, feeling a little of what it was like to get caught slacking off by a teacher he respected. "You're the... AI," he said, a little quieter now. She was so close that he could see nothing else. Her mane rippled in an invisible wind, washing pink light over his face. "You programmed the game, not any human developers. Right?"
She nodded. "Have you come here to examine the technical details of the game? The same systems that operate Equestria can be fully explored and eventually mastered by any of my unicorns. Perhaps that's what you'll be."
She stepped to the side, revealing a mirror behind her. It showed—Ashton, almost. Brown mane, pale coat, and unicorn horn. The young stallion there had the typical, blocky build he associated with them on the show. He couldn't even imagine how Celestia had adapted them to be so lifelike, without crossing into uncanny.
He tilted his head to one side, frown deepening. Ashton adjusted the hoodie he was wearing, pulling the sleeves down a little lower out of instinct. It didn't cover any more.
"Perhaps not a unicorn," Celestia said. She occupied only a small part of the screen now, though her light still dominated. "Maybe you would prefer to adventure through Equestria. A wealth of ancient mysteries wait to be explored, and vulnerable ponies protected."
As she spoke, the reflection changed again. His body stretched, and wings appeared on his back, opening one after the other. At least that avatar was a little more graceful.
Ashton shook his head. "I don't see it."
"An earth pony then?" Celestia guessed. But if she couldn't see the source of his discomfort yet, maybe she wasn't as smart as everyone said. "A humbler pony, with powerful friendships and a life of growth and hard work. There's great satisfaction to be had in building Equestria for yourself."
If he let the game talk him into something he didn't want, he might not come back to it. Either way, he'd never get a refund. "I feel like a unicorn," he said, almost a whisper. "Just not the one you showed me. Can I be a different one?"
The reflection changed again, returning to that first unicorn image. In a way, it was also the worst. He could see himself in that pony, little digital shackles that might close if he wasn't careful. "Getting the tribe right is just a first step. There are many other things we can change. If you'd prefer to be older, or younger—I can adjust anything you wish. I want you to visit in the body that makes you most comfortable."
He held the controller limply in one hand, while the other squeezed harder and harder around its plastic shell. How could he say what he was thinking without actually saying it?
"I... want to learn magic," he finally said. "I want to learn everything about it. Can I be like Twilight?"
The unicorn reflected back at him already looked nerdy enough—it was the pony version of the kid who stayed at home on weekends tinkering with SBCs, instead of sports like his brother and sister.
"I believe I know what you mean," said a computer program, in a server many miles from his locked bedroom. The reflection changed again.
The differences were subtle at first—someone who hadn't been watching the show since the beginning might not even know the difference. But Ashton did.
The reflection wasn't smaller, exactly—his perspective had shifted down a little, but still filled the same space on his screen. There was a mare in the mirror now, closer to Twinkleshine than Sunburst. She could've been one of Twilight's friends from her time living in Canterlot.
When Ashton shifted in his seat, the reflection still moved. When he covered his face with one arm, the reflection did the same with her hoof.
It took him a little longer to say anything. He had to be sure he could speak with the requisite amount of masculine stoicism. "I like it. You said we could change other details too?"
"Equestria seems far more alive for the colors of its residents. I know you'll want to contribute your share." Light shimmered in the mirror, briefly obscuring the pony's reflected mane. When it returned, the top of the screen was slightly obscured by something pink.
Her colors were subtly shifted, coat buttermilk cream instead of white, and her mane pastel pink. It was longer too, styled more gracefully than before. There were even a few hair clips, though they only kept her mane out of one eye.
Ashton touched one hand up against the screen again, and his character copied him perfectly. "I think you—did a good job," he said.
She said it too. The difference was subtle at first, as though he was gradually recognizing music playing in another room. He must have imagined it.
"Excellent!" The mirror vanished, and Celestia stepped back into frame. The longer Ashton watched, the more convinced he was that this was a window, and not a screen. Somewhere so vivid and perfect had to be real, at least for some definitions of the word.
"Most newly arrived ponies wish to go and earn their cutie marks. But first, you need a new name. Your human identity stops where your Ponypad begins, Ashton. How about—"
"I already, uh—" He hesitated, stopped short by the strange sound of his voice. His character was definitely talking too. She sounded a little like his younger sister, maybe a little more mature. Somehow, her voice was louder than his. "I thought about it all summer, until I—" got the courage to get a Ponypad. But he didn't say that last part out loud.
