Gielinor's Visitor

by Hilord17

I - The Arrival

When Juna and 'Harold' told me that the dominant species in this dimension were equines, I was expecting some happy-go-lucky land with rainbows, sunshine, and very bright colors.

I was wrong.

(Optional BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nghCtL-3yhw - feel free to use the 'loop' option if you want)

After we passed through the portal, Eek and I arrived at what I think is an old throne room. A very old throne room. This place is a mess: Broken windows, vines everywhere, some walls and part of the ceiling are broken, and you could see the layers of dust. Not to mention the number of spiders crawling in the corners, and the number of spiderwebs they have created. Curiously, some of them had a star symbol on their backs.

"Ah! My brethren." Eek saw the spiders around. "Maybe they can tell us about this place."

"That... would be very helpful." I mean it's not strange that he can speak with other spiders. "Want to try your luck?"

"Just wait here, pal."

Eek jumped to the floor, and then made a strange noise. This got the attention of the other spiders, and then they started to gather. In a few seconds, a good amount of spiders were in front of my partner.

And now they are making some noises. I guess they're talking. While they were at it, I took a second look at the place. The most interesting detail was definitely the two torn banners near the throne: A yellow banner with the drawing of the sun and a dark blue banner with a drawing of the moon.

"Lord Euris! You won't believe this!"

Oh. Eek is done talking, and it seems that the other spiders are... doing a salute?

"This place belonged to the two sovereigns of this land, but it was abandoned after they fought each other!"

"That would explain why this place is a mess."

"But get this: The fight was like a thousand years ago!"

Excuse me?

"Eek... are you saying the sovereigns are over a thousand years old now?"

"Maybe even more. The spiders saw them again. Like, recently. They know of this fight because their ancestors saw it, and it became a popular story that is always told to the younger generations."

Wow... It's almost as if Eek was describing a human legacy. So the sovereigns of this land have a longer life span than elves, or, they found a way to not die of old age. This also means that they must be very well-versed in combat.

"I wonder if both of them are on good terms now..."

"The spiders saw them hugging, so they believe they are." said Eek. "Anyway, what's our move? We stay for a bit to investigate or we leave now?"

Normally I'd leave now, but there's something I need to check first.

If the bank interface works, then what about the other interfaces? Maybe I can check my skills and the quest menu.

"We'll explore the place, then we leave."

---

"This forest actually reminds me of Morytania. That doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Stay alert, Eek."

"Right back at ya, pal."

This looks very promising so far.

Every tab worked like the bank interface: An image in my mind that doesn't obstruct my actual vision.

My combat style tab was ok, showing my combat level which is 104, the attack styles, and even the special attack bar. The quest tab was exactly the same. I even managed to look for the Gielinor's Visitor quest and found it with yellow letters which means it's incomplete. The Achievement Diary also had a new zone added, but it was listed as '?????????' for now.

My skills tab worked perfectly.

[Attack 80/80] - [Hitpoints 85/85] - [Mining 89/89]
[Strength 86/86] - [Agility 69/69] - [Smithing 81/81]
[Defense 80/80] - [Herblore 65/65] - [Fishing 76/76]
[Ranged 82/82] - [Thieving 72/72] - [Cooking 80/80]
[Prayer 76/76] - [Crafting 71/71] - [Firemaking 99/99]
[Magic 80/80] - [Fletching 79/79] - [Woodcutting 84/84]
[Runecraft 65/65] - [Slayer 76/76] - [Farming 75/75]
[Construction 65/65] - [Hunter 75/75]
[Total: 1791]

I'm not Zezima, but I'm proud of my hard work.

I also saw the equipment tab, the prayers tab, and the spellbook tab. Everything was in order. I can equip and remove my gear at will, and it's honestly very easy and quick to do because the change is almost instantaneous. I activated a few prayers and all of them worked correctly. The spellbook was also working perfectly. I equipped my Smoke battlestaff and the Fire bolt spell was available to use. I'll try to use it later.

It seems that the logout, account management, and settings tag don't work. I couldn't access them.

Surprisingly, I was able to access the music tab, and according to the 'game', the music playing is called 'Spooky?'. I noticed the music changed the second we arrived at the old throne room, and it's an interesting variant of Draynor Manor's music. The emotes tab was also available, and I tried using the 'lean' emote from the mime random event.

It actually worked, and it felt a bit odd because my body moved on its own for a bit. Even weirder was that I was able to maintain balance while doing it.

The friends and ignore list were also there, but there were no player names in either of them. The same happened in the clan chat tab. No names, nor chat groups were there.

