Epilogue
I could hear beeping. It was muffled at first, but as my whole conscious began connecting back to reality, it grew loud enough that I recognized it. It was the generic, rhythmic sound of a heart monitor, which matched time with the beating of my heart I felt in my chest.
I blinked my eyes open, and I was met with the sight of a hospital room ceiling above me as I peered through the glass visor of my Nervegear helmet. It felt like ages since I last saw this thing.
Moving to take my helmet off, I used my magic… Oh wait, no magic. I chuckled at my old habits from being a unicorn, All I have now are… Slowly from the weakness, I raised my arm in front of my face, so I could see my hands, These things.
I tried wiggling my fingers, but after such a long time without them, I had almost forgotten how to. They felt stiff… no, every part of me felt stiff from months of inactivity. My arms also looked thinner, so the point I could barely see bone near some joints, like my wrists.
Sitting up turned out to be a slight challenge. I just felt so weak. It wasn’t painful, just a bit annoying. I figured my body would feel fine after I started moving around again. Reaching up, I pulled my Nervegear helmet off, feeling a rustle on my neck as my greasy hair spilled out of it. During the time in the game, my hair had grown down to my chin. A haircut was definitely in order.
I set the helmet on a table beside my hospital bed and took a look around the room. The lights were turned off, and the curtains were drawn. But behind them I could see the sunrise peeking into the room. Some kind of drip bag was attached to my arm, hanging from a stand beside the bed. I doubted it was morphine, but I dared not rip it out.
I was alone, but it was time to remedy that.
The first thing I needed to do was find hospital staff, and get myself out of here. Then I needed to find Sky and contact my parents. Sky lived near me, so he’d more than likely be in the same hospital, and my family has to be worrying about me. But finally, I needed to get ahold of someone who currently watches over ELO’s servers on the outside and keep them from pulling the plug;
For Frostlight and the others.
With a game plan in mind, I swung my legs off the bed and stood up on two legs for the first time in just under a year.
However, I stumbled as my weak legs gained the majority of my weight. Grabbing the stand with the drip bag on it, I was able to use it as a support to keep me from falling all the way.
I breathed a groan, which came out raspy in my dry throat, “Gah, *cough* guess walking will be a challenge.”
I knew I could have just stayed in my room, but who knew when someone would come for me? Even with my wobbling legs, I decided to head out of the room, using the drip stand I clung to as a sort of walking stick. I figured if I was going to leave the room, the stand itself was either going to have to stay or come with me, and there was no way I was ripping the drip out of my arm. What if it was important?
When I stepped out of my room, I found a long hallway, which was visibly empty. Not another soul was in sight. I sighed inwardly, Great, they must have put us in a more secluded part of the hospital. Guess it makes sense though. They must have thought we weren’t checking out of here any time soon.
I called out, “Hello?” but instantly started coughing from my sandpaper throat. Okay, I need to find a nurse/doctor, then water… or whichever comes first.
There was no reply to my call. With a sigh, my trek through the hallway began, with both hands holding tight to the drip stand as I trudged along.
But before even walked five feet, I heard a voice call behind me, “What- Sir, may I help you?”
Slowly, I turned around to find a woman wearing lime green scrubs, most likely a nurse.
She gives me a strange look, “You shouldn’t have left your room, you know. If you wanted a doctor, you should have-“ That’s when the nurse realized I wasn’t a normal patient. She must have recognized me, despite having seen me only beneath my Nervegear’s visor.
Her mouth stammered and a hand flew up to cover it in shock, “I know you… you’re one of the ELO patients.”
I nodded, a weak smile on my face as my voice rasped, “Yeah, we finally got out.”
The nurse blinks at that, “’We’?”
I coughed again, “Yeah… got any water?”
______________________________
A Few Days Later
I sat in my hospital bed, like I always did in my off time these days. Albeit I was only here until my body recovered most of its lost strength, I still felt like I was wasting time by staying here in the hospital. But unfortunately I had to stay for rehabilitation, and not to mention it made it easier for any government officials who came looking for me if I stayed here in my room.
Every day, it seemed like another big important person would make a stop by my room, whether it be a politician using the ploy of visiting survivors of this ‘unforgettable tragedy’ to gain popularity, or actual government workers trying to gather information and figure out what exactly happened in that game.
I’d been visited once or twice already by someone from the CIA… though I’m not sure if both visits were on the same day. I’d been losing track of the days since I no longer had access to my journal, like I had back in ELO, and also because all I mostly did was eat, sleep, ‘work out’ with a doctor for rehabilitation once in a while, and stare blankly at the ceiling and think about the others, both in game and IRL.
But whenever I was visited, I almost always made sure to plead with them to keep ELO’s servers up. I explained the situation concerning all the others who lived on in the digital world, and thankfully, I hadn’t heard they if they had yet. Hopefully the others were fighting for the server’s survival more than I was.
