Episode 103 — Wondercolts United
Episode 103 — Wondercolts United
Twenty-Eighth Day in the Month of Bush Clover (June 28) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 61 — Thorn Island — Front Line Floor 64
Bladescape was lounging in the stands, watching the opening game of their guild football league. Thunderborne's team, the Rainbooms, was playing against Natora's team, the Tigers. It was a good opening match.
Thunderborne and Malus had done a great job on setting up the league. They had plenty of balls, the lines were painted in different colors depending on the game, and the other equipment was easy to swap out. The teams were well balanced too. They were simply playing four on four; a forward, a midfielder, a defender, and a goalie. They had enough players for six teams. Bladescape was on Kamishi's team. She was not interested in leading a team, but she absolutely wanted to play. Also, as their Kaisho, it was good for her to do normal things like a football league with the regular members. It was even better for everyone to see her as a regular team member, not a team captain. Malus was somehow on Thunderborne's team, something Bladescape had initially doubted, but never voiced, and she was wrong to doubt it. Malus was good, particularly as a goalie, but not much better than most of the other players.
Competition often bonded Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but in Aincrad, things were too different, too specialized. There was no ability for them to compete, not even in kill counts, but playing together as teammates was apparently what they needed. Both of them needed to find a better way to continue to bond and build their friendship. With Thunderborne as team captain, she had enough authority over Malus and was able to push her to play better, and Malus pushed back, egging Thunderborne on.
Thunderborne clipped her kick. She had shown excellent control and skill, even better than IRL, but the kick went wide and out of bounds. Then she just stopped and openly stared. She wasn't looking at Bladescape. Thunder was looking at whoever was in the entryway, except no one was saying anything, even as the whole arena froze.
Bladescape scooted over to the stairs and leaned over the railing to see what had silenced Thunderborne. Dressed in scholarly robes and cap was Knightstar. She had frozen too. Everyone had frozen.
Knightstar would not have let herself be brought all the way to the arena on business. This was good. The pause was not, both for the game and for Knightstar. Dinner would be ready soon. They only had a few minutes left for either side to break the tie.
"Thunder!" Bladescape yelled. "Get your head in the game! You're never that sloppy with your ball handling!"
"Right!" Thunderborne yelled back. That was enough to get the game rolling again.
Bladescape looked at Knightstar. Her friend had not even glanced up at her. "Knightstar, come up here with me," Bladescape said, trying to make it friendly, not an order.
It was enough to get her to look up at her and Bladescape pointed to the entry of the stairs for the arena's seating. Knightstar silently walked down to the end and entered behind the arena wall. She came up the stairs to Bladescape. Bladescape scooted back to her original spot and Knightstar sat beside her.
"I only just found out you moved," Knightstar said. “Like half an hour ago.”
"A lot has changed," Bladescape shrugged. “Like you added glasses to the sage outfit. It's a nice touch.” She needed to play it cool and calm for her friend. To build her up, not dwell on a mistake.
Natora slipped the ball past Kate and then kicked it. Malus was good, but this time Natora outsmarted her and Malus dove the opposite direction of where the ball went. The game was no longer tied 3-3.
"Come on!" Bladescape bellowed. "I thought you guys had this! Thunderborne and Malus, what could go wrong!"
"That is Malus?" Knightstar asked, shocked as she watched Malus get up and dust off her uniform. "She's actually playing a game!"
"Yep," Bladescape grinned. "Like I said, a lot has changed. Natora has Kiefer as their defender, with Pell as their goalie and Suisei playing as their midfielder. Thunderborne has Malus as her goalie, Kate is their defender, and Tifa is their midfielder. We're running out of time in our opening game, before Konpeito rings that dinner bell. Apparently she has a new one ordered. One big enough to be heard over the whole island. I don't think it's a handbell this time."
Bladescape couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"Is she cooking alone?" Knightstar asked. "Well, her and Reisenki?"
"Nah," Bladescape said, waving the idea off with her hand. "We have like a dozen cooks now. Jade, Delton, and Ithilien are no longer hitting the field. They are basically three full time cooks; breakfast and dinner. Maybe some other errands if need be. It's crucial support for a guild our size to still be able to push the front and eat well. Having friends support us with their cooking is great for morale."
"How long have you been here?" Knightstar asked. "I did not see or hear anything about your merger with Meigibu."