There was no map to look at, and while it's a bit of a letdown, everything else is incredible, so I can't complain.

While I was discovering all of this, Eek and I explored the abandoned castle (since it has a throne room) for a bit, and told him about our current quest. I was worried that something from this dimension may pass through the portal and reach Gielinor, but Eek told me that Juna and Death used their powers, so no being from this dimension can pass through it anymore.

I'm fairly sure this castle was beautiful when it was inhabited. While the castle had some broken walls and ceiling, a good amount of furniture was in relatively good condition, albeit with a thick layer of dust: Chandeliers, paintings, stone figures, rugs, even things like books, toys, and I'm pretty sure that I saw a pipe organ.

Even if it was an abandoned castle, it was still quite big. It took a while the explore most of it. If there was a fight or invasion, there's no sign of it anymore. During the exploration, I found out that I have the 'mouse' function because I was able to examine many objects. Among everything we saw, there was an item that I took with me. The item had a proper name: Home Necklace (uncharged).

[A magical necklace that needs to be charged in order to be fully functional.]

As soon as I wanted to put this item in my inventory, it disappeared from my hand and appeared in the 'items' tab. Once we get to speak with the sovereigns of this land, I'll investigate this item.

Now... we have to get out of this forest.

---

Now I definitely wish there was a map to look at.

We have been walking for a while, and this forest looks endless. We noticed that certain areas have a 'clear trail', so we decided to follow one. At least we haven't encountered any creature so far. I've also noticed that there are certain herbs on the ground that have proper names. I assume they can be used to make potions, but that will have to wait. We are in the middle of a quest.

"This forest is huge!" said Eek, watching the endless trees. "How did the sovereigns of this land live here before?"

"If they are over one thousand years old, then I'm pretty sure this forest must have been a huge city or something like that, and now only nature remains. Any past glory must be gone by now."

I'm starting to think that the equines of this land avoid this forest for a reason. The last living beings we saw were that group of spiders on the abandoned castle.

Seriously, this is starting to-

Wait.

I see something moving towards us and fast. Maybe if I focus my vision...

[Examine Nightmarish flesh crawler (level-45)]
[Eat. Finish. Repeat.]

Flesh crawler? As in, the bugs from the Stronghold of Security? But this one looks bigger, and its entire body is purplish now, with a curious glittering effect.

And seriously. It moves way faster than the other ones.

"Get ready Eek!"

It's weird. Before I even thought about it, I started to run, preparing to swing my dragon scimitar. This is not the original experience.

This is even better.

And yet... I don't feel any fear, nor do I feel nervous about trying to kill that thing to stay alive. Lord Euris is the veteran adventurer, not me. If I had to guess, I would say the dream is trying to make this experience as pleasant as possible. Maybe.

Only one way to find out.

Once the 'Nightmarish flesh crawler' was close enough, it did a sudden jump, gaining more speed, and quickly reached us. Don't think I didn't see the way those mandibles moved! I'm not going to let you attack me just like that!

I used my shield to block the attack, then pushed the shield forward, managing to ward off the creature. Oh, yes! I saw that zero in my shield! This time it did show up like in VR games. So that's how the dream shows damage. Maybe it's because my strength level is quite high, but It wasn't hard to push that thing away.

Now it's my turn.

I activated the dragon scimitar's special attack. [Sever] increases my accuracy by 25%. Sadly the second effect doesn't work on non-player foes, but this is a test so it's not a big deal.

The moment I attacked, the dragon scimitar left a small red trail of its movement. Yup. That is the special attack, and 55% of the special bar's energy was used.

Also, something else caught my attention.

[37/50]
[Nightmarish Flesh Crawler]

It's my foe's HP! That is a Runelite function! Good to know that my brain knows what is good for this dream. Honestly, I don't regret using Runelite to play Runescape. It's way more enjoyable that way.

The creature didn't bleed, but there was a wound in the area where I attacked. Instead of blood, there is a weird purple mist leaking from its body. Fortunately, it's not poison or some status effect because the mist disappears almost instantly.

"Good strike, pal!"

"But it's not over yet."

Once again I blocked the crawler's attack. And now...

I think I'm getting used to this!

Since this is not exactly the game, let's try moving and attacking at the same time. I need to find all my possible advantages in combat. Aaaand...

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‏‎‎

Yes! It works if I move fast enough! This gives me so many possibilities! Maybe my agility level is a factor for this. This feels like a VR hack-n-slash with Runescape's system.

Even after failing twice, the flesh crawler keeps attacking in the same way. Well, most enemies in Gielinor do the same.

