Intermission 04: Quillium
This chapter was written by one of my awesome editors, TLSpark. He very much wanted his OC NPC in the story, but I unfortunately never got around to it. So he decided to take matters into his own hands, and type up this chapter. He then asked me to post this chapter on my story, and I felt like I should do it cause he (and Reddened Chaos) have been helping me so much with editing the story.
This story with Quillium explains how the NPCs play a role in the story. How NPCs work and think like actual real ponies, and how some or most of them are actually aware of this place being a game. Because of this aspect, this opens up a whole lot more opportunities for me to mess around with the story expand on the idea and the universe of Equestrian Earth itself. What does that mean? It means you'll be seeing some more chapters like that from me (or TLSpark if he wants to write another one again) in the future.
If you want, you can go chat with my editors.
Go check out TLSpark's page.
and/or go check out Reddened Chaos' page.
I think that it would make their day if you do.
Hugs and kisses from me. 
Enjoy the chapter! I've kept you long enough.
[Contains]: Moderate World-building aspects
The skies above Aeroslida were a bright and spacious blue that seemed to illuminate the very air with a warm radiance. The various birds flew in and out of the street signs, while NPCs and players alike roamed the stores.
Street vendors called out their wares as well as negotiated prices with a few buyers. Not only this, but groups of players were also excitedly describing their most recent tales to each other, and anticipating what they wanted to do next. A few were even trading items, weapons, and information on certain creatures.
It was just another day in the world of Equestrian Ear–
“GET OUT OF MY STORE!”
The sudden outburst wrenched across the skies, startling the birds and several ponies in the street. Nothing happened for a time, so most of them just shrugged it off and continued on their business. None of them knew that the voice had come from a small bookstore that was located in a secluded part of the city.
Inside, the store was littered with various scrolls, tomes, a few quills, and a couple of maps of the certain locations in the world. Several bookshelves full of books lined the walls with only a few tables in between. At that moment, a player, a stallion with a light green mane and coat and was robed in a black cloak, was standing before the shop owner, who was a brown unicorn with a shockingly grey mane, which was short and combed a bit untidily to the left. The old stallion was looking quite angry at the player before him. Slowly, the player lifted a green hoof to his ear and massaged it a little.
“Did you have to yell so loudly? You nearly broke my ear drums there.” He calmly told the disgruntled shop owner. The shop owner puffed out his chest and glared at the player.
“I want you out of my shop, and you’d better hope I never see you here again. I can do more than just ‘yell loudly’ you know.”
“Oh really?” asked the player. “And what’s an NPC going to do to me?”
“This ‘NPC’ knows far more than you could ever begin to know.” They stared at each other for a time, and then the player shrugged his shoulders and stepped away.
“I’ll leave for now, but we will come back Quillium. Sentinel would very much like to speak with you.” The NPC known as Quillium didn’t even move. The player shrugged again and left the store, a tiny ringing from the bell above the front door echoed throughout the now empty shop.
Giving a deep sigh, Quillium leaned down and began to pick up the papers he had knocked over earlier in his magic. He seemed a whole lot older just then after speaking with the player.
Annoying Code Warrior… he thought as he placed the papers on a nearby table, can’t leave me alone for one week…even though one week here is like a day there. Just then, the bell rang again, signaling that somepony had just come in. Thinking it was the Coder again, he rounded on the visitor with revived ferocity.
“DIDN’T I TELL YOU TO– ” He stopped mid sentence. A tiny grey Pegasus foal was pressed against the door, startled by the hostile store owner. Quillium softened his gaze when he recognized the lad.
“Buzz…” he said. The foal, realizing that Quillium wasn’t mad anymore sat up on his haunches and smiled.
“Hello Mr. Q. Who was that pony you were talking to just now?” Quillium couldn’t help but smile a little at his quick recovery.
“Nopony of particular importance Buzz.” He told the foal. “What is it that you want today?” Buzz happily hopped onto all four of his hooves and bounced up to Quillium. His smile growing all the bigger as he did so.
“Gust and Windy keep telling me that you used to know an actual NPC adventurer!” He happily proclaimed. Quillium’s smile faded upon hearing this.
“And why would you come here then?”
“I wanted to make sure they weren’t pulling my leg,” he replied. Buzz looked down and began to trace his little hoof on the carpet, like he was getting in trouble for something. “I’ve always been told that NPCs shouldn’t even try to go on an adventure like the players…cause you know…we might get killed…”
“An all too true fact for us I’m afraid…” Quillium said. He turned his back on the foal and began to reshelf a few tomes that had been discarded earlier. Buzz looked up again and began to follow him around the small store.
“So?” He asked.
“So…what?” Quillium asked back.
“Did you know an NPC adventurer?” Quillium sighed and turned towards the foal again.
“Buzz, do you know why NPCs don’t usually go on adventures like the ‘players’ often do?”
“Cause unlike the players, us NPCs could actually get killed out there. We don’t regenerate like them.”
