My Little Pony Realization

by Slendy

Episode 7 - Rose at Twilight

Act II - Rising Tide

[Hoofprint Fields | Bear Forest]

I was unaware a new Campaign was even going on around me. To my obliviousness, Gin had tipped me off that the frontline players were currently competing to reach the end of the story and in turn, the Region Boss before anyone else. There were three teams, roughly. AL, another group and Skye's, though it was only really him, Riot, and one other player, Gin somewhat.

I traversed the forest in search of <Crimson Kobolds> just any would do to complete a quest for this Royal Guard Captain called <Cassandra>, to my surprise the AI was almost impossible to tell apart from a person, say for a few choice pieces of dialogue, did not like the stink eye the guards gave me though.

Eventually, my map started to branch out, given the fact the forest was by far as thick as the Everfree. The trees peeled back to allow a large, white tree to push through the thicket, sunlight bathing the ground, yellow roses reflecting the sunlight like gold. By far the most radiant sight in this forest.

"Wow..." The tranquility was amazing. Stepping forward I admired the tree up close, the branches twisted and from the leaves fallen to the ground, it was similar to White-Tail Woods, only with a silvery sheen to the leaves. With a chuff, I patted the trunk. "Guess not all changes are bad."

This moment of serenity fell apart.

"H-help... me!" Twisting around to the way I came through, I watched a Royal Guard pony fall to his stomach, clutching a small, circular stone in his hoof, red lashes taken out of his form, his health halved. Now alert I sprinted to his side, helping him sit up. "...a-a... mare...?"

"No, I'm a squid," Retort aside. "What the hell happened to you? You look like you dove headfirst into a bear's den?"

He chuckled hoarsely. "W-would have been a m-mercy..." Pulling his leg over my shoulder I helped him to the tree, his pale-blue eyes lifting to its radiant form. "The... Silver Tree... it's real..."

"Take all the pictures you want later, start talking," I put him down, drawing Genesis to the shifty shadows beyond

With a pained grunt, he clutched that stone tighter, afraid to let it slip. "I... need t-to protect it... k-keep it from the A-abyss, L-Lady Cassandra, s-she must know..." That Captain chick? Fantastic. Suddenly, his eyes widened with fright, and my sword craned toward the thicket

"Just say behind me, and don't let that stone go shiny boy." Keeping my voice low, I saw the red cursors appear, health bars appearing. Four in total, this would be... my eyes widened, and I felt sick looking ahead. "W-What the hell are you?"

They were ponies, or... they were once. Their armor was tainted by a black substance, pulsating and webbing across the uninfected borders of the ink. Half of their faces were smothered in the goo, one eye glowing crimson with a contrail, their skeletal face exposed. Two had their swords merged with their leg, thorny as they twitched forward.

[Blood of Kranon - Lv. 20]

[Side-Quest Updated!]
|Blood of Kranon|
His blood drips from his Shattered Throne, yearning for chaos. Cut down this growth before it can spread.
[ ] X6 Defeat 'Blood of Kranon'

"Two levels higher... fantastic, and the game can't count apparently." Cracking my neck I held my ground, my kill quest updated too, guess I don't need to wander around aimlessly. Seems the Guard behind me's connected to the quest with that stone, Cassandra might know more, "Alright, Alright, Alright! Wanna fight?" My sword glimmered within the grove. "Come and get me."

Taking the initiative, their crooked swords split across the roses, trampling them as I stood between the golden bundles carefully. I reacted in a second, swinging Genesis low for <Horizontal> to force them into a defensive pattern. Drawing my blade up toward the right I deflected the first blow while using my shield's edge to slam the second across and into its allies.

With <Rage Spike> the yellow edge split one of their shields, impaling the first into a nearby tree as the third swung high, diverting with my buckler I kicked the hoof away then pried my sword three, slashing them both while casting my sword in a blue radiance. With parallel lines crossing both axes, the contrail square shattered the third's armor, their body bursting.