Thunderborne scored, slipping the ball past Kiefer and tying the game at 4-4. Bladescape yelled, pumping her fist as Thunderborne hyped up the crowd for the goal. Competitive words were exchanged as the ball was put back in play.
Bladescape focused back on Knightstar. She had to pitch the standing offer for Knightstar to rejoin them without backing Knightstar into a corner. Using the merger as the framework, by simply explaining it, should do the trick.
"We merged yesterday. We got this place a few days before the merger. Lobelia has taken the third seat on our council, Malus slipped to fourth seat, and Kamishi is our fifth Councilor. Meigibu was floundering and not only could we offer them the stability they needed, but it meant we could keep them on the front lines. It was not an easy decision for anyone. It took time to discuss and settle.
"A little over half of Meigibu unconditionally merged with us. Fifteen are unsure, but we are going to train them and let them have a trial run as a Wondercolt, without a commitment or penalty to them. They are labeled probationary for that reason only. We want to keep as many in the guild as possible and will establish non-clearing teams if need be. I'm confident that we can keep all of them on the front, clearing. They want it, even if they have been knocked down a bit.
"But the three cooks, we don't ever want to understate their value. We need some logistics and support players to function as we used to, yet as an oversized guild. They don't want to fight on the front lines anymore, that's understandable, but they also don't want to leave their friends. This was a great option for them. This way, they still get to contribute to the clearing effort. Fighting is important, but it's equally important to keep the swords in the field swinging, even if you can't swing one yourself."
That final bit was the key part to deliver to Knightstar. Other players took different paths, but all had a place in the expanded Wondercolts. Knightstar still had a place no matter what her role would be.
"That's," Knightstar stammered. Her head dropped in a complex mix of emotions. "That's wonderful. For all of you."
Bladescape had to shift herself back as Sunset Shimmer and then wait for her friend to look back up at her. She finally did. Twilight Sparkle wanted to look away from the no longer smiling face, but Sunset had locked her eyes onto the wet ones of her friend. She could not pull away from the gaze.
"Twilight, because part of you is still Twilight, we are good friends and the offer has never left the table," Bladescape stated, now confident that she could be more straightforward. "You came here for a reason. Look around, no one cares what happened. We only care that you're not beside us. You made Dash miss her kick and freeze in the middle of a game. It won't be hard to catch you up and we seriously have plenty of rooms available."
Knightstar sat there thinking. Bladescape could only guess what was going on in her mind. It was odd, after so long without her, seeing her friend beside her, but it felt right. A little ridiculous because of the very Twilight scholar outfit, but it felt right, and was, to have her friend beside her.
"I..." Knightstar stumbled. "I came because Fluttershy had a gift made for me that reminded me of the friendship we had made. At least I'm pretty certain it was her. There was no note, but it had both of our marks on it. It was delivered to my shop an hour ago. I came seeking forgiveness from her. From you all. All of this is overwhelming. You are not the Wondercolts that I left... I..."
"We all screwed up that morning," Bladescape stated once it was clear Knightstar had lost where she was going. "Natora and I know we could have, and should have, done things in private. It was a very hard lesson that we learned. We want our friend back. We want her to feel safe. We want her to feel the love we have for her. However and whatever that means. We will all be better off for it."
"What would my duties be?" Knightstar asked.
"I don't want to stress you, because I can see the shock you are in, but we would love to have you back as our statistician."
Bladescape held up her hand, stopping Knightstar from speaking. "That would be a consulting position, not a council position. We managed without you, but you launched a successful store overnight off of the information you already had. I saw your guides. No one can do what you do. We missed you for that and more. Way more. So much more than I can express. Actually, it was kind of boring not collecting the data we used to. But it also would be nice to have that awesome power of my friend assisting with the new guild members. Rarity is working hard to make their armor, but they still need weapons analysis and stats examination. Natora and I can do it, but we can't do it like you. No one can.
"Off the top of my head," Bladescape said, a big grin on her face. She was making it obvious that there had always been a plan for Knightstar's return. "It’s light work. If you want to be in the field we can do that, but we would only need you to help keep our stats, equipment, and other things up to date, along with guiding us towards the most effective and efficient way of staying at the top. All the way to the peak of Aincrad so we can finish this game and get out of this nightmare. I want to hug my real friend, Twilight Sparkle, with my real body."