“Correct.” Quillium said with a smile. “And do you know why we ask players to go on ‘Quests’ for us if a certain task we want done is too dangerous?”
“Um…” Buzz said. “For the same reason?”
“Correct again. And it is that same reason that we are forever banned from taking part in those PvP battles at the Skydome.”
“Cause if we die…”
“We don’t ‘come back’ like a player.” Quillium concluded. Satisfied with his explanation, the store owner continued replacing the old and sometimes new tomes back in the surrounding shelves. Buzz stayed where he was for a moment, not moving except for the occasional twitch of his wings. He then proceeded to follow Quillium around the store again.
“Is that why you don’t leave your store?” He asked.
“Partly…” Quillium replied. He set the last book inside a shelf, then went over to the pile of knocked over quills. His earlier argument with the Coder had gotten little out of hoof.
“But you can’t just stay here forever.” Buzz observed.
“I do have to leave my store for my home you know. I don’t actually live here like most folks seem to think.”
“I know…but then again you never leave Aeroslida!” Quillium sighed again while setting the quills back in their respective cup beside the ink wells. He walked over to the nearest map and began rolling it up.
“Actually…I do leave Aeroslida…I just don’t leave for long periods of time like others.”
“What do you do then?” Buzz hopped into a chair that was beside Quillium and eagerly looked at the old shop keeper.
Out of all the foals I have ever met in my life… Quillium wondered, You have to be the one to ask the most questions… He chuckled a little just then. The shop owner was used to answering a lot of questions. From weapon lore and creature knowledge, to the occasional food recipe, he was always glad to answer a question, and yet why is this foal so intent on learning more about him?
Quillium decided to answer the question to at least try to sate his curiosity by answering, “Sometimes I have to go to other towns to gather more books for my store. I can’t run a business without new stock every now and then.” Buzz nodded his head and gazed around himself at all the books around him.
Happy that he wasn’t asking any more questions, Quillium walked over to another section of his store. Here, he carefully selected a simple novel and returned to the colt. Buzz looked at him, and then the book. His eyes grew wider as he read the title.
“’The First Great Heroes of Our Age’? What’s that about?” He asked with wonder in his voice.
“It’s about the first of our kind who dared to venture into the first dungeons of this so called ‘game’ that we live in.” Quillium replied. He set the book on the table before the foal and smiled as he began to read it.
“NPC adventurers? For real? Cool!” For the next hour or so, Buzz reveled in the first stories of Equestrian Earth when it was first being created. How the Coders had come to them, the NPCs, at one point so they could beta test a few dungeons before the game was released. He even learned how a few NPCs continued to go into these same areas, even after they were infested with creatures and traps, just to see if they could survive for real.
During this time, Quillium entertained him even further by telling Buzz of the actual history of their ‘real’ counterpart, Equestria Prime. Not only that, but he also got the colt a snack of bread with his famous strawberry jelly. Buzz was happily eating a slice with copious amounts of the red substance when he popped the question once more.
“Did you know any NPC adventurers? Like the ones in the book?”
Quillium stared long and hard at the young foal. He stared so long that Buzz began to think that he might have broken him somehow. He was considering on calling a Coder when he at last spoke.
“I did…but only one.” He said. His tone was a little sad. Buzz stared at him with wonder again. It was then that he glanced at the clock.
“Oh my gosh! I have to go!” He quickly devoured the rest of the bread and hopped off the chair. He gave Quillium a quick hug and galloped out the door. Just before he did, he turned around and smiled at the ancient stallion.
“Thank you for the stories Mr. Q. And the jam was delicious!” He turned suit and bolted out the door, the bell just above it ringing in the near empty store. Quillium hadn’t moved an inch. He gazed after the boy and sighed.
“I knew one…” he angrily muttered under his breath. “And one is enough for me.”
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To the fans/readers: BY the way, I left a little note for all of you, who read Chapter 4! regarding a certain Doctor character...so, anypony got a problem with what I said in the note, COME AND GET ME!!!
2246596
Oh come on now. You're just baiting them.
2246602 Pfft, I did that in Chapter 4's edits, when I first made the note. after all, it's pretty much an ongoing debate on 'Who's the best Doctor' So, I threw my two bits in. I vote for Time Turner/David Tennant.
It's alive?? YUS!
Edit: That was nice. Now all I have to know who that NPC adventurer was, or if we already learned his name, remember it.
2246602 This is fantastic. I definitely didn't expect you to actually publish it.
2246662
th00.deviantart.net/fs70/200H/f/2011/231/6/2/was_there_ever_any_doubt_by_physicallypossible-d476cwu.jpg
2246669 Yes. Yes there was.
Nice to see this isn't dead.
excuse me are you trying to say, we have been given and intermission to an intermission?
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cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/35987762.jpg
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deviantart.com/download/325757531/mlp___perhaps_____by_yunguy1-d5dy44b.png
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hmmm.... ALSO~! I am building an arena. Of which is why i asked that color question earlier would you care to see what have done so far?!