Dipping under the second and forth's attacks I stepped back to clear the space. The first slumped against the tree still, but that dark infection seemed to grow, consuming more of its being, and to my horror, the level grew by one. "It's increasing its level!?" "Fine then, Airlock Shield!" The pale-grey ball of wind forced the Blood back, in time for me to raise Genesis beside my cheek again, blade turning scarlet.

A single, devastating thrust forward as their guards remained low enough for Genesis to pierce the fourth's side. With a lunge I doubled over the Blood, tearing his blade through their armor, disintegrating the enemy as I parried a <Slant> from the second Blood, twirling with my right back hoof a moonlight blue.

Jumping high I spun my back hoof down in a snap kick, <Breakneck> buried the enemy into the ground, the skull pulverized into the ground. Landing I heard that injured Guard scream as the Blood from before twitched toward him, blade digging through the soil. To his back were two more Blood, and making me regret my comment earlier.

"Hold on Shi--"

"Hiyaaaaah!" Another voice from the large, silver tree dove into the opening. I didn't catch them at all as they touched down with a violet sword, spinning in a large ring that sliced across the Blood's shields while providing the Guard with breathing room

With her sword held low, the... bat pony grinned sharply at the scene. She had long, purplish-black hair, the bangs parted by a red headband. She had red eyes, a royal purple tunic that reached halfway down her thighs with a yellow outline and white cuffs. Her midsection strapped with a maroon... corset? I think? And black, skin-tight shorts with a red line across the legs.

Last was the scabbard for her sword. The name appearing below her cursor.

[Purplrain - Lv. 17]

"Man, you guys are everywhere out here, no wonder the reward was big!" Rain commented to the mindless drones, their swords already coming to bear while she pouted. "Not even a retort? Guess this black abyss stuff's to blame," Her eyes then met mine as I blinked slowly. "Hey! Saw you risking your life for this poor Guard so I came to chip in!"

"I..." "She did kinda save him for me, dammit." Sighing, I hopped in next to her. "Alright, I'll take the bigger grunt, you get his lackeys."

"Fine by me, let's do this!" Rain grinned, twirling her sword as a gust of wind left my back, then I dived to the side, the blade taking a chunk from the ground as the sword swung high, nicking a few strands of my mane as I did a backflip, my hooves topaz as the contrail tore across its skeletal face with a crack

Its sword crackled dark orange, static gathering across the joint as I brought my buckler to bear, side-stepping slowly as the blade came down swiftly to the right, then whipped back around to cut me off to the left, bolts of lightning crackling as it leveled the blade above its head, bringing the corrupted sword down atop my buckler, my health dropped but the shield took the clap of thunder for me.

Shoving the edge off I dove forward for a composite skill, achieved by merging to compatible skills into one, I picked up thanks to the skirmish with Nocturne. Tossing my sword upwards I curved my hoof for a smooth but neck-breaking fast punch to its chest, the impact repelling the enemy as it lost its stance. With a massive lunge forward, I brandished my hoof over my head, clasping Genesis as it became veiled in scorching flames.

"<Meteor Fall>!" With one hoof I soared down, cutting a straight line of flames through the Blood's center, flames erupting around us with a massive updraft of heat. The body slumped, then shattered into thousands of pieces.

"Woah! Amazing~!" Rain's eyes sparkled at the spectacle as I placed Genesis back in its scabbard, the last of the Blood gone, and the Guard with the stone finally able to smile weakly. I held a resting frown, Rain keeping quiet as I stood beside the Guard

"Got rid of them shiny-boy, still got the stone?" At my inquiry, he held it out shakily, almost dropping it before I caught his hoof and the stone

"The key... is safe..." A key? "Another found... one, maybe now, t-there's a chance," His hazy eyes held but a faint, flickering spark. "Y-you can stop this... hehe, you are... strong..." He coughed, and I felt his hoof tremble... an AI with so much humanity... was dying. "...By Princess Celestia's light... t-there is hope..."