"Sunset..." Knightstar whispered as a tear finally escaped her wet eyes.
Sunset Shimmer embraced her friend in a tight hug. "I never, ever want to lose you again. Not in this virtual world, the real one, Equestria, or any other world, realm, or reality."
Twilight Sparkle squeezed her back as hard as she could. "I'm staying," she declared with a wet sniff. "I mean, I'll have to go back and get some things from the store. And I will have to close it down."
"Why?" Bladescape asked. "Can't the NPC run most of it?"
"True," Knightstar replied. "And it would provide me with a more accessible place for players of any level or association to do the consultations when that comes up."
"Then keep it and a spare bed too for the times your work goes late," Bladescape said. "It can be your retreat from the guild during time off. I know you will always be coming back to us. Besides, you have a team that does gather info for you on places we missed and they could really use a business to go to rather than our castle. But, you know, these robes will need to be Wondercolted by Rarity."
A huge commotion on the field caused them to break off the hug and watch. Natora had kicked the ball, but Malus had caught it. She chucked it all the way to the halfway mark where Tifa was. Tifa had bounced it off her chest and immediately kicked it while she was still free. The ball drifted off towards the corner. Thunderborne was there to receive it. She jumped up, delivering a perfect bicycle kick. Kiefer was no match for the flawless kick and instant redirection. The score was now 5 to 4, advantage Rainbooms.
"Yes," Knightstar said with a chuckle. "I'm sure Rar-er-Diemond will want me to fit in with the guild, royal blue with gold accents, not my twilight purple robes with Lavender flourishes. Can you really catch me up?"
"What level are you?" Bladescape asked.
"Seventy-four," Knightstar answered.
"Absolutely!" Bladescape exclaimed with a sly grin. "You're smack in the middle of the range for our new members. We start training on the first of the month. In between we are team building, getting the break we need, and also will be getting furniture ordered. We have cobbled together what we have into a temporarily okay system, but we need a real dining hall table, we need a new dais, one that easily seats five, for our meeting hall, and plenty of other things too. We are squeezing by on the system's cheap furniture as we organize that. And by 'we' I mean mostly Diemond because, as much as she has to do, she also wants to ensure we get the best."
Kamishi, who had been the referee for the game, blew the whistle. Their game was finished. Even with the added time due to the running clock, they were done. The first game of the league went to the Rainbooms. The Tigers were in a good position too with four goals. The championship match would be decided by total goals scored during the regular season, a very common system for football. The teams were balanced enough that it would be difficult for the others to score as high as they did.
Konpeito rang the dinner bell. It was audible, but not by much. They were a solid distance from the Great Hall and inside the arena. She absolutely needed a bigger and louder bell. They were technically running off of a schedule, where everyone had to pay close attention to the time, but they couldn't always function like that.
Bladescape led Knightstar to the Great Hall. It was currently only "great" in its size. The mashup of tables and chairs was functional, but detracted from the room. Plus they had just enough chairs to seat all of them, with no room for more than a few spares. They could not receive guests at the moment. Bladescape kept Knightstar with her, at the end of the dining hall that had been designated as the “head.” It was opposite the kitchen and closest to the Guild Hall. The organization was temporary and would come down to the furniture designers.
When everyone was inside, Bladescape made the announcement. The other councilors had been briefed and agreed upon the course Bladescape had set, personally welcoming Knightstar back to active duty. Malus hugged Knightstar tight.
"Friends!" Bladescape called out before dinner officially started. "In an hour, after dinner, we'll gather in the meeting hall." Bladescape pulled Knightstar out from behind the councilors who had been shielding her in plain sight. "And reinstate Knightstar to activate status as a Wondercolt. She has agreed to be our statistician, assisting with all of our statistics needs for leveling guidance and equipment consultations. As most of you know, she also runs a successful level consultation business and encyclopedia store covering a lot of things in Aincrad. Monsters, loot, materials, quests, she has it all and will maintain the store and take consults when she can. Knightstar will be catching up with the level quotas and rejoining the clearing effort as part of her duties. Also, as a final note, since she is serving a unique and important role, we are going to grant her the rank of Socho."
Pyrrha stood up. "Bladescape Kaisho, a request for consideration if I may?"