I really want to get out of this forest and find the two sovereigns, so let's finish this.

Using [Sever] a second time left my special bar's energy at 5%. Normally I try to avoid using all the energy, but I got lucky again so it was worth it.

This special attack is not fast enough for me to attack again. Good to know.

And there we go! The Nightmarish flesh crawler is shaking a lot now, and- Ah! That was not pleasant to hear. Maybe it was screaming? And now... wow. It's like it's melting. That looks really painful and-

Oh! A drop!

[take Nightmare stellar shard]

Color differentiation on items according to how expensive they are is also a Runelite function, but since it doesn't show the Grand Exchange's price or High-level alchemy conversion, I can only assume it's important. The item is a very small crystal with similar colors as the 'nightmarish' thing I just defeated.

[A dark power is sealed within the crystal...]

"Our first victory in this dimension." I said while picking up the shard. "I've never seen that kind of flesh crawler before. What about you, Eek?"

"Nope. Never seen that one before." said my tiny spider friend. "Do you think this has something to do with the creature you are looking for?"

"Considering what Death and Juna told me, it's possible."

In fact. Maybe this stellar shard is a unique drop from the mimicked creatures from Gielinor. Now that I think about it, I was never told the exact number of 'mimics' that came with the creature. Well, it's a dream so I can't expect everything to be perfect.

"That was fun, but we must keep going."

We still have to get out of this forest. Seriously, a map would be nice.

---

"Hey pal! There's a door in that tree!"

"Huh. You're right."

Now, about this tree... It's pretty big, honestly. Now that we are closer, I see that there are some bottles hanging in the branches. We also saw some unusual masks with happy and serious expressions. They kinda remind me of the masks I've seen in Karamja. When I examined both of them...

[Hello.]
[Welcome.]

A bit weird, but acceptable.

We've been walking for a while now. If someone lives here, then this is our best chance of getting out of here. Whoever lives here has to know his or her way around here.

Let's knock a few times. Runescape is one of those games that let you barge in many houses and buildings, but I'm not going to test my luck now. Dream or not, I have manners.

"Hello? I'm pretty sure you must not get many visits, but I need some help."

A couple of seconds passed, and then someone opened the door.

Specifically, a zebra. Not very tall, considering my height.

[Examine Zecora (Level-25)]
[If potions are what you seek, her knowledge about them is unique.]

Yup. Equine enough. This 'Zecora' uses many neck rings, and big earrings, and also... that mohawk looks surprisingly good on her. I'm not even going to question how she opened the door without hands. It's a dream. That's the answer.

"Hello there! I'm afraid I'm lost. Do you know how to get out of this forest?"

The zebra observed me for several seconds. Maybe my equipment is too intimidating? And even in a dream, it was a mistake to think that she would act as an NPC. I'll have to keep that in mind from now on. Until I wake up, that is.

"Hello, warrior from far away. To travel in this forest for me is like foal's play." Ok, that was super weird, but I understood that. She knows this forest way better than me. "It's best if you come inside. Safety and comfort I can provide."

Not going to say no to that! After all, she didn't get frightened by my appearance.

Man, that door is a bit small for me, I had to crouch for a moment to enter her treehouse. Zecora is definitely a 'herblore pure'. There are potions everywhere. All of them have proper names, like 'Anti petrify potion(4)', 'Cure disease(4)', 'Speedster potion(4)', just to name a few. There are even potions from the game! I see many 'Antidote+' scattered around the house. Whatever furniture Zecora lacks from a common house, she makes up for it with tables, desks, and shelves filled with potions.

"I take it you are an expert." I feel like I had to start this conversation.

"Every potion that I brew will work in the way that it best suits you." I'm still confused about the way she speaks, but at least I can understand it. Maybe it's some traditional stuff the zebras have in this world? She lives in this mysterious forest rich in ingredients, judging by the number of potions around. I wonder if she is skilled enough to be a 'Herblore master' like Kaqemeex?

"I'll definitely ask about your potions in the future, but for now, I need to find a way out of this forest. Can you help me please?"

The zebra simply smiled while moving to a nearby cauldron.

"A way out of the Everfree Forest you want to know, and the answer to you I can definitely show."

---

BGM -OFF-

"Pal! We're finally out!"

"Thank Guthix for that. I have to say, this view is way better. Especially because I can see buildings in the distance. Maybe it's the town Juna and Death mentioned?"

"Only one way to find out, partner."