The one time I didn’t mention my plea was when my family visited me that first day. As soon as they heard I was ‘awake’ again, they all rushed to the hospital all at once. My Dad even got off work early just to see me, because his boss understood the situation. To make a long heartwarming reunion short, there were tears, there were laughs, and a few too many bone-crushing hugs for my liking.
Anyways, back in my hospital room, I was enjoying a boring afternoon of nothing to do. That is… until a nurse walked in.
“Randall?” She called me, “You have a visitor.”
I groaned slightly. It was probably another government agent or someone like that. “Alright.” I replied with a grumble, sitting up in my bed.
But instead of a man in a casual suit like I expected, the person that walked in was a young girl. She looked like she was barely thirteen years old, with pink-white skin and black hair that had a natural, slight curl down to her small shoulders. She was… petite to say the least, with a small chest and small body frame. But strangely, it seemed like there was a glint in her blue eyes that made her seem years older.
She spotted me on the bed, giving me a small smile, “Hello, Shadowflame. You look a bit different than you do in the game.”
I stared at her in confusion. “Um… do I know you?” I asked cautiously.
The girl held an amused look as she crossed her arms, “It’s me, MidnightDreams. You know, Luna?”
My eyes widened in understanding, “Wait, you’re…” Well, I should have figured even she was out of the game… but I didn’t expect Midnight to look this young. In the game, she acted like a young adult, yet she appeared to be barely out of Middle School. But even then, why wasn’t she in a hospital bed like me? “You’re already out of rehab?” I asked.
“Nope.” Midnight shook her head, her short, black hair waving a bit with the motion, “I never needed rehabilitation,” Again, her eyes, despite being young, shown with seriousness that only someone older could hold, “But that’s part of the reason I came to see you.”
Confused, I slowly nodded, “Well, you’ve got my attention.”
“Good,” She replied, sitting in one of the chairs at the edge of the room, “The first thing you should know is that before I went into ELO, I was actually a teenage guy.”
Utter bewilderment crossed my face as I glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, “Uh… what?”
She seemed amused, but a tad bit annoyed at my expression, “Yeah, true story.”
“What happened then?” I asked.
“Again, that’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you.”
Recomposing myself, I silently nodded, letting Midnight continue with her story.
Midnight inhaled slowly, before telling her story, “It started after you and the other Elements ran off to the castle to fight Discord. Aurora and the other players from Ponyville arrived in the square we held off from the monsters. With a whole army of players, none of the monsters stood a chance, but they just kept coming, and the fighting spread through the rest of the city.”
Midnight’s face held a grim look, “More monsters came, even the ones that spawn in different areas across Equestria. They were all there… including the bosses of the dungeons.”
I inhaled sharply, a cold feeling in my stomach as the memories of near death experiences with those powerful creatures flashed in my mind. A few things stood out in my memory, like the feeling of wood piercing my side, a hydra’s roar ringing my ears, the smell of ozone and crackling lightning in the clouds, and countless phantom pains over my body. To hear they had reappeared in the final moments of Discord’s death game… I guessed I looked a bit paler.
Ignoring the cold feeling in my chest, I continued to listen to Midnight.
She curled her small fists on her legs, grimacing, “… a lot of players died. I told everyone else to stay clear of the bosses while stronger players like me took them on.”
She paused, leading me to ask, “What happened?”
Glancing up, she gave a flat look, “I died.
“The bosses were too strong, and I died fighting them. My body was destroyed…” A wry smile crossed her face, “I know that, because I saw myself get buried.” She chuckled slightly, before getting back to the point, “But even though my brain was fried, my mind still survived inside the game.”
I nodded, “Yeah, because of the Personality Files. Almost everyone who died after their traits were filed now live on in the game.” I wonder how they’re all getting along, I wondered to myself. I hadn’t even been in touch with the game ever since I got out.
But my look of bewilderment returned, “But… if you died… how are you here? In this world?!” I was practically shouting at the end.
Midnight winced, covering her ears rather cutely at my shouting, “Ow, loud much?”
“Sorry,” I apologized sheepishly, “But how are you… alive?”
Midnight gave a tiny smile, “You can thank Nightmare for that.
“Nightmare was still in my mind before I died, and she says even after my body was destroyed, she gathered my mind from the Personality Files and took it elsewhere.”
“’She says’?”
Midnight tapped the side of her head, “Yeah, Nightmare’s still in here, sharing part of my mind. I can still hear her voice.” She paused, “Oh yeah, and she says ‘hi’.”
Giving her only a wry look, I replied, “Hi, Nightmare,” before letting Midnight continue. My mind was filled with so many other questions, but I assumed she’d answer them.
