Harmonia Rising

by King-Mac-13

Team Meeting

Author's Note:

King: A part of me is sorry about this taking so long to come out... But other projects took over my time. I'm not proud that I'm so scattered, but I do what I can. Hope you enjoy.
Knox: Can I talk in this box now? Is that a thing?

After her return, she planned to tell her friends about the weirdness she’d just experienced. However, between her schoolwork and her streams to fill her bank account again, she didn’t have a lot of time to do so. That’s not to mention her friends’ own lives and schedules. At the end of the week, after an unexpectedly short band practice, she had her moment with all her friends gathered in one area. Now she sat in the band room with her friends, story finished and a silence hanging over them.

The first to speak up after this was Twilight, “That sounds pretty fantastical, even by our standards.”

Applejack nodded, “I can believe it though. You ain’t steered us wrong with this stuff yet.”

Pinkie chuckled, “I think the funniest part is that this doesn’t surprise us anymore.”

Rarity sighed, “She has a point. Though it has done wonders for my projects. Especially now that I have to put more consideration into constant activity that magic seems to force on us.”

Twilight shifted her weight into her thinking stance, “But why would whoever this King person is do this? And, obvious question I’m surprised no one asked yet, HOW?!” She blew up, grabbing Sunset’s shoulders in her Twilighting panic kind of way.

Sunset removed her friend’s hands before she started shaking, “Twilight. Breath.”

Twilight took a deep breath, paused, and then exhaled before she tried to speak again. “Okay. How in the world could they split your consciousness and put you in the game?”

Sunset leaned against one of the walls, “According to an email I got, it has something to do with my geode. There was a lot of magical jargon I admit I don’t understand.”

Rainbow was a bit skeptical, “Didn’t you tell us that you went to a school for magical stuff?”

Sunset sighed, “I did, and I left to come here, remember? Besides, even if I did stick around longer, it wouldn’t matter. I sent a copy of the formula to Princess Twilight and she didn’t recognize the processes. Whatever magic they’re using, it isn’t Equestrian.”

Fluttershy squeaked in fear, “That doesn’t sound good…”

Twilight took something else from that, “But if it’s not Equestrian, how does it work through your geode?”

Sunset sighed, “I don’t know.”

“Then you need to back out! You can’t risk it.”

“I’ve already been in once. And if this is a trap, it’s better to spring it on our terms. If anything happens, I can trust you guys to get me out.”

That was not the last time she got an earful from her friends over the month. Twilight and Rainbow tried to get her to back out. Twilight’s reason was fair enough, she still had her hang ups about dealing with magic they don’t understand. Given the events she had experienced during the Friendship Games and after, it was perfectly understandable. Rainbow Dash just watched too much anime and thought it would turn out the same way. Pinkie, on the other hand, was comparing her situation to some old cartoon she used to watch with some kind of card game. Sunset had next to no idea what she was talking about.

Now the month was up and it was time to really make her decision. The code to her personal copy of the game had appeared with a nice little email to go with it.

[Now that the game has released, we can discuss this more candidly. We’re not actually in this for any money, obviously. As such, any contract between us is hereby null. You are free to do as you wish with the game code, you just can’t give it away. If you so choose, you can ignore the code and never think about it again. This is your choice to make, your game to play. We look forward to seeing what you choose. Sincerely, King & Knox].

She noticed they dropped the Productions part. This, to Sunset, was rather telling. Whoever this King guy was, he wasn’t alone. He genuinely had a partner, likely called Knox. For now, though, she had a choice to make. After a moment, she took a deep breath and punched in the code. Her sense of curiosity and inner gamer was getting the better of her.

So began a new game. Just like last time, the screen opened to a forlorn flag in a wide field. Press start and the flag unfurls to reveal the menu. Press New Game and the character customization menu opens. However, unlike last time, her options were increased. From her previously six options, she now had four new fighting styles: Unarmed, War Hammer, Battle Ax, and Lightning Magic. Safe to say, she picked the Katana again. This time, though, there was only standard armor sets that were significantly less detailed than before. She picked the familiar wooden armor and made her way back inside this strange world.

Unlike last time, she found her mind sent to… a theater? She was standing in what looked like an old Victorian theater lobby. The carpet under her feet was some weird gold and purple checker pattern and everything seemed totally normal except for one major thing, no one was there. As she looked around, she couldn’t help but feel a little concerned, “I don’t think this is the game’s starting area.”

“Correct.” A familiar voice rang out around her before a purple light illuminated the room. After a moment, that same figure she now called King was standing before her. King bowed his head slightly, “I would like to thank you for your trust in us and for taking up your sword once more.”

“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” A new voice and a golden fire revealed King’s partner in crime. He stood a head shorter than the man with a royal name. His hair was a bright, almost metallic blonde like strands of actual gold. His vest and pants had the same property of gold. He looked toward Sunset with a grin, “Name’s Knox. Nice to finally meet you.”

Sunset gave a nervous smile, “Nice to meet you too… But where am I and why am I here?”

King gestured to the theater around them, “This is our domain. A world of my creation and without form. You are here for us to show gratitude for your choice. We look forward to seeing how you fare in this completed world. Good luck Sunset Shimmer.”

The world began to glow a bright purple, forcing Sunset to cover her eyes. After a moment, all sense of the ground was gone and her senses were empty of stimulus, save for this bright light. After a moment, the light faded and Sunset’s first run finally began.