Applejack woke up from the strange dream with a snort. Looking around, she saw that she was on a rocky riverbank, opposite a thick forest, resting on a small, warm boulder. Not far away, there was a well-maintained road. To her right, the river and the road ran parallel, but to her left, the river angled away into the woods, which came right up to the road.

“Lovely place, isn’t it?” Minerva commented, getting Applejack’s attention.

“Yeah, it is.” she agreed, enjoying the view for a minute more, before asking, “Now what?”

“Now I start teaching you how to live in this world. First of all, look at your wrists.”

“Bracelets?” Applejack questioned, seeing the jewelry. They looked surprisingly cheap, like costume jewelry, almost. They appeared to be made of glass, with multicolored beads embedded in them. Four, each. A yellow and a green one on the inside of her wrists and two more on top, one red and one blue.

“Those are Ident Bracelets.” Minerva started, before blinking distractedly for a second. “GOD just told me to tell you the left one is like a character sheet. Whatever that is.”

“It’s for a game, back in Equestria. It’s a way to keep track of your characters stats, spells, and abilities.” Applejack explained. She’d played O&O with Mac a few times when they were younger and had filled out a couple. She had no idea what had happened to them.

“Hey! It’s my job to explain things to you, not the other way around.” Minerva complained, with a playful glare.

“Sorry.” Applejack laughed. “You were saying?”

“To start with, touch that red button on top.” she prompted, and when Applejack did, Minerva’s horn lit up, projecting a panel in front of them.

Applejack Anadolu | Furred Race-Horse | Lv. 1
Female Ordinary Civilian
HP: 120 | MP: 80
Strength: 11 | Endurance: 12
Perception: 14 | Agility: 9 | Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 8 | Willpower: 10 | Charisma: 10

“Anadolu1? Probably just something made up.” Applejack thought, reading her character’s name.

“This is your status panel. It lists your name, Race, Class, and general stats. It will include any titles you may earn, and if you ever get convicted of any crimes, they’ll be listed here, as well.”

“Good thing Ah don’t plan to commit any crimes, then.” Applejack said, though she knew that plans only counted for so much. And usually not nearly enough.

“If you touch that button again, it’ll give you an exact breakdown of your stats. That’ll let you know what an effect your Class and equipment have on your Stats. That panel will also list your age and your home—Both settlement and nation.”

“Why?” Applejack asked, and Minerva took her Nightmare form to answer.

“Many laws in many places have contingencies for people from other areas. Lighter restrictions or penalties. For instance, there are a few Elven towns where the age of consent is twenty-five, but that only applies to locals. Visitors are held to the standards of their home. Unless they’re having sex with a local, of course. You’re currently a wanderer, and don’t have a home, so you’re fully subject to every law, without modification.”

“Okay, that’s good to know.”

“Anyways, to continue.” Minerva continued, reverting to normal. “If you touch that button again, the panel will disappear. Or if you leave it open for two minutes. This screen also shows your overall level, but be careful about depending on that. It is only a loose estimate of your strength, based on all of your Stats and Skills. So if you have a few levels in a lot of Skills, you may end up with a significantly higher level than someone who has specialized in only one Skill and the appropriate Stats. But that person could still easily best you with that skill.”

“So it’s kinda useless?”

“With sapients, no, it’s not very reliable.” Minerva confirmed. “But with wild creatures, it’s nearly perfect for judging how hard a fight you can expect. While we’re looking at them, would you like me to explain the various stats? Not all of them are as obvious as they seem.”

“In that case, maybe you’d better.” Not having anything to compare to, they were meaningless numbers, mostly. She was concerned by the fact that her Intelligence was so low, compared to the others. And a little insulted.

“Starting from the top, then. HP, or Health Points. A measure of your physical condition. While missing HP will recover naturally, it is very slow. A rate of only ten percent of your Endurance per hour. Fortunately, eating, sleeping, a few spells, and many items can restore it more quickly. However, if it gets below a certain percentage, you have a high chance of passing out, which is obviously very dangerous, though a number of creatures will lose interest in you if you stop moving. That percentage is equal to half your Willpower—rounded down to the nearest whole number—subtracted from your Endurance. Currently, your percentage is 12 – (10/2), which equals seven percent. And seven percent of 120 is 8.4, which gets rounded down to eight. So if your HP drops below 9, you will likely be rendered unconscious.”