(Optional BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuimLaIjQcI - feel free to use the 'loop' option if you want)

I don't know about everyone else, but sometimes I love to just walk and look around. When I was still a F2P, every time I had to go to the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon I just walked from Falador, passing through Port Sarim, and enjoying both the landscape and the music.

"For now let's enjoy the walk, Eek."

I've discovered a few interesting things while talking with Zecora.

The moment she said 'Everfree Forest', a new icon was available for me. One that I really, really wanted: The World map.

I still don't have the minimap function, but when I checked the world map, it did show me the area I was currently in: The Everfree Forest. It was shown in the same way Runescape does it. Thing is, It was only the forest area. Everything around that was outside the forest was just black. Kinda like an instanced area.

Not gonna lie. It was bigger than what I expected it to be.

After that, Zecora gave me a hand... hoof-made map of the forest. Even if it was now pointless, I still accepted her kindness because she was helping me. It's also thanks to her that I know a bit more about this unknown realm. Well, not unknown anymore.

This continent is called 'Equestria'.

It's mostly inhabited by ponies instead of horses, but there are other species living both inside and outside this territory. Some examples would be zebras, griffins, and even dragons. There are others that I never heard before, or at least I never saw them in Gielinor, like diamond dogs, changelings, and breezies.

Ponies themselves also have some variations. There are earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Earth ponies are physically stronger. Pegasi can fly. Unicorns can use magic, and they are not like the unicorns of Gielinor. There is also a very rare variation called 'Alicorn'. These ponies have all the advantages of the other ponies, meaning that they are stronger, can fly and use magic.

The two princesses of Equestria are alicorns, and their names are Celestia and Luna. These two fought so many years ago inside that old castle...

Sadly, knowing the name of this continent didn't give me the entire map of it. Well, that would have been too easy. I'll need to investigate how to unlock the maps in the world map later.

"Did you see that house? The rooftop was made of bushes and leaves!" Eek was in a good mood now that we're out of the Forest. Truth to be told, so am I. After all, I'm exploring something entirely new!

"A very interesting house." I replied to my little pal. "There's also a farm near. It's full of apple trees. They must really like apples."

And I just confirmed that there's a town near! And I know it's a town for a very good reason...

Ponies.

Yup. I see them. Many of them. With a surprising amount of different colors, and some of them are even using clothes! Wow... It's like they are humans.

Well... that, and Zecora told me about this 'Ponyville'. Seriously, it's a very 'straight to the point' kind of name for a town.

"They are like smaller unicorns! Very interesting indeed." said Eek, obviously happy. "We already had our first fight, and now we'll visit the first town of this realm!"

"Remember Eek. Our priority is to speak with the sovereigns of Equestria. We need more information about them. Specifically, where do they live. Also, maybe this is a rare sight for us, but for them, it's pretty normal. We are the rare beings in this scenario, and as such, we need to be careful. The last thing I want is to make them think I'm some sort of monster."

"Got it, pal." Eek did what I think it's a military salute with two of his tiny legs.

And soon enough, we reached the outskirts of the town. Now that I think about it... maybe I should change my equipment a bit. They may freak out just with the dragon scimitar, so...

[Equipment]

First, I'll remove my Void melee helm, the Dragon scimitar, and the Dragon sq shield. I think it will be better if they can see my face.

"Eek, can you give me access to my bank account?"

"Sure thing, pal!"

[Take]

Book of balance.

And now...

[Equipment]

Let's equip the Book of balance and the Mud battlestaff. I think that's more friendly than a red curved sword and a shield. In Runescape, you don't have to worry about it since it's a game, but this is more of a real-life experience, so I really don't want to scare these ponies. The town looks peaceful and since I can check a few of them at this distance, I know that all of them are very low level, like level-15 or level-17, so that means they are weaker than Zecora.

I find it a bit funny that they are cataloged as 'mare/stallion' just like the 'man/woman' in the game. Their descriptions are pretty similar, too.

[One of Equestria's many citizens.]

I really, really hope this is not like the werewolves of Canifis, or worse...

That goddamn rabbit from Prifddinas.

"Now that we are getting close to town... What's your plan?" asked Eek, looking at me with his tiny spider eyes. It's amazing how I can actually see them...

"Since everything around us is new, we'll have to ask the nearby ponies about the town. It would be helpful if we can find someone with authority so we can tell them about our quest. We can also ask if there's been any sight of creatures like the one we fought recently. That nightmarish thingie."

"Well, that sounds reasonable." answered my pal.

"Hey! Wait!"