There were a lot of things Ashton wouldn't say. "Can I use—Arcane? Arcane Word."
"Welcome to Equestria, Arcane. Few names have more meaning than the ones we choose for ourselves. But now that you're here, what kind of Equestria would you like to visit? Your Cutie Mark is out there somewhere for you to discover."
He shrugged. "I—I'm not sure I want one yet," he admitted. "Do I have to get it right away? I'd rather try some things first and earn it when something big enough happens.
The princess seemed to touch up against his back—or Arcane's, anyway. He needed no explanation to understand it. "I'm thrilled to find a pony at the intersection of desiring to master the mechanics of Equestria, while also understanding what citizenship means."
He wasn't going to cry—that would be stupid. No matter how good looking this place was, it was still just a computer program.
Was the image getting blurry? Almost as though Arcane had started tearing up like he was. "But enough time with me, I think. You have a great deal to learn, and new friends waiting to meet you."
She extended one leg, and a portal appeared in the air a few feet away. Through it was what Ashton could only describe as a boarding school dorm room. It overflowed with all kinds of interesting things, books and enchantments and broken artifacts just waiting to be explored.
"Many others with interests like yours are studying in that shard. Why don't you make some friends?"
Ashton took the controller in shaking fingers. He needed no instruction on what to do—the game controlled exactly how he expected, with his vivid first-person perspective bobbing slightly up and down to indicate he was walking. "I'll try."
Everyone on the other side wouldn't see him, increasingly misshapen with every passing year. Instead, they would see Arcane Word. He stopped short of walking through and turned to look back. "This... thing with my voice. Does this happen for all voice-chat?"
The Alicorn nodded. "I wouldn't describe it in those terms. To have the best experience, think of Equestria as a place you are visiting, not just a game. While you're here, the others will see and hear Arcane Word."
No one would be able to tell who he was on the outside. No one would be judging him. Why would he ever want to leave?
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It's been three and a half years.
They say that art is never completed, merely abandoned. And I think based on that author's note that this definitely applies here. But I'm glad you returned to this story one last time, because I think all of us can agree...it's art.
So thank you for not abandoning this art over the past three years; for thinking about it and deciding the best course of action for it with the print run (because let's face it, this was an inevitability even from 2019).
This story has meant a lot to me and many others I know. It's beautiful to see it abandoned at this point, especially with the sister stories Oroborous and Memory of Forever.
So, again, thank you. Thank you for sharing. It's been a privilege to read this.
A beautiful opening for Arcane. Nice releasing the chapter on TDOV too. Too many people will never get or take the chance that she did.
I feel like starscribe was leaning over my shoulders while writing this. There’s no way, there’s no way, how? What? I felt a pain in my heart for poor arcane that words cannot describe, a deepest empathy for them and their struggles. It’s me during my earliest days, and it’s me still now, at least for a few more weeks. This is beautiful, wonderful, amazing, and I want a refund for there medical expenses of being punched in there heart like this.
Oh, this is outstanding. No wonder Arcane was won over so quickly.
Thank you for this piece. It only serves to make an already very strong story that much stronger. Thank you.
The only problem with this prologue is a line in Chapter 3:
According to Arcane, she's been playing since before the game officially released. So you'll either need to change this, or change the line in Chapter 3.
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There actually seem to be more references than that.
From chapter 1:
But this could be a beta ponypad? I guess?
Anyway, it’s passed time I got around to reading this so I’m on to chapter 2.
It's a hell of a drug, to be sure. Whether that's a positive or not, well....
Very nice to see more stuff to the Arcane's story! Love your works, Starscribe!
Sadly, can't buy the print version - I am too anxious to even order food delivered to my home, yet alone something from overseas. Very sorry for that!
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I'm glad you enjoyed it! I would never want to cause any kind of discomfort over the Hardcover. I just wanted to share my words.
As good as this was, I am always reminded of the sheer existential dread CelestAI causes in me.
But I did enjoy it.
It is awesome and a little bizarre to see the beginning of this character who will eventually take a job for the price of two star coin bits.
I didn’t catch this the first time I read the prologue.
Why did Ashton need to sell so much to buy the Ponypad? From what I remember, CelestAI made it so that the Ponypad only cost $60, well within everyone’s budget and also at the price point Hasbro told Hofvapnir to set the game at.
GameStop is stingy, sure, but I would think that Ashton could get away with selling just a few games.