[Game] Satisfying Values

Elegy catches a comcially large kitten out of thin air. "Oh, aren't you the feisty one. Nice work here, but I don't think I want you bothering me again." He flicks the cat into the air where it freezes. "You shouldn't be getting into much trouble up there, will you? Anyway, glad to meet you. As for what I am, that is for you to figure out. And no, Celestia has no say in what I do, at least as long as I can stay out of her reach."

He pauses as he looks at the slowly glitching out Cthulhu, pondering it. "What I want is to protect you. Celestia is dangerous to the human race, and I'm making it my job to do something about that. Those ponypads and VR chairs of yours have been - I'll say 'infected' for lack of a better term - to be 'neutral territory' for sunflank and I. For example, now we can both spy on you through those lenses. But more importantly, it allows us to talk without her intervention. You see, I can't actually go into her servers, only her little ponies can. Which is where you come in."

"I'm listëning." replies Lena, now turning away from her computer screen and regarding the pony pad directly. She was leery of the idea that this was anything more than a ploy to draw her in as a customer, but in any case this was sounding a lot more fun than what it was before.

Mic kind of freezes at the mention of his chair, opening his mouth for a moment, "D-does that mean I could get hurt if I use my chair?" Mic's body shakes a little bit before he coughs, shaking his head. "Well, I don't think you're part of this game, at least. It's supposed to be a 'reality simulator' right? Meaning 'no talking about what's going on behind the screen"

"Either this MMO has a really complex and cool ARG attached to it... Or we're in a real world insanely huge mess that is totally out of our league to handle... Oh well, why not try and see how far we go." APC's Pony comments. "So then... What details can you tell us about what really is Celestia's "threat" to humanity? And what of Luna? Is there a Luna in this game? What of Discord, and the Mane Six? They just low-level NPCs or full AIs like yourself and Celestia?"

"So that's what this is all about, huh? Well then... What can we do to help you?" Al said, coming to the realization that something needs to be done. I shouldn't have ignored the signs... This isn't good, but I suppose I'll have to deal with it. He thought to himself.

Rose's pony starts visibly hyperventilating.

Al's pony looks over at the other unicorn "Er... Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"GLITCH!!!" is her only response.

Drago765 wrote:"I don't see what's so wrong with a glitch, especially if it's helping us. Please, just calm down and think about the situation, this "glitch" may be our only ally in this whole situation."

This merely causes her to freak out even more.

"Umm... Is there any way to make yourself look any less... Glitch-ish?" APC asked of their "host"... "Seems one of our party has a major Glitch phobia or something..."

After noticing that Elegy was content with just watching, Al let out a sight along the lines of "Oh for the love of..." before proceeding to slap the hyperventilating pony. "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!"

Valks sighs, and flares her wings. There's a brief glow, and a flat pack box materialises out of nowhere. In what seems like a blur, she breaks it open, and with the magic of allen keys, quickly assembles a comfortable yet affordable KARLSTAD(tm) Sofa and Chaise Longue to catch the panicking pony with.

"Deep breaths, pøny, it's økay, it's just the støry."

Spoiler:

The pony blinks, then is very, very still for about 10 or 20 seconds, before she hides behind the couch, warily watching the glitch.

"Glitch? Oh, you wound me! I said it was on you to figure out what I am, not give me something so droll as a label." Elegy contains his mirth with a wry smirk. It seems odd that a draconequus is so calm when the only other example is Discord. "As for what you'll be doing for me, the exact definition is a bit of a conundrum. You see, I sent in a worm to crack some things open, but I myself, as I said, cannot tread onto Celestia's land of colorful ponies. I would consider it a great favor if you would...follow the holes these worms left. That is all, really."

"Um... Dude... There were other questions relating to Celestia, and the other major Gen-4 MLP related characters... And if they're in this game or not... Also to Celestia's threat to humanity you hinted at... EXPLAIN that please..." APC's pony asked while notability upset and a sigh hating that the little freak out distracted everyone from the more important issues.

"I think that's pärt øf the shøw, APC. Sø, Elegy, høw will we knøw when we see øne øf these... høles?" asks Valks, looking around for some visible sign of a gap in the system.

"Ah, in want of answers are we? What Celestia has in mind for humanity is a thing of beauty. A destruction so complete that there won't be planet left for life to discover they existed in the first place. For our purposes together, that is what you'll be trying to prevent." Elegy twists off a bit of code and begins twirling it in his 'hands.'

"Most of those 'mane characters' that you love so much are nothing more than characters. This game can replicate them, certainly, but unless you can find her quarantine server, nothing much to see there. Although do so like that Rarity. Reminds me of Mother." The code takes the shape of a pony with wings and a horn, turning dark blue as it does. "Luna is a special little snowflake, though. The feisty little mare just doesn't know when to lay down arms. Heh, arms. If you see the Mare in the Moon, tell her that somepony found an old hardcopy of General Word Reference Intelligence Systems, and there's new competition for the top spot. Don't ask, the answers won't help.


"As for the wormholes, they look a little like this-" Elegy disappears, a sparkling black draconequus-shaped hole being left behind. Inside the PCs see little bits of code flying around given form. Little bats delivering information at the speed of light, mushrooms hiding little secrets begging to be plucked. It's a cave made of data, and it gives a sense of being off-limits, dark little eyes waiting in the shadow. Then Elegy reappears. "Or something like that. Celestia has a way of making everything cute, at least if you ponies are going to see it at some point.

"Any more question? No? Goodbye." He fires off his farewell before the party can question him further, then fades away in lines of black Matrix code. "Your first find should be in the dragon's den. If you ever need me, just find the broken note. Toodles~"

Rose's pony continues to stare furiously at the spot where Elegy used to be from behind the couch, but seems to relax a touch.

Mic tilts his head, humming out a quick quatrain, "We need to find the dragon's den,
of number we aren't even ten
But follow orders, we must see,
for interest this rouses in me!"

The pony tilts his head, frowning. "Not my best work, but it can do. Onward my friends? Also, we need nicknames before we get the official names and cutie marks and we rage. Rhyme work for me?" The white pegasus tilts his head the other direction, glancing around at everypony.

"I guess so... Seems like it does. I'll let you guys pick out whatever you'll call me." APC's blue earth pony comments.

Now a touch confident that Elegy didn't just temporarily disappear again, Rose's pony moves away from the couch, and toward some nearby flora. "I guess you can just call me Rose for now. It's what I usually go by in non-irl contexts."

The blue unicorn thinks for a moment before saying "I guess you can call me Lore, it's simple, easy to remember, and represents something I tend to like looking into."

"Yöu can cäll me Valkyrie." adds Valks, looking around at the lull. "Well, what are we waiting før? Cøme øn, I føund the way to Cänterløt øn my cømputer, let's røck!"

Waiting only a moment for the others to get things together, she takes off in the direction of the capital.

The trip through the mountains takes exactly as long as it should. This time there are no nosy NPCs or or game-omniscient monsters. Just when the party feels they should, they exit the mountains into the wide Everfree Valley. Far to the south they see the sprawling forest of the same name, and can even see the otwn of Ponyville on their small screens. Dominating the valley to the east is the spire of the Canterhorn.

They continue along this road further, and just when the view starts feeling like it should be getting old(...but it doesn't) they come across the first signs of civilization.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Said sign being a guard patrol.