Being seniors at Canterlot High has some advantages. For the fall semester, Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle won't actually be at CHS. Instead, the girls made it into a competitive foreign exchange program, which is sending them to Tokyo for the semester! Having taken Japanese as their foreign language credits, the girls joined the exchange program to open themselves up to a broader world.

Among the many experiences the exchange program exposed the girls to is the newest and hottest technology, the NerveGear, which brings virtual reality to a whole new level. Sword Art Online, also known as SAO, is the premier game soon to be released for the NerveGear. With their new friend, Ota Natsuki, they scored limited copies and get to be some of the 10,000 players to first experience Aincrad, but SAO is more than a game.

The girls are trapped, along with the other 10,000 players, by Akihiko Kayaba, the developer of the NerveGear and SAO. To get out, they must conquer Aincrad, floor by floor, until they beat the final boss in the Ruby Palace at it's summit. Then they all will be freed, however, if you die in the game, you die in real life.

The girls must band together with their new friend and face Aincrad, not just for themselves, but for all of the other players who can't take on such a challenge. After all they have been through, beating demons and sirens, a game should be easy, right?

EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace is not a sequel to EQG:SAO - Aincrad and, likewise, Ruby Palace is not a "rewrite". I chose to follow SOA Canon in Aincrad, placing the girls inside those events. Ruby Palace is a full crossover and Alt-U between EQG and SAO.

The Vignette Arcs are not required reading to follow the story, but they are recommended. The Pilot Episodes are the official start of the story.

Special Thanks to my editor, Void Runner and my beta reader, Cotton Sweet.
Artwork - Wing banners and page breaks are by Drytil.

Sword Art Online is created by Reki Kawahara.
My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro.

This story is a sequel to EQG: Sword Art Online - Aincrad

With her protege, Sunset Shimmer, and her friends in the human world trapped in SAO, Princess Twilight Sparkle seeks a way to free them from the virtual prison. Even with magic on her side, it is not a simple task. Twilight Sparkle doesn't understand the cutting edge technology of the NerveGear, and if she does something wrong, she could kill her friends.

Princess Twilight Sparkle isn't the only one concerned. All of the students at CHS are affected. Flash Sentry, and Micro Chips want to do all they can to free their friends.

To make matters worse, all of the girls dove into SAO with their necklaces on, and with them trapped, there is no one with magic to protect the world around them.

Unlike EQG:SAO - Aincrad there will not be a posted schedule. These started as blog posts to answer questions from the readers. They also are only edited by me, and they did get some significant edits from the blog posts to make sure they are ready for chapters. The focus is still on the main story, so I know there will be errors, but nothing major. Also, I have no ending. Where I am in the Asides is where I am in the answer as to what is going on in the real world, so together we will see where it goes!

First Featured: 1/5/21

The newest and hottest game on the market is Sword Art Online, or SAO. A VRMMORPG, Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Sword Art Online takes the player into a virtual reality world of swords and shields. Only 10,000 copies were sold online or in stores. But quickly, things go wrong and the fight goes from fun, to survival.

To escape the game of death, the game must be cleared. All 100 floors of the floating iron castle, known as Aincrad, must be conquered. If you die in game, you die in real life. The NerveGear will fry your brain. The same goes if the NerveGear is removed while you are in the game, you die.

Sword Art Online is a game of swords and shields with no magic. The game isn't designed to handle their Equestrian Magic. Sunset Shimmer must make sure that her friends and guildmates escape the game, or at least survive long enough until the game is defeated.

This story is a Serial Novel Society story: Updates will be at least on a weekly, Tuesday, basis.