“Once Nightmare got my mind from the files, she carried me away… out of the game and through the internet.”
“Just like Discord had planned to, once everyone in ELO was dead,” I commented, mostly to myself.
Midnight continued, “Yes, but Nightmare brought us through the internet, and she found this body.” She pointed to herself to emphasize it. “Apparently, this girl was… I wouldn’t say dead, but I wouldn’t say living either. The time nightmare found her, some doctors were scanning her brain activity. There was barely any; just enough to keep her breathing. They were wondering if it was even worth keeping her body alive.
“But the equipment they were using to scan her mind was very similar to the Nervegear Helmets, though they use a safe wave frequency or something like that.” She waved dismissively, “I didn’t catch much when the doctors explained it, but Nightmare saw it as an opportunity and shoved me and her into this body.”
I paused as understanding dawned on me, “So… you’re saying that since the girl’s mind was gone, Nightmare was able to transfer the data from your personality file and implant it into her brain and let you live on in the human world again.”
Midnight blinked slightly, nodding slowly, “Yeah, I guess so. You have no idea how hard it was to explain to this girl’s parents all this, when it seemed to them their daughter had woken up thinking of herself as a teenage guy.”
I only vaguely heard Midnight speak as I was lost in my own thoughts. I admit, it was more like my imagination ran rampant with this new possibility, and instantly the loathing feeling I had buried in my gut was no more. Instead, it was replaced by what I couldn’t describe as anything else.
Hope. For them.
In an instant of pure excitement and glee, I jumped off my bed and onto my feet in less than a second. I didn’t care that my legs felt weak, because with a surge of strength, I ran to where Midnight sat and grabbed her shoulders, eliciting a frightened squeak from her.
I was sure I had a manic grin plastered to my face, but that didn’t matter. “Midnight, you have no idea how happy I am right now. Thanks to you, they might have a way out!”
Suddenly, the door swung open and a nurse peeked in, eyes wide at the fact I was standing against doctor’s orders, and holding a young girl by the shoulders, “Is everything alright in here?”
I smiled sheepishly, “Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine.”
“Good,” She replied, “Now as soon as you sit back down and let your body rest, there’s someone who’d like to see you.”
Behind the nurse, I spotted a man with brown hair in a casual, black suit through the doorway. I recognized him as the government agency guy that usually came around to talk to me.
“Hey, Jack!” I called out, “Just in time! I gave a sidelong glance at Midnight, still speaking to Jack, “We’ve got something you want to hear!”
As Jack shuffled into the room, I saw Midnight chuckle as she grinned, “I’m glad I could help.”
________________________________________
Months Later
January 22nd, 2021
I looked at the digital clock in my room, which read 8:00 PM. It was time to go.
Locking my door, I made my way to my bed, plopping down on my back as I reached for my Amusphere headset. It was basically a visor version of the Nervegear, only it didn’t use any microwave emitting technology, to make sure history didn’t repeat itself.
Heh, it’s been so long, it feels as if that time was history.
With the Amusphere on secured over my eyes, I commanded, “Link start!”
…
I appeared in the center square of Canterlot, the central hub of the new and improved Equestria Online server. Since it no longer was the same game that had been developed before, it seemed more fitting and easier to call this world EO. Because that was all it really was, no longer a game, but a land where people lived their lives, just like Rex had dreamed of it once the slaughter in here had stopped all those months ago.
Snow littered the streets as it gently fell to the ground in light breezes, bringing about cold through the air. I glanced about the streets, only to find ponies, griffins, and a few zebras alike walking up and down the streets, dressed in winter garb. I myself was wearing a light jacket that was comfortable against my fur, as well as my cloak. Even if this was no longer a place to fight monsters all the time, I still clung to it as a momento.
Plus, I just felt naked without it these days… today was the anniversary, after all.
I trotted through the icy streets, where warm lamps lit the way towards every destination. A few ponies waved hello when they saw and recognized me, and I waved back. They weren’t NPC’s though; NPC’s were actually a minority here in Canterlot. All these ponies were actual people living here.
But they weren’t just victims of ELO either. Ever since we saved this server of Equestria, establishing it as EO independently, we found another use for it. In the human world, people would lie dying on their death beds, but with a price that would help keep these servers running and support the people running them, those people could pay to live on in here.
Here, they could live a normal life, and for some people, that was something they could never have done in the human world. As soon as we released this option to hospitals around the world as a last resort, it became very popular. Soon enough, the 700+ victims of ELO living in EO boomed to over 2,000 in three months, and more were coming in.
At least, those were the ones who felt they still had regrets they wished to remedy. There was a strict policy for admittance to live in EO. But usually the sickest of people tended to be the most grateful I’ve ever met.
