Chapter I- Random Event: Minor Encounter

We sat wordlessly at a table, mugs of cider in front of us. It had been a few hours since the announcement. Some ponies had panicked, others were in shock, or some were even excited. There was such a mix of reactions, it was hard to track them all.

I drained my cup and slapped some money on the table, getting up. “Let’s go.” I said to Steel.

“What?” He looked up from his mug.

“If we’re to beat the game, we need to train. There’s no way we can face any of the bosses at our level.” I checked my bags, tightening the straps.

“We’re honestly playing?” My friend threw down the remaining dregs in his glass, wiping his mouth and scattering his bits onto the table. “For real? We’re going to do this crazy game?”

“Do we have a choice?” I asked. “We have to find a way out, and currently, the only way out is the way the Admins stated. Play to win.”

We walked out the door onto a Random Event. A NPC Merchant was standing over his wrecked wares, while three tough-looking Earth Pony NPCs smirked in front of him. Narrowing my eyes, I quickly identified the enemies.

[Troublemaker L1. Minor Random Encounter]

The same red text bar hovered above their heads. All three had full health bars, a deep green.

They noticed me staring, and walked over, their hooves making solid clops on the pavement. “Oh, look what the little Unicorn’s face is like right now.” One mocked.

I looked at my cloak, which covered my wings, then back at the Troublemakers. Steel walked up behind me, unsheathing his sword halfway. I conjured up a Thunder spell on my horn.

“Oh? You want to fight?” another one of them scowled. “Get them, boys!” They leapt at us as one. Easily dodging the charge, I blasted one with my spell, sending him crashing into a wall. I watched his health bar drop to the yellow. The pony slid to the ground, knocked out. Steel handled himself surprisingly well for his level, broadsiding one of them to unbalance him, then slashing his sword at the other. The blade cut in deep, drawing a spray of blood, careening his life points to the red, slowly draining as he bled out.
“If you want your friend to live, leave now!” I shouted, holding up a Status Healer potion. “I can stop his bleeding, but you’re to leave and never come back!”

The one remaining conscious Troublemaker swore loudly. “Fine.” He growled, after he thought it over.
I held the potion to the bleeding Troublemaker, and the draining Life Bar stopped, the potion vanishing. I shoved the pony over his friend. He shook the two unconscious ponies awake, and they ran off, cursing us as they galloped away.

“Th-Thank you!” the merchant pony bowed. “How can I repay you? Here, maybe this will do.” He nodded and passed over a sack of bits. “Please, take it!”

A dialogue box flashed up in front of me, as well as Steel.

-----
Mini-Quest Complete!
Save a Merchant.
Skill Level: Newbie
Reward: 50/2=25 bits
100/2 = 50 XP
------

“If players work together, the gold and experience is split.” I explained to Steel as I dismissed the notification.

“Damn.” Steel swung his sword again. “I didn’t think I had it in me.”

“I already told you, the game system will give you a base level of combat power and skill based on your class.”

“Hey…” Steel sheathed his sword. “What happens when you die- well, I mean, what would normally happen?”

“Before all this? You would be forcibly logged out, and banned from the game servers for a day. Then you would be able to Respawn, but you would take a heavy penalty to your stats.” I brushed dust off my horn.

“That’s a lot better than dying in real life.” He muttered dryly. “What should we do now?”

“Well, it’s getting late. Why don’t you come to my Player-Owned-House, I’ll get you some food and a bed to sleep in. Back in Beta, I had it built to accommodate three ponies easily. According to my POH menu, it’s untouched from the Beta.” I opened my Skills tab. “It seems my skills weren’t reset, but they were severely nerfed.” Going into my bag, I passed a gem over to him. “This is called a Home Teleport Gem. I’ve set it to my home. You’ll be able to get in because I’ve opened it up to anypony on my Friends list. Just use it by stating clearly ‘Teleport!’”

“Hmmm…” He turned the crystal over. “Teleport?” The crystal remained inactive.

“Say it with more force.” I took out a crystal of my own. “Teleport!” I commanded, and in a flash of light, I found myself back at my home. In a few seconds, my friend appeared next to me.

“Wild…” he muttered as I headed to the kitchen.

“Best thing of virtual worlds…” I opened the food crates. “Food never goes bad.” I quickly selected some items for a simple vegetable soup, about the best I could do with my current Cooking skill.

“So our taste buds, pain, and that kind of stuff… we’ll feel it like the real world?” Steel trotted up behind me as I tossed the ingredients into a pot and began cooking.

“You weren’t supposed to feel pain in the game.” I answered quietly. “But it seems that has changed.”

“That smells good.” Steel commented on my cooking.

When it was finished, I scooped it into two bowls, downing mine in one large gulp. I watched my stamina rise a bit, and health restore. “Get some sleep, the red door bedroom is yours.” I pulled my cloak’s hood over my head again. “I’m going to see what I can find out.”

“Don’t you need sleep?” Steel asked, as he took a gulp of his soup.

“I have enough Stamina Points to last a night or two without sleep.” I headed to the door. “Stay safe. You’re only Level One, after all.”

Author's Note

Decent initial reception.... thanks guys.

Tell me what you think about me utilizing colors for the fanfiction.