“And if it hits zero, then Ah’m dead.” Applejack finished for her.

“Yes, but you do have one minute to be resurrected. Either by a very high level Restorative Magic spell or certain, very rare items.” Minerva informed her.

“Really hope Ah never need that.”

“That would be best, certainly.” Minerva agreed, before moving on.

“Next is your MP, or Mana Points. That’s used to power your spells. The natural maximum is ten times your Intelligence, but like HP, it can be increased beyond that. Also like HP, it recovers naturally over time, at a rate equal to your Willpower every hour. Many actions and a few items and Skills can make them recover faster. If you try to cast a spell but don’t have enough MP, you will lose HP equal to twice the difference. For instance, if you cast a spell requiring 5 MP, but only have 2 MP left, you will lose 6 HP. If you reach 0 MP, you cannot cast any spells until you recover at least one point. Fortunately, there are no long-term effects of mana exhaustion, or overexertion.”

“Not like Equestria, then.” Applejack mused. Back home, a pony who suffered burnout was barely able to use any magic until they were significantly healed. And it took longer to recover, every time.

“Next is Strength. It determines how much damage you do with melee weapons, and many pieces of equipment require a certain amount of Strength to wield. Likewise, some Skills, such as Smithing, can only be performed effectively with a high enough Strength. It also determines how much weight you can carry on your person. Or haul, if you’re pulling a wagon or rickshaw.” Minerva added as an afterthought.

Applejack had no idea what a rickshaw was, but she didn’t care enough to ask right now.

“Endurance determines your maximum HP.” Minerva continued. “Your natural maximum HP is ten times your Endurance, but there are things that can increase that. It also affects your stamina—which isn’t actually a Stat—and offers a tiny bonus to defense.”

“Ah get the feeling Ah won’t have nearly as much stamina as Ah’m used to.” Applejack muttered.

“Perception is your awareness of your surroundings; mostly how sharp your senses are. It helps you notice things around you. Like dropped items, hiding places, or traps. It’s a rough average of all six senses. The five physical and your magical sensitivity. Equines like you have sharp ears and a strong sense of smell, which is why yours is so high.”

Applejack had wondered about that.

“Agility is all about how quick and flexible you are. It helps with a few Skills, and with most weapons, specifically melee weapons. Its biggest effect is that it helps the accuracy of your attacks, and helps you dodge your enemy’s attacks.” Minerva explained.

“Hopefully Ah won’t have too much trouble with that.” the transplanted mare said, looking down at her unfamiliar body.

“Dexterity is similar, but it’s for your hands and fingers, specifically.” Minerva continued. “It’s a measure of your fine motor skills, where Agility covers gross motor skills. Dexterity is used for most crafting and music skills, some Thief skills, like lockpicking and pickpocketing, and most ranged weapons.”

“Ah know Ah’m gonna have some trouble with that” Applejack said, flexing her hands. The movements were strange. And stranger still because of how smooth they were.

“Intelligence is mostly related to your magical abilities.”

“Is that why it’s so low?” Applejack interrupted.

“Yes. It doesn’t equate directly to your IQ, though improving your knowledge in general can help improve this Stat. And, to be fair, you don’t know a whole lot about this world, yet.”

Before she could continue her explanation, her eyes started glowing as The Gestalt took over. “AND MUCH OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF EQUESTRIA JUST DOESN’T APPLY HERE. THE RULES OF MAGIC ARE VERY DIFFERENT, THE SUN AND MOON MOVE ON THEIR OWN, CONTROLLED BY GRAVITY ALONE, AND NATURE TAKES CARE OF ITSELF. GROWING PLANTS, CHANGING SEASONS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE. IT’S NOT AS REGULATED OR NEAT AS YOU’RE USED TO, BUT IT WORKS.” Then the glow disappeared, and Minerva seemed a little stunned.

“Wow. You ponies have some really powerful magic.” Minerva marveled, reviewing the knowledge that The Gestalt had imparted to her before It withdrew again. “You really control your whole world’s weather?”

“Not directly.” Applejack admitted. “But we’ve been controlling our parts of it for thousands