The ponies, griffins, and other ‘people’ walking around the city could often be seen by family or friends visiting them in here using Amuspheres. Anyone could tell they were more than happy to be walking with the people that had been at death’s doorstep before. This place had become one for second chances, and I’ve only rarely seen people more happy before.
… Of course, not everyone could get this second chance. There were those who died too quickly, as result of wounds or injuries, and because the Personality Files require at least a full week to record an accurate file for a person, their mind couldn’t be saved in EO. It was sad, but EO’s residency would have more than doubled if that wasn’t the case.
Maybe it was for the best. At least it made sure no one could come to live here merely to cheat death.
I made my way down through the city, until I spotted the pony I wanted to see, Frostlight. She looked beautiful in the gentle snowfall, dressed in a pale blue parka and a red scarf snug around her neck. As soon as she saw me, she grinned, galloping to me as I ran to her.
We shared a kiss as we embraced each other, before pulling away, but only slightly. The air was chilly, and feeling her warm body beside mine did more than remedy that.
“Hey, you’re late.” Frostlight joked, “Did you get caught up with school work again?”
I shrugged, “A little. I’m finally finished with all the extra course work,” You know, from when I was trapped inside ELO and fell behind on almost a full year of school? I nudged Frost playfully, “What about you? How’s school here?”
Frostlight giggled slightly, “I think Mr. Warrbury is having a harder time coming back to teaching after the holidays. I find that a bit ironic, since he literally has to use a video game headset to go to work. But at least the other teachers don’t show it.”
Chuckling, I started leading us down the street, “That’s funny. Well, shall we? I’m sure the others are waiting.”
“Yes, let’s.” Frostlight pressed herself to my side as we walked, resting her head on my neck as I leaned mine on top of hers. The warm feeling of her body next to mine never dulled, even after all this time. The comfort she brought me with a single touch always made my chest feel light, something I would never give away for the world.
“How’s the candle shop?” I asked as we walked, glancing at a few shops on the side of the street.
“Just fine,” She replied, “Making candles is kind of easy, and I’ve sold enough to have quite a bit of spending money, aside from what I get as payment from Rex for helping new residents settle in.”
“That’s good.” I replied, though pausing slightly, “Though I do still wonder why you turned down the chance to come back to the human world again. There was a body found and ready for you, but you still said no.”
Frostlight sighed, “I know, but… it just wasn’t the right fit for me.”
“What? I thought she looked pretty cute,” I joked.
She rolled her eyes in mild amusement, “You know what I mean. I already told you, any of the other ELO victims needed that body more than I did.”
Ever since Midnight’s conversation with me about how she came into possession of a new body, we looked into the idea of searching for suitable bodies for EO’s residents to use to live a human life again… of course, a lot of people cried against it, saying we were only abominations that steal other’s bodies for ourselves to have immortality.
It was a terrible situation, so a court ruling later, it was decided that only the victims of ELO would receive the transfer into any available bodies that were willingly donated. Supreme Court apparently believed the deaths of ELO’s victims were unfair and they deserved the chance to live in the human world again… or at least, the ones that weren’t convicted of mass murder. Those that didn’t fit that bill weren’t even brought back through the files anyways.
Frostlight sighed slightly, “Don’t forget, I helped the Haters do a lot of bad things… I’m just going to wait until the other players are out of here, before I leave too.”
With a low sigh, I nuzzled the side of her head, “It’s alright. I don’t blame you, but you can do what you want. I’ll be here waiting with you.”
She returned the nuzzle, ending it with a small kiss on the cheek, “Thanks.”
Soon, the two of us reached our destination, a fairly large building that stood out from the rest of Canterlot’s structures, as its brown, wooden outside differed from the white outsides of the ones around it. A sign hung from its front, reading, Sky’s Bar.
“Sky never was good at coming up with original names.” I commented, getting a giggle from Frostlight. Together, we entered the building.
The bar was just like any generic tavern, with booths hugging the walls and bar stools at the main, rectangular counter. But at least we weren’t early to the party; Siren sat on a stool at the counter, a scarf a shade darker than her pink mane wrapped around her shoulders, as she chatted with the bartender, the one who owned the building.
Sky stood behind the counter, wiping a glass with a rag in his magic. He spotted us coming into the bar and greeted us across the near empty bar. “Hey, lovebirds.”
“Lovebirds?” I smirked, taking off my coat and cloak and tossing them into my inventory. Frostlight did the same beside me. “Speak for yourself and Siren.”
Siren held a blush at that, but ignored it as she hopped off of her stool, smiling in greeting Frostlight, “Kenzie!”
“Hey, Autumn.” Frost smiled as the two mares exchanged a quick hug, before starting to chat in the way females seemed to instinctively do.
Meanwhile, I sat myself at the counter to talk to Sky. “So, are the others here, yet?” I asked.