"Please, go ahead," Bladescape said with a nod. It was important for the others to see that they could approach the council or Shikiku with requests and concerns. A few, like Pyrrha, did not need to learn that lesson, but most did. No one was used to the large and formal structure they were now running.
"I request that you consider officially giving Diemond a rank," Pyrrha stated. "She is our armorer and designer. She will make almost all of our equipment. She deserves a title and rank. Socho seems most appropriate with how it is being used."
Bladescape looked at the other councilors and could immediately tell their answer. Bladescape had been thinking the same thing they were. It was instinctual.
"There is no need for deliberations," Bladescape stated. "We were already considering her our Chief Armorer, but the rank request is very valid. The council grants your request and immediately bestows upon Diemond the rank of Socho. Diemond Socho, we are impressed and thankful for all you do. Thank you. Now, let's show Konpeito Itamae and the cooks our gratitude by enjoying their meal before it gets cold!"
A round of cheers with applause was raised. In celebration of Knightstar's return and her role, as well as celebrating Diemond's official role, and the thrill of good food cooked with love for them all.
After a slightly rushed dinner, they all headed to the meeting hall. Knightstar was stunned by its beauty. She did not need to be guided or prompted for her path. It was with great joy that Bladescape extended the invitation to her friend.
Knightstar did not take a vow like the others. She came up with her own on the spot. It was true to the old, original Wondercolts. One that reflected their school back home and their friendship. Yet it still worked for the new Wondercolts in Aincrad. Everyone loved seeing her rejoin the Wondercolts. Because of her rank, she would be put in the palace, on their second floor. If Diemond wasn't living above the forge, she too would be moved, but Diemond wouldn't want to move.
Bladescape had to head out and meet up with Argo for the location scouting. She would get the details when she got there and would need to be on it quickly. The guild's bonding time would likely have to be interrupted for this job, but it was important. Argo never asked unless it was. The council had agreed it was a good thing to pursue. The distraction of Knightstar's rejoining was what Bladescape needed to slip away, unnoticed by the regular members.
Knightstar was standing in the middle of her room in the palace. It was so big and open, especially after coming from her shop. The bed in her private bedroom was a spare one, but other members had jumped to help her grab her essentials from her shop. She was thankful for their assistance. Her appreciation was overshadowed by her inability to grasp the room given to her. It was the logical place to put her, it was just so big. It had more space than the entire second floor of her shop. She was already thinking of taking a spare team room in the guild hall to be her work area, where members could easily find her and not need permission to go to her. How she would, logically, fill the space of her bedroom without also doing her work inside was something she could not currently grasp.
Knightstar got a message. It was from Doombunny asking to give her permission to come up so she could speak to her in her room. Knightstar was unsure how that would go. It was a bit nerve racking. Doombunny had been a major factor in the rift, but not the only one. She had given her the gift, but meeting her made Knightstar uneasy. She had messed up a lot concerning her friends. Forgiving and forgetting were not the same thing. The two of them had not had a chance to directly talk since Knightstar came back, only two hours prior.
Despite her unease, Knightstar headed downstairs. They needed to talk. Doombunny was patiently waiting, without Colorra. The elapid was likely resting after a big meal. It fought hard and was not built the same as a player in regards to combat. The snake still made Knightstar uneasy at times, all snakes did. She was glad it wasn’t currently with Doom. Doombunny smiled at her, but said nothing. Granting Doom permission to come up was fairly straightforward. The system was good and able to recognize them being together.
Back in her room, with the door closed, Knightstar was still unsure what to say. Doombunny opened her menu and pulled out a wooden box. It looked like a jewelry box, except it was pretty big. Bigger than most necklace boxes.
“I want you to have this,” Doombunny said, extending it to her. “I have no use for them, as the Beast Tamer Charms are too critical for my role. I only did the quest to get the charms that went into the orb. No crafter could make the symbols as well as the charms. I figure you would make better use of the rest. After all, I ended up with them only because I needed two of them for the project. Plus, you have two of them, so you should have the rest.”
Knightstar took the box, unsure what to say. She started simple. “Thank you, Doombunny.” By the time she was finished saying that, she knew what else to add. “For this and the statue. It is beautiful and it certainly sparked the memories of our friendship, reminding me what was really important.”
Doombunny opened her mouth and then shut it. Knightstar had no warning as Doombunny bear hugged her, almost toppling them because of the lunge. “I’m so glad you’re back. I hated how things ended up, the rift I caused. I never meant for that to happen.”