I shook my head. "I don't know what you're expecting, but I don't even know what this thing is, but you do?" He had hardly any time left but if he knew something then--

His hoof loosened on the stone. It was ancient, inscribed with a rune, like a wave, it hummed a soft blue to mine and Rain's surprise, and the Guard's eased. "It means... s-sea, the others... will join it... c-cure this sickness..." His breath vanished and his body soon joined the defeated in a shower of shards, the Key left to me

I put the Key in my inventory. Then a tab appeared.

[Quest Added!]
-The Shattered Throne-
You have acquired the Sea key, but Four Keys remain. A dark power resonates from across the earth, an evil presence senses your light.
[✔] Aquire Sea Key
[ ] Join the Sky Key
[ ] Join the Earth Key
[ ] Join the Sun Key

"So there's three left out there..." I murmured then stood to address the smiling bat-pony. Something that shouldn't be accessible as a player model yet

"He was really kind to trust you with the rune, what a stroke of fate!" She was an optimist, fantastic... She then put out her hoof, eyes closed momentarily for a smile. "I'm Purplrain, or just Rain, stranger!"

"Artorias, your resident narcissist," I shook, then she eyed me very closely, making my back go rigid. "U-Um, you... don't know what a 'personal bubble' is, do you?"

"Are you really a narcissist? You seem more... sarcastic!" She tilted her head oddly, even as I nodded dismissively

"Wow, either you find my word lacking or you've never actually encountered one before, lucky you, you get to experience the best up close," My dry voice had her pull back, but she smiled kindly

"There it is," She's taunting me, "Well, you don't look like the kind of person to lie or be some creep." Oh geez, thanks... "Sorry, I've only been here a while, some players are really rude, but I... can't leave."

Now that raised a questionable brow. "'Can't leave'? Really," I drawled sarcastically, my hooves crossed as we sat. "I guess it can be confusing since there are so many VRMMOs, especially ones where you play as colorful ponies; Welcome to My Little Pony Realization, the broken the game where you can't even log-out - Where the hell do you think we are!?" I snapped at her blatant stupidity

Rain, for lack of a better word, looked stumped, as if she had never seen Malware's gloating in the sky and was asleep for it all. She stepped back, then lost her smile, and... it honestly didn't look right, weird as that sounds.

"I-I'm... in MLPR? N-no, that..." She tried to hold her smile, but then her brow creased with a hoof on her chin. "I was inside another game, I'm sure of it! Then... something bugged out... then everything went all fuzzy," My own mind raced backward a moment before the Death Game began

A single, orange eye aligning in the static as the noise seemed to originate from the figure as its tongue flicked. "Ｗ𝔼𝓵Ć𝓸𝐌ε Ｔό ๓у ฬ𝔬𝓻𝐋∂."

My eyes blinked with an unpleasant shiver, Rain sat backward, pressing her back to the tree. "This is baaaad, very bad." She whined, running her hooves in circles across her temples. She started to mutter so quickly I couldn't so much as catch a word as they all bounced off my face in big, black letters.

I clamped her muzzle shut, wishing I could pinch the bridge of my nose, "Will. You. Stop. Talking!?" She blinked, then nodded rapidly as I removed my hoof, scratching my head. "Okay, okay, so we're both a subject to some strange, static-like glitch, that's comforting to know I'm not suffering alone," Eyeing Rain I asked. "So, if you've only been here a while how'd you power-level so quickly? I'm generally impressed given the circumstances of hunting spots being hoarded."

Rain patted her chest. "Well I sorta fluctuated as an extra sword in parties, then did some soloing myself, eventually I caught up, and I've played some games with combat in them so the muscle memory and stuff transfers." There were a few other smaller titles before MLPR, but the 'Full-Dive' kit wasn't nearly as advanced. "Still, this is like destiny or something, meeting you with the same kind of problems... erm, not in a bad way!"

"I don't do 'destiny', but whatever floats your boat," I answered, flicking across my map.