“Not everybody.” He replied, “Dylan, Violet, and Soul are in one of the back booths playing poker.” Ever since Soul lost his all mighty poker ability when we ripped the game’s rules from the server, Dylan’s been wanting to beat Soul for weeks. Sky shrugged, “Maybe this time he’ll actually come out on top.”
A scream of frustration, clearly Dylan’s rang from the back of the bar, as if on que, ”Oh, come on! That’s your third royal flush this game!”
Sky chuckled at the sound, “I guess that answers that.”
I laughed with him, “Yeah. Is anyone else here?”
Frowning in thought, he tapped his chin with a hoof, “Well, Cordon’s over there.” He pointed towards a nearby booth, where the grey stallion sat, scarfing down a bowl of food. “He ordered the daily special.”
“What’s the daily special?”
“Dintymore Stew!” Sky proclaimed proudly.
I facehooved at that, “Dude, that’s probably your special every day.”
“What?” Sky retorted, “Dintymore is life.”
“Whatever.”
Continuing, Sky pointed towards another booth near the corner of the building, “Also Swift and Comet are over th-“ He instantly facehooved at what he saw. Turning to look, Swift and Comet were once again making out in their booth.
“Jonathon!” Sky shouted in exasperation, “You don’t need to go eating each other’s faces every time I turn my back!”
Swift and Comet broke off their kiss, the former of the two fixing Sky with a trolly look, “Whatever, I do what I want.” The pegasus pointed a hoof accusingly, “You guys left the game without us, so you can’t even complain.”
I rolled my eyes as I muttered, “I’m just glad they’re not doing this when the bar’s full.” As Swift and Comet resumed another make out session, I glanced about the bar, but besides Cordon, who moved his bowl of dintymore to the counter to take part in the discussion, Siren, Frostlight, Comet, Swift, and the three others in the back, the bar was empty.
“Has anyone heard if the others are coming?” I asked.
Siren and Frostlight sat up on the stools together, Frost sitting closest to me. Siren replied, “Last I heard, Eclipse isn’t coming. He and Aurora have a date set tonight for the same occasion.”
Sky raised an eyebrow, “Where? If they’re hanging about here in Canterlot, they could stand to stop by for a minute.”
“In the human world.” Siren added, provoking a silent “oh” from her boyfriend. She turned back to me, “And I’m not sure if Cinn is coming either. He hasn’t been on ever since he got Sweetcross and his brother into human bodies again.”
“You know, you really shouldn’t make assumptions about me.”
Instantly, all eyes turned towards the front door, where a certain brown unicorn stood, wearing a light, leather coat. With him his girlfriend, Sw33tcross, who wore a similar, beige coat.
Sky grinned, almost challengingly, “Hey, Cinn. Didn’t think you were coming.”
“Of course he is,” Sweetcross replied. “I’m not selfish enough to keep him for myself all night.” She glanced towards her boyfriend with a jokingly seductive look.
Cinn laughed as he returned one of his own, wiggling his eyebrows, “Not all night.” Sweetcross only happily blushed in response, giving Cinn a quick kiss on the lips. Returning back to seriousness, he glanced back towards us at the bar, “I admit I haven’t come back here in a while, but today is just as important to me… for my own reasons.”
“Well that’s good.” Violet replied, rounding the bar counter with Soul and Dylan in tow… literally. The latter two were being dragged in Violet’s yellow magic across the floor, both crossing their forelegs and pouting, refusing to look at each other over the results of their abruptly unfinished game.
Just then, the door to the bar opened once more, and Lexus and Neon trotted in, dressed in their winter attire, an aviator jacket for the former, and a light green hoodie for the latter, with holes in the sides for the alicorn’s wings.
“Hey, everypony!” Neon called, before stopping herself short. She giggled slightly, “I guess old habits die hard.”
Everyone called a welcome greeting to the two.
Soul laughed as he picked himself up from the floor, “Well, well, well, there’s the poster couple of the team!”
“Hey, Soul!” Lexus laughed, “Win any poker games lately?”
Their conversation continued, and a couple others sprung up around the group. The bar, now full of friends, likewise began to fill with talk, with laughter, and with warmth. Sky began dishing out a few dishes here or there, but mostly served drinks to everyone, both alcoholic and non, though thankfully more so of the latter. I never really wanted to get drunk, even in a virtual world.
It was the start of a party of sorts… though I realized we were still missing two members: Cross and-
Suddenly, a giant black bear burst through the front door of the bar, roaring as it charged straight towards the counter with heaving claws. Shouts of surprise rang out as old battle habits caused everyone to quickly step out of its path, and the bear crashed over the edge of the counter, roaring right at the terrified face of Sky, who moved as far back from the beast as possible with a yelp.
The bear bellowed loudly, “BUUuuu-dweiser.”
Silence befell the bar and Sky blinked at the bear, “What?”