“It was not all your fault,” Knightstar said. She was unable to hug her back since her arms were pinned. “I caused further trouble for myself. Part of me did miss you and the others. I’m relieved to be back.”
Doombunny broke the hug and smiled at her. “I actually have not seen the finished product.”
“We can solve that,” Knightstar said, smiling back at her friend. She needed furniture, so it was sitting on the ground, near the back wall. Doombunny did not hesitate to sit on the floor. Knightstar sat down too. Doombunny marveled at the orb.
“I knew they said it would be worth it,” she said as she watched it spin, yet the charms remained oriented at her. “They could only pull that off due to the charms I brought them.”
“It is very impressive work,” Knightstar said. “I can tell they used lost wax casting. It is a lost artform and it makes the superior bronze castings. Each one is so unique because the mold is lost. I am surprised the system even had it as an option.”
“I contracted him to make the best,” Doombunny said. “I gave him the directions he needed, mostly the base, but the horses were his to sculpt. He did a fantastic job. He was the one to recommend the charms. Well, your charm, since he knew I wanted a star for yours. He really took the orb further than I envisioned when I went to him. I was very lucky that there was a butterfly charm.”
“It is absolutely fantastic,” Knightstar said. It felt good just to sit with Doombunny. There really was no unease or tension, except internally which was all on Knightstar.
“I don’t remember what jewelry you have, but you should look at the charms,” Doombunny said. “I am guessing the left wrist would be better, so they are not flopping around too much. They might make swinging a sword difficult.”
“Okay,” Knightstar said, opening the hinged box. The gold bracelet was beautiful and large. Around it were eleven charms. In the top of the box it had the names of each charm written on it, along with their buff. The bottom two were crossed out. Knightstar could not believe her eyes. She looked at Doombunny, dumbfounded. “This-these-” she stammered, before losing what she was going to say as she tried to comprehend what was written.
- Painite Blossom — +150 Strength
- Col Standard — +15% col dropped by monsters
- Iron Opal — +15% Carry Weight
- Tuft of a Rainbow Cloud — +20% boost to speed
- Vial Of Life — +150 Constitution
- Fragment of the Palace — 20% reduction in skill delay
- Ribbon of Seven Thousand Threads — +150 Agility
- Radial Orchid — +15% Search
- Triadic Trefoil — + 150 Attack
- Golden Compass — +150 to equipped weapon’s accuracy
- Heart of The Great Lion — +25% to defense
Ammolite MetalmarkStars of the Forgotten Night
Doombunny nodded. “They are the ultimate piece of jewelry in SAO. Some pieces may come close to a particular charm, but actually beating six on the bracelet will be difficult. The bracelet can only hold six at once, yet they are easy to swap out. You will make good use of them. I certainly can’t. Selling them did not seem wise, not after all of the hard work I put in. Plus, with two missing, it would detract the value if players learned there were supposed to be thirteen.”
“How long did this take?” Knightstar asked. That was not really important, it just came out. She was still trying to grasp their power.
“My plan was in place within a week of you leaving,” Doombunny answered. “No one knew my actual plan, but Bladescape and Natora trusted me. So did Malus. Thunder, well she was not happy with any solution that was not direct or expedient.”
Knightstar laughed with Doombunny. That was certainly Thunderborne. She could be rather impatient.
“I only finished getting them a few days ago,” Doombunny added. “Which seemed to time out perfectly.”
“Yeah, it did,” Knightstar admitted. “I’m not sure if I would have been ready before. Maybe two or three weeks, but not any sooner. It’s hard to judge that. Anyway, what did you have to do? That was a long time.”
“It was a fourteen part quest,” Doombunny explained. “First I had to solve a riddle and go through a gauntlet of puzzles to get the charm bracelet. Once I had it, the rest could be followed up at my leisure. There is no second bracelet, no way for others to have gotten ahead of me. I had to use it a few times to unlock things. At the start, I only knew the names of three or four charms, including the two used for the project.
“My goal was to get those two, not the others, but I only was given one riddle at a time to solve and had no known order. Of course the Stars of the Forgotten Night was the very last one. It literally took me all over Aincrad and required a variety of tasks, mostly puzzle based. Reveal was quite useful at times. I did a lot at night or on days off. Some of the riddles took a while to figure out the location, let alone how to get the charm. Some were on floors not unlocked yet, which made things even more difficult and really slowed it down. I could not have gotten them done much sooner than I did.”