*Pre-knowledge of Sword Art Online is not required. The Pilot Episode covers all you need to know.
**First Featured Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Also on 12/3/19, 12/10/19, 01/14/20, 2/11/20, 2/18/20, 2/25/20, 3/3/20, 3/10/20, 3/17/20, 3/24/20, 3/31/20, 4/14/20, 4/21/20, 4/28/20, 5/5/20, 5/19/20, 5/26/20, 6/2/20, 6/9/20, 6/23/2020, 6/30/2020, 7/28/20, 8/4/20, 8/18/20, 8/25/20, 8/27/20, 9/1/20, 9/8/20, 9/15/20, 9/22/20, 9/29/20, 10/20/20, 10/27/20, 11/3/2020, 11/10/20, 11/17/20, 12/1/20, 12/8/20, 12/15/20, 12/22/20, 12/29/20, 1/5/21, 1/19/21, 2/2/21, ICE, 2/23/21, 3/2/21, 3/9/21, 3/16/21, 3/23/21, & 3/30/21.

Want to know what is happening outside the SAO in the real world? There is a story for them! Link to the Asides.

A big thank you to my editor, Void Runner.
A special thanks to SuperSonicHeroes and Wildfiretiremile. Each helped a lot with Beta Reading!
Also, a special Thanks to Badwolf231. He helped me as this project got started.

- Sword Art Online is owned and created by Reki Kawahara.
* Cover Art created with art elements from Orin331, Frye-Medi, and flutterdashrarijack.

This story is a sequel to Dragon War - Blood Sacrifice

This piece's timeline is set before Blood Sacrifice, but was written after. The prospect of more memorial pieces only presented itself after Blood Sacrifice was published.

Midway through the war with the Dragons, everything has been waged on the edges of Equestria. That is about to change. For Equestria to survive, they need to take the fight to the dragons, in their homes in the Dragon Lands. A team of Equestria's best escort pilots have to make the first flight across the sea to the home of the dragons and bomb their target. But it is war, which means blood will be spill.

Herb Bush is the pilot of the Rose's Thorn, an Avenger Escort Fighter. Behind him sits his tail gunner, Daisy, and Radio Operator, Mango. They have fought together since the start, 57 successful missions defending Equestria. Now that defense will test their limits as they make the journey to the Dragon Lands.

This is the second piece in the series and pays homage to Junior Grade Lieutenant George Herbert Walker Bush and his service in the United States Navy during World War Two. His recent passing prompted the idea of expanding the universe to include more stories of the sacrifice pilots made during those troubling times. George H.W. Bush was more than the 41st President of the United States. He risked his life for the freedom of his friends, family, and country. And he did it in one of the most dangerous aviation fields, as a torpedo bomber. More on his story at the end of the piece.

- Like what I do? I have a Patreon.

Spike and Ember's hard work together in the Gauntlet of Fire failed. Neither retrieved the blood sceptur or became Dragon Lord. But neither did Grable. Equestria was safe, for a while. The new Dragon Lord later decided that Equestria was done and has unleashed all dragons under his command to rampage and destroy Equestria. Some Dragons really hate ponies, others just want their pillows. No matter what the reason, it means pony blood must be shed.

The war has been waging for several years. The Wonderbolts were easily outmatched in the air. Project Alicorn Wings was started to reclaim the skies and support the ground troops who were also hunting the Dragons. Unicorns and Earth Ponies join their Pegasus brothers in the air, using steel wings and behind guns, busting up and killing dragons whenever they come to threaten their homes.

Defending their homes means many make the ultimate sacrifice. And every engagement doesn't guarantee the death of a Dragon.

Sequel:
To Their Doorstep

Artist - Brisineo. This was by request for me when a fellow Living History Actor went down, flying his original P-51. He had a jump seat in the back, to carry veterans. At the end of the show, out of sight, they went down. The pilot was Cowden Ward, and the Veteran was 93 year old Vincent Losada, who was a WWII B-17 Bombardier. The date: November 17, 2018. They will sorely be missed. And Vincent's sacrifice will never be forgotten!

This story was finished and first published on December 7, 2018 - 77 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japanese Navy Planes. There could not be a better release date for a memorial piece like this. Over the next 4 days, the United States of America would be plunged into two wars.

- Like what I do? I have a Patreon.