The bear smirked a toothy grin, “Budweiser. I want some Budweiser.”
Realization crossed most everyone’s faces, though Sky’s was more of annoyance, “Dammit, Cloud! Don’t do that.”
The bear chuckled mischievously, before his form flickered blue and shifted back to that of a familiar, orange dragon, “What? Sorry I’m late, but Frosche wanted to put the finishing touches on this bear player model.” He shrugged, “Last I heard, some ‘wild animal simulator’ game is paying him a fair bit for the intricate details like its fur. There aren’t many people who can program models like him.”
Lexus sighed from the side while the others, sans Sky, laughed at the scare Cloud had caused, “I knew it was a bad idea to give Cloud admin codes to change his player model. Rex was just asking for trouble with that one.”
As Sky hoofed Cloud a mug of his drink, a bemused look on his face, the small dragon announced out loud, “Oh yeah, just so you know, Cross isn’t coming. He just messaged me a few hours ago.”
A few frowns rolled around. Neon in particular pouted slightly, “Aw, I was hoping he’d be the life of the party.” She sighed, “Oh well, guess I have to fill in for him.”
“Did he say why he wasn’t coming?” I asked Cloud.
The dragon shrugged, “He didn’t say, but he did mention it was family related.” He grimaced glumly, “Knowing that, I can guess pretty well where he would be. It is today, after all.”
With a sigh, I picked up my mug of cider, “Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”
_________________________________
Even in the dead of winter, Damien lived in an area that was far enough south that the air only dropped to being ‘chilly’, rather than ‘cold’. He typically wore his black jacket on nights like these, and tonight was no exception as he left his Abuela’s house. It was a pale evening, with a crescent moon lighting his path.
In the past, his Abuela would never have let him stroll out this late at night… if he had ever had the reason to back then. But now, he walked into the cemetery, hands shoved into his coat pockets to escape the cool chill.
On either side of him, headstones and tombstones passed in the corner of Damien’s vision, but he didn’t even bother to give a glance their way. He kept his gaze downwards at the ground, watching his feet tread on the dirt and his silver necklace bounce against his chest with each step.
Absently, he fingered his necklace, a silver chain he had found after his return to the human world. After a few modifications using tools on the metal accessory, he had shaped the pendant to resemble a cross; not a Christian cross, but the mark that had been his inside ELO. He kept the necklace as a momento… not just for what happened in the game. He had made it after he heard what had happened.
Soon, his pace slowed to a halt as he came to the familiar graves he both loathed and diligently made and effort to see when he felt the time was right.
The first headstone had belonged to his grandfather, who had died before Damien had grown up enough to actually remember him. Visiting his grave had never really bothered Damien, as such visits would have always consisted of listening to his parents and grandmother recount stories about him that, as a young boy, Damien could barely understand.
But as he swept his eyes towards the next graves, a familiar, hollow feeling in his gut made his throat dry. There were two of them, side by side, with the same death date: July 23rd, 2010. Here lied Roberto D. and Maria C. Cisneros: Damien’s parents.
Even after ten years, the empty feeling he felt remained whenever he visited his parents here. Looking at the two graves with misty eyes, the teenager was reminded that the emptiness he felt was the void where his parents should have been in his life; not kissing up daises because of drunk bastard in a pickup truck!
Damien clenched his teeth as he reigned in the useless anger, but the anguish remained in his mind. With a nod towards his parents’ graves, a silent gesture of his feelings, he glanced towards the last grave in line, and tears began flowing down his cheeks at the sight.
He hadn’t known of this grave’s existence until a day after his return to the human world. No one wanted to tell him until he was found in stable condition in the hospital. But after he had learned of it, Crossheart could do nothing but weep in his hospital room for days, until the doctors felt enough pity to discharge him and let him visit this cemetery.
Silently, Damien pulled a small flower from his coat pocket, a sunflower, one he had plucked from one of his Abuela’s potted plants. He had kept himself busy since ELO by watering and maintaining them for her. Gritting his teeth, he fell to his knees and laid the sunflower on the base of the grave. With tears in his eyes, he read the name on the tombstone.
Here Lies Dearly Beloved
Rosetta E. Bueno
Born: April 19th, 1952
Died: May 10th, 2020
Damian spoke with a hoarse sob, “… Abuela…” He sniffed, letting his tears flow unstoppably, “Today… was the day I left you. I’m sorry… I’m s-sorry I c-couldn’t be there.”
In anguish, he pounded a fist against the dirt beside his Abuela’s grave. It wasn’t fair. He had fought tooth and nail to escape ELO for his friends, and his only family. But what had come of it? Another grave he could only weep over.
… And he did. Silently, he cried his frustration out, but clung to the sorrow; sometimes it felt good to cry. Out in the darkness of the night, he was alone… without another family member anywhere in the world to take him in, he was alone.