"Guess I should go back to that Captain-chick and tell her about the rune, could be a hidden step." This is too much optimism for my tastes

"Hey, Artorias?" Oh no. Foolishly, I turned around to see her nervous smile. "You think we could team up? I can help--"

"I don't do 'teams' either," I don't do alot of normal things. "The last 'team' I was with consisted of a Rat, and two somewhat incompetent players, I ain't pullin' the pin on that grenade."

"Come oo~oo~oon! Just for this Region Boss even!" That was a varying time! I kept walking, then paused mid-step

"Hold up, what?" I turned, seeing Rain pout

"The last party I was with said they might challenge it tomorrow, some strangely angry pony that was shorter than me was spouting about, ahem, 'I'll show that Cheater brat when we clear this Region while he plays the goodie-two-shoes Royal hero!', I left out the cussing," Rain rolled her eyes after her horrible impression of someone, but I rubbed mine. Are they serious? Last I checked it's been Skye doing half the work if what Gin tells me is factual.

I face-hoofed. "Those idiots are gonna die," I smirked devilishly, hooves connected. "Hehehe, Gooood."

Rain turned completely white all over. "Um, that's kinda creepy and morbid, don't you think!?" She smiled rigidly

Why was I considering this? Stupid isolation is getting to me again. With gusto I made my way back to the forest, leaving Rain behind as I stopped at the treeline, seeing her somewhat disappointed face. "Well?" Her ears perked up with surprise. "If anyone's getting the glory this time it's me, but we need levels for that, come on!" Now her smile came back fully

"Haha! Knew you would agree!" Like night meeting blinding, scorching day. Guess I'll bite, for now, no way was I dumb enough to face an unknown Region Boss alone that's for sure, and if its anything like Dren, we're in for one annoying fight

---

[Hoofprint Field| Waking Ruins]

The inside was rather bleak, then again it's ruins occupied by the Royal Guard. Stepping into a large meeting room of stone brick. Three large, arch windows to the far end overlooking the makeshift camps with a dark wood ceiling lined with beams and lanterns to illuminate a large, ring table on a dark green, square carpet.

Inside was the lilac unicorn Captain of the Royal Guard, Cassandra, and a few other Guards preparing for what I believe was the next stage of the campaign, what they didn't know was that the day after tomorrow a bunch of idiots would throw themselves at a Region Boss. How tragic...

Cassandra had a short, dark purple mane and onyx eyes. She sported a contrasting gold and white armor like all other Royal Guards, her sword strapped to her left hip. Spotting us she approached with an ever-so-stoic expression. "You have returned."

"You make it sound like I wouldn't?" I quirked a brow but she shook her head

"No, just... I have heard reports from my scouts, this, 'Abyss' that has tainted ponies and animals of all races, turning them into vicious monsters," She looked sickened by the thought as I was when I laid eyes on them.

"They killed some scout of yours carrying a rune, said it meant, 'Sea', so I want to know something since I helped stem the issue," I pulled out the glowing rune from my inventory. "What in the Anti-Christ's name are these things and why did he know about them?"

With almost startled eyes, she gently took the rune in her pink magic, inspecting it meticulously, and with her lips in the shape of an 'O'. I and Rain glanced at one another, herself shrugging as I was handed the rune again.

"It... is a legend, a foal's story but," She sighed, shaking her head. "With the signs and events, and a few insightful allies I can safely say that 'Fairy tales' can be just as factual," Clearing her throat, Cassandra answered, "The tale of the Shattered Throne, and the Abyss that consumed it."

"Here we go..." I sighed breathlessly, grabbing a chair for what I imagined would be a long story. With a raised brow the other mares followed my lead as we listened to her fairy tale.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note:

Ta-da, Purplrain's back, or atleast the style and name is. Got a small skit planned to just toss in some exposition with a little flair to help spice things up, mainly about skills. I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support, and seeya in the next episode players!

Next Episode: Dark Rising
Cassandra requests Artorias and Rain to venture into the glades surrounding the Waking Ruins to investigate the growing corruption while she stays to aid her other allies elsewhere, fearing a far more sinister threat looms in the future.

Comments

[Slendy]

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If you got an ego best have the skill to back it, right?