“You never wrote the buffs of the last two down,” Knightstar said. “What were they? Just to satisfy my curiosity.”
Doombunny nodded before answering. “The Ammolite Metalmark increased the outcome for artistic skills by fifteen percent. The Stars of the Forgotten Night was a two hundred point boost to Reveal. Just as powerful as the others.”
Knightstar looked at all of them, still shocked at their power. It was a lot to give up, both for the project and for Doombunny. After all, she had put in the work. It spelled out how powerful the Beast Tamer Charms really were as a set. Well, powerful for her use, since these were the ultimate jewelry in SAO, and Knightstar could pick and choose which ones she wore, up to six.
While she had not fought in a while, she doubted her playing style had changed. She would be caught up shortly, as the new Wondercolts pushed for levels. Fragment of the Palace was crucial, as reducing Sword Skill delay was too important for a Clearer. The Heart of The Great Lion likewise was critical, especially considering it was slightly stronger than the rest. It had to have been a difficult battle if it increased defense by twenty-five percent, especially for a dagger wielding damage dealer. That buff would be a rolling one based on whatever Knightstar’s current based defense was. Boosting her weapon’s accuracy, the Golden Compass, would absolutely improve her fighting and give her a clear edge by adding a hundred and fifty accuracy points to her sword. It was an insane buff and it would transfer to any weapon she had equipped. The last charm that was a must have was the Vial of Life, since it boosted her constitution by a hundred and fifty. More health on the frontlines was another crucial factor. Once a powerful health boost, be it to the base stat or directly giving HP, was locked in, walking away from them was impossible. They were holding their market value, or selling high, for a very good reason, and that was just four of the six she could wear.
The Triadic Trefoil would be highly beneficial due to boosting her attack, but was not crucial like the others. Although, using it might prove to be like a health boost, since she was dealing with the best buffs in the game and on the frontline. Attack was a vague stat, which players could not assign level points to, and it influenced the damage statistics of weapons. The main damage factor came from the weapon itself. The Col Standard would likely always be attached, not that Knightstar was greedy. Fifteen percent more col in drops would be very important, as she could filter it back into her business; particularly to ensure she had enough to pay her team to get the info she needed so she could keep updating the encyclopedia, without charging more for updates. Both of them could be swapped out for Ribbon of Seven Thousand Threads if she needed to boost agility or the Painite Blossom if she needed more strength, but neither fit her playing style. At least not in ways she typically needed to be buffed. She was a balanced build for a reason. Boosting Search might have its benefits, but the Radial Orchid was certainly specialized to those tasks. Knightstar did not rely on Search like other players, especially Bladescape. She primarily relied on Bladescape, as Search was still a newer Skill for her. The same for her carry weight, the Iron Opal, since she had Extended Carry Weight and she was balanced strength. She would almost never need the Tuft of a Rainbow Cloud, as it boosted her speed. With tanks like Malus and Diemond in their parties, their overall speed was quite slow. Thunderborne, Natora, and Doombunny needed it as damage dealers, but Knightstar was more static in her fighting since she was a forward with a shield.
“Thank you, Doombunny,” Knightstar said. She started to tear up. None of what she feared was right. This proved that. As bad as it had been, they were good. Both the statue and the bracelet proved that. Actions typically mattered more than words and that was certainly evident here. Doombunny really was kind through and through, even after becoming much colder and hardened in SAO. She was still leagues ahead of Knightstar. “You are a good friend and so kind. It’s amazing. I don’t feel like I deserve it. I don’t give enough to our friendship.”
“If you didn’t, we wouldn’t be friends,” Doombunny softly said. “Every bit of effort I put in was worth it, because you are worth it to me. You are worth more than I did. I’m glad it is over, but I would have kept going.”
They hugged again. It felt really good to hug a person. Knightstar had not had anyone around while she was on her own, and these were virtual bodies, not real. As realistic as they were, there was a very subtle difference in the way they felt.
The hug ended and Doombunny’s smile was big and warm. “I should let you rest. Plus, it has been a chaotic two days for me. There are so many more Wondercolts now. It is all overwhelming.”
“What room do you have?” Knightstar asked.
“Oh, I took the lighthouse, all the way at the back of the garden,” Doombunny answered. “It’s a walk, but it is better for the two of us. It’s more peaceful, I can openly store the cages with Colorra’s food, and with Listen, I can literally hear everything on the island. Assuming I do not tune it out. It is easier to do that at the lighthouse, especially when I am trying to go to sleep, or waking up, or tired in general; when the filters can slip.”
“Go,” Knightstar said with a chuckle. “I’m glad you found a place where you feel most comfortable.”
Knightstar walked Doombunny to the bottom of the stairs, but then returned to her room. As she looked at her massive room again, it did not feel so empty or big. She could tackle it. It was amazing how friends quickly shaped things.
BLADESCAPE: Level 85 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics — Greatsword
NATORA: Level 81 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 81 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend — Sprint
THUNDERBORNE: Level 81 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing — Search
KONPEITO: Level 81 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry — Rend
DIEMOND: Level 81 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation — Rend
DOOMBUNNY: Level 82 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche — Search
KIEFER: Level 80 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
SORYUTO: Level 78 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 80 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation — Two-Handed Weapon Creation
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 74 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce — Search
Stats
Page generated in 0.022 seconds
Total duration
687 users online
728,352 hits today, 1,544,325 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2025
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2025 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
wonderful update! Was the one sword logo icon ting supposed to be on the far left side of the page so to speak?
Continuity check: I thought Bladescape hit level 86 in chapter 88, and Keifer has slash weapon forging listed twice.
12101393
Thanks. I fixed that. It was supposed to be centered. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
12101575
Hmm. You are correct. I will have to hunt that down and fix. Thanks.
If she knew, what happened during that quest...
12101631
your welcome! Also I just had an amusing thought. Imagine for a moment that some other guilds or players not in guilds, learning about the sports fields the Wondercolts have. And now imagine them putting teams together and approaching the WC asking permission to use said fields. As a result in order to boost moral among all players, the WC organize an open comunity tounament day(s) where various spoting events are held. Hehe just imagine Doom putting together a tee ball game for the lil kids from the Town of Beginnings.
12101722
Or, at least one I have already started writing.
Yeah. I can imagine it. There will be at least one public arena, in Collinia on Floor 75, if not others already available. I'm sure one more is currently available at this point. The biggest issue is the others players to think of doing it. Who thinks to play games in a game? If you have ever seen pictures of Medieval Times, it is very similar, a bit wider, but there isn't the space for a T-ball outfield. Their football pitch is going to be 30x20 feet. Plenty of length still. I think it was 50x30 for the area.
chicagoparent.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/medievaltimes-696x467.jpe
Also, I have a better plan.
12101680
I believe bits and pieces will come out. It almost always does in life. The important parts were shared.
Welcome home Twilight. So glad she's friends with Sunset, Fluttershy and everyone else again. Knightstar's name is on the list with the Wondercolts o again where it belongs, and her level will be caught up to theirs again in no time.
12101983
It is good to have her back. Especially since I have been writing chapters far ahead where she is back. Remembering where the Story's release point as I bounce around edits and finalize things gets tough. I confuse myself quite often. I spend far too much time trying to find something I previously wrote to reference. lol.
Thank you for this chapter! With the buildup and the extra Doombunny chapters leading up to this, we needed the one on one between them to hash it out. Loved both in the original and this expansion of that plot is great. Now the question: will Knightstar let Bladescape know of these options? Or will Flutters and Twi keep this between themselves and only reveal it after a switch of bracelets saved someone's hide?
12102333
I'm glad you are enjoying it! It was much more satisfying this time to have those expansions to see what was going on. As to your question, I don't know. I have not asked that one. I doubt it will be discussed. No one even knew the quest details Doom did for them.
This is awkward.
That and cause she wears them irl.
It's strange, but it's a good feeling.
Go figure she would.
Sounds tough.
Welcome back KS.
12102914
You know, Knightstar is one of those names I couldn't shorted. Especially in dialog, when people normally would shorted something or run a nickname.
Bladescape > Blade
Thunderborne > Thunder
Malus = already short
Diemond > Die
Doombunny > Doom or Bunny
Natora = already short 3 short syllables
Konpeito > ?
Knightstar > KS
12103043
I see