Alone, but not friendless.
Before ELO, Damien would have cried for hours at the loss of his Abuela. But he had become attune to death; it was part of life he worked with nowadays. EO still needed help here and there, and the residents of that world needed some laughter just as much as the people of the human world.
Wiping his wet eyes on his sleeve, Damien stood back on his feet, sighing, “I guess it can’t be helped.” He looked back at the four graves of his family, standing void figures in the pale night. With a quiet sigh, he spoke in a whisper, “…Goodbye… see ya next year, I guess.”
Turning back the way he came, Cross strolled out of the cemetery, feeling better now that he had shared his strife with his family. After all, even the Element of Laughter had sorrow he needed to get off his chest.
Even if they were gone, he didn’t want to forget. He wouldn’t forget what happened today; what had started today, a year ago.
____________________________________
The bar remained alight with cheer, while a small blizzard blew outside. Everyone was gathered near the front of the bar, taking up the counter stools and the booths closest to it.
With a mug full of ale, Soul swigged a drink before raising it up in the air, “Oi, so what’s everybody drinkin’ for in here?” He glanced towards Violet, “Why don’t you start?”
“Me?” The unicorn asked, a bit sluggishly from intoxication. Surprisingly, he had managed to drink more than Soul so far… though more out of foolishness, it seemed. Violet raised his mug with a grin, “I’m drinking to us all being here, not being dead.”
“Here, here!” Siren raised her drink, a non-alcoholic soda, before taking a swig of it. After clanking her mug on the counter, she glanced at her boyfriend standing behind it, “What about you, Ben?”
Sky raised his ale, “I drink to finally owning a bar!” He took a large chug, before swallowing, “My parents would kill me if I had one in the human world.”
“I’ll go next!” Dylan called, grabbing a mug, “I drink to-“
“Dylan! No underage drinking in here!” Sky snatched the mug out of his brother’s hoof in an aura of black magic, “I still have to follow rules in here, you know.”
Dylan sat back in his seat with a humph, crossing his forelegs. Meanwhile, Lexus raised his mug, holding Neon close in their booth with a wing, “Well, I drink to me and my girl being together right now, both here and in the human world.”
A lot of us blinked in surprise at that, including me. “You flew out for another visit, Lexus?”
Neon shook her head in reply, “No, I did.” She giddily took a sip of her drink, “Wanna tell them the news, babe?” She asked Lexus.
With a grin, the pegasus glanced at the rest of us, “We’ve finally moved in with each other at my place!”
Congratulations quickly rolled around towards the couple. Cloud whistled in appreciation, “Wow, so are you two bunking in some apartment near that college Lexus goes to?”
“Nope, better.” Neon giggled, “We found a condo between downtown and the university. Thanks to the funding we get from helping run EO, we pooled our money and could easily afford it.”
That didn’t really surprise me. The price for EO residents to come in cost thousands of dollars, though it would have been more because of lawyers and other staff hoping to make a rich profit. But thankfully, Rex pushed for the price go down, so it could at least be more accessible to the less wealthy, and most of our support followed his vision for the server in general.
Although, I only got a miniscule portion of our funds, since I wasn’t eighteen yet. Likewise, my job in helping the server was only part time, helping some residents settle in and checking on them once in a while. But that was sure to improve once I turned eighteen.
“What about you, Shadow?” Neon asked.
I blinked for a moment, frowning slightly. I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t drunk, if that was what you were wondering, but I still couldn’t really describe what I was feeling.
Being together with friends, most I had known for almost a year, while the others I had known longer than that, sitting here, in a place that was truly the fruit of our labors; not just the bar, but the whole world of Equestria Online, an actual place for living, just like any town or city, made me feel relaxed, elated even.
This truly felt like harmony.
I spoke loudly what was on my mind, “A year ago, we only had one drive in this world: Search, Slay, and Restore Harmony.” I grinned, “It wasn’t easy, but we did it all to the end, even after we returned to the human world. And because of that,” I glanced between each face of our group, everyone; with hopes and dreams of their own, with an equal amount of struggles behind them, “I can look around us and tell we have a great future ahead of us.”
“Cheesy!” Swift commented, laughing and the others joined in.
I shrugged, smiling sheepishly, “Hey, I can’t help it.” I raised my mug, “Cheers!”
With a shout, everyone raised theirs in delight, “Cheers!”
And the night went on, but just like any night with friends, it came to a close as time rolled on, for better or for worse. Thankfully, it seemed to lean more towards the former.
With that, I end my account here… but for how long, I don’t know.
But to whoever bothers to read this very, very long manuscript, I leave you this.
The future is bright.