An unknown voice got our attention. The weird thing is that it came from behind us. It sounded like a male kid, but rather than afraid, it was like he was surprised. When we turned around, we saw a small, purple lizard-like creature running, and when he managed to catch up to us, he took a few seconds to recover. Looks like he was running.

[Examine Spike (level-9)]
[A very small dragon with very big dreams]

"Is there anything I can help you with? As you can see, I'm not exactly from around here." I say with a smile and a good attitude. Gotta show that I'm friendly.

"Yeah... I can see that." said 'Spike', now feeling better. "But I'm really curious about you, and your clothes! Honestly, I don't even know what you are! No offense, but the only thing I know for certain is that you are really tall."

"None taken." I said, knowing he didn't say it with bad intentions. "My name is Euris." I moved my left arm to show my pal. "And this is Eek from the Spider Realm."

For a moment, Spike was confused that I was showing a spider, but then...

"Hey! Nice to meet you!" said Eek.

"Woah! He talks!" exclaimed the little dragon.

"Of course I do!" said Eek, as he did a quick backflip.

"Is it that weird?" I asked.

"Well, it's the first time I meet a spider that can talk. Anyways, my name is Spike, and I'm a dragon!"

Oh! So he really is a dragon! Good to know that the descriptions are telling the truth. If he's this small, he must be very young. But the fact that he is a friendly dragon says a lot. He can be a mighty protector in the future.

"Nice to meet you Spike. I didn't see you when we were walking earlier. Perhaps you were following us?"

"Kinda? I saw you guys when I was leaving Fluttershy's home." answered Spike. "She's a friend, by the way."

"Ah! The house with bushes and leaves!" said Eek.

"Yep. That's her cottage." added Spike.

"Well, I'm actually glad that you wanted to speak with us because right now we need some help."

"It seems like this is your first visit to Ponyville." said Spike, looking like he was thinking about something. "Hey! How about I bring you to my house? I'm sure Twilight can help you."

"Twilight?"

"Twilight Sparkle. She takes care of me, and we live together. She's pretty much my big sister now."

"Is she a dragon too?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Nah. She's a unicorn, and she loves keeping things organized." Spike said. "But she reads a lot and knows a lot! I'm sure she can help you with any problem you have."

Honestly, that sounds like a good plan! What I need right now is knowledge. A lot of knowledge. This Twilight Sparkle sounds like the kind of pony that can help me with that, and if she is Spike's caretaker, then she must have some privileges, considering that this is a pony society.

"Then it's decided. We'll follow you to your house. Lead the way, Spike." I said with respect.

"We'll be in your care, dude." added Eek.

"Leave it to me!" said the little dragon. It seems that our positive attitude is making him feel more comfortable with us. That's good. I honestly want to be on good terms with him. Who knows? Maybe we can be friends in the future.

As he started walking towards the town, we quickly followed him.

"Let me be the first to say it to you guys: Welcome to Ponyville!"

Author's Note:

This idea has been in my head for some time. I decided to publish this story because I don't want to make too many changes to the original concept.

This story will be updated once 'The Anomaly in a Mare's World' is complete.

Although, I may update a few more times if it gets enough attention.

Comments

[Auram Potentia]

dude i just found this whyile playing runescape lol

[random reader]

You know, as an avid Runescape 3 fan, I feel that this is relevant:

[Mornings Dew]

I just wanna say, that so far, this story is amazing! Keep up the amazing work, lad!

[Popamile]

Oldschool Runescape. Your hitting me in my childhood now.

[sicklyhare]

The friends and ignore list were also there, but there were no player names in either of them. The same happened in the clan chat tab. No names, nor chat groups were there.

interesting implications of what this could accomplish later. Don't need npc contact when you can just add everyone to your friends list. Though perhaps Juna and Death will need the constant use of the spell. Also potential of losing access to make/buy more supplies that are exclusive to geilinor like runes for spells and specific kinds of food.

Flesh crawler? As in, the bugs from the Stronghold of Security? But this one looks bigger, and its entire body is purplish now, with a curious glittering effect.

some kind of infection? Perhaps whatever went through the portal was not a changeling or if it was, it was infected with something?

I wonder when it'll hit him that this isn't a dream, at some point he has to realize that everything is too consistent, perhaps when he next sleeps?

[Sky Lemonade]

Having fun reading this while playing Runescape myself. 😁

That goddamn rabbit from Prifddinas.

I haven't unlocked this in oldschool yet but I know about the killer prif Monty Python Rabbit. Its something I look forward to fighting.

This was a fun read, I hope we get a continuation sometime soon. It kind of makes me wanna do my own Runescape MLP fic