Ooh nice~ very nice~ :D I sense much opportunities to break the fourth wall in the future!
2246962
You know, they say anything is possible, if you try hard enough, but I know something that is impossible for YOU to do.......that! is to go to space. Even if celestia sent you to the moon you wouldn't be able to go to space. know why?
Sounds like a mix of the matrix and assassin's creed... I'm gonna read this.
wow, this reminds me of StarOcean: till end of time
also, i like your fillers but i was hoping for the next chapter. oh well
2247110
Spoilers are past this comment. do not go any further if you don't want to spoil yourself the spoilers!
Coming up next: Rainbow Dash gets her own chapter.
2247003
I'm almost afraid to ask.... Why?
2247204
Thanks!
One of the artist fromA Pony a Daytumblr did this for me.2247149
because there is no form of solid, liquid, or gas to vibrate sound waves can't travel into the confines of space. Thus you cannot exist in space :D
I've always wondered about the NPC's... this chapter also gave me a little fridge horror, just like the transporter theories from Star Trek.
I also have questions about alternative start area's and beginning game scenarios. If i could stop slacking for a moment and write i'll answer them myself.
2247646
Aeroslida is heavily populated by pegasi.
The reason Mane 6 would start there is because RD was the first one out of all of them to start playing the game, so they started there too.
I'll delve into that matter in a later chapter, but I'll tell you the rest of the starter towns.
Canterlot - Unicorns
Trottingham - Earth Ponies
Ponyville - Population that can be equally divided among all three races
2247311
Of course.. *giggles*
2247785
Err, not sure.
The owner of the OC is quite particular with Spitfire and his girl friend's OC (which is her self-insert I believe).
2247691
Nice, thank you for the information.
I can see that griffons weren't originally a part of this, which gives me a lot of room to work with.
2247868
They're usually in Aeroslida as well.
It's a central city for both Equestria and the Griffin country due to it's mobility.
2247121
all my yes
2247829
talking about me?
2247951
Yep.
Do you consider Vixy's OC to be a self insert?
2247961
vixy to be in the story? i dunno. you should of gone with Netrunner. her other oc. since that oc is a hacker
2247988
Alright. And... I am considering.
2248015
cool 
"selected a simple novel and returned to the filly."
should be
"selected a simple novel and returned to the foal."
or
"selected a simple novel and returned to the colt."
if the pony he is talking to is male
Back from the dead, huh?
Good to see you're still kicking, Chaotic; apart from all the blog posts.
HUZZAH
It's over already? And just when it was getting good...
Guess I'll just wait for the next chapter! ^^
Meh I figured the NPC's were played by employees or something but this is interesting.... but they don't come back? so if a NPC dies the programmers just's let's that npc die and let's the town go on with out that servace till they program a new NPC to take that job or position?
pony1:yo what's your quest
pony2: talk to bastion
pony1: my npc tracker says that NPC doesn't exist
pony2:FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
2256174
I'm slowly learning to TBS with games like Xcom.
Not so much in the RTS department.
Or PvP matches in MMOs.
Loving this. Can't wait for the next part. Keep up the awesome job! :D
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dashie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2868-applejack_uguu.gif
2257961
I'm partial to red.
Burn.
Burn everything....
2248202
Shouldn't it be colt? Many seem to forget that word.
And a chapter I haven't read because I'm grounded! And now I wait...
The adventurer NPC was totally his wife.
npc adventures? that sounds interesting. i wonder of one would like to tackle ICC with me. -lord of the rings guy shows up- "one does not simply run Ice Crown Citadel with only two adventurers." yes, i know that, but once, i solo'd it using a banana as a weapon. (not really, just being wierd)
Wee alive npcs as. Long as they Dont take over the World were good.
Damn! What kind of NPCs are they? How would an NPC do more than what their code tells them to do? Why don't they respawn, when simply inserting that into the code would be trivial? And how come they can choose their own quests and tasks to offer?
Admittedly, though, I have a theory. Perhaps they took ponies as unknowing slaves and force them to NPC in the game? Maybe their VR helmets kill them if they die in-game? Once again, mere speculation, but...
3712913
Eeehh....it's more likely that all NPCs in the game are AIs just like the Goddess, just to a much, much lesser degree. The only difference is, an AI is extremely complicated, and they 'live' in that digital world the same way ponies 'live' in the world outside of the game. Because of this, when an NPC/AI gets killed in the game....they don't have the option of respawning like nothing's wrong, because that digital world is their reality, whereas for real ponies, that world is as fake as can be in comparison.
That said, I'm sensing some distinct hints towards this story becoming like the .hack//G.U. games, or the .hack games that came before those three. Please tell me that's where this is going, I would love that soooo much!
I have a theory to why hey dodon't respawn. Remember how Chaotic said they can't assign permanent id's to players because of lag? They probably have the same problem with the npc's, making it where they simply cannot hold the data from npc's to respawn them.
You do know that's World War 2 language for asking someone to marry you, right?