~Shadowflame
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Shadow, my man, this was an awesome ride. From start to finish. And you pulled off an [almost] Everybody Lives in the best way possible. The EO vision is an amazing one. A true second life, even if it's with ponies. Rex's view on the immortality is... one I admittedly support. That's all I'll say on the issue, but yeah. EO is basically the start of true virtual realities. And the Personality Files is an interesting line to add to the organ donor form. Though I have to wonder how long it would last. Could it eventually reach the point were those crippled in body (like from ALS) could receive a new body? So much possibilities...
Anyway, I found this half way through, and I'm glad I was able to see it through to the end.
6126264
I posted the Epilogue as soon as I posted The End.
6126272
Nothing more to be said.
I may have found this fic near the end but some power reading led to me getting up to date rather quickly. And all I fill the need to say is: It's been one hell of a ride!
From the alpha timberwolf to giant griffin in cloudsdale to the daemon of hollow shades; it's been one heck of a ride!
Though I will admit that i wanted an end to the R63 bit
And this epilogue was so feels inducing that it has definitely changed the plans for how I plan on ending Misfits... I can see the tears now
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/6/14/916450.png
Also.... I can see some similarities in my little prologue to your waking up
m.quickmeme.com/img/fa/fa3e19ffd513583d5f7ae60382262d9a0505d72589cd2374af2b2a7de75e057d.jpg
I enjoyed this story to the fullest, it was an incredible journey. Also if they ever come out with something like Nervegear, I'm never, ever, buying it. Like ever. I'm just glad that those that died got a second chance at life. I also kind of support Rex's view on immortality. I may not like it, but we all have an exasperation date.
And so it ends.
Congratu-effin-lations. This was one great ride.
Honestly, this gives me the near exact same feeling that SA:O did when I first watched it. Not an easy feat to recreate. I love your take on the ending; even though it's way more light-hearted, you left it at the same note SA:O did: a bright hope for the future.
A world of second chances... There are so many things that could go wrong with it, but also so many things that could be made right. Now I'm wondering could this be unintentional foreshadowing to our own technology? Hmm...
Well, looking forward to seeing more from you.
Keep up the good work,
- Bloody Buddy
What's this? A fic based around SAO that the King of Pirates has not heard of? Based on the anime I have the biggest love/hate relationship of anything I have critiqued?
You have my attention, lad. I hope you did a better job with the potential of the concept than the original material
(Puts on Pirate Themed Nervegear)
Link start!
That was some truly stupendous writing from you Shadow. I never realized just how ridiculous this story was until you started hinting at me that, "The ending is going to blow everyone's minds". And you lived up to your promise. Great job, and I hope you keep writing strong!
My only regret is naming my OC "Dylan". What was I thinking!? Dyl0nKour is a username that makes the person sound... Almost childish!
Oh wait, Dylan was childish. That now makes sense.
6127688
Either way, it was one hell of a fight man
Thanks for the shout out man this was a crazy ride got to say you took sharky much farther than I thought you would but this has given me an idea for something im not makeing any declarative statements but to those of you who played overlord this quote is a good hint
"EVIL ALWAYS FINDS A WAY"
6127725 agreed
I didn't start reading this until part 4 was out. I didn't expect the epilogue and final chapter to this story to arrive so early. This is, by far, the best and longest story i've read completely thus far, 6/23/2015, at the time of 8:40 PM PST.
Liked, lived, cried too, and loved.
So to, is the story of life and its challenges.
Live well, Shadow, and live proud that you touched the lives of many.
~Echo
Best ending to a story I've ever seen.... the feels..
Congratulations for a Master Work like this... Just finished reading the last 5 chapters
You know, I remember sending you a private message to give the theory that they weren't actually dead, because it isn't Discord's style to kill beings because once there dead he can't play with them anymore. If you created this ending from this thought than all the will to you if not. Than its incredibly impressive. Still throughout this story the characters loved, lived, lost, and died. There's this song from Red Wall, TV series that I felt would fit this melancholy ending. They may have won and although the character files allows them to live on...it feels bittersweet to me. So here's a bittersweet song.
Loved every second of it.
6134647 i remember that cartoon, i also own a lot of the Redwall books, and the show didnt get everything in them right, added a lot of stuff as well...but oh well. and yeah, Shadow and Frost is a bit like it was with Martin and Laterose, but not entirly
6375005 yeah cause Frost came back, somewhat. Anyway I felt that it was a proper tribute and that's it.
6375008 i actually felt it was closer to the situation found between Mattimeo and Tess Churchmouse, but yes, the sound certainly fits...
Certainly a way to undo the grimdarkness, but I don't think it makes sense to not bring back ELO victims through the personality files that aren't eligible for getting new bodies; it'd be cruel and unusual and against due process to effectively execute them without trial in this manner.
It also specifies convicted of mass murder; is that meant to cover Ezekiel? You can't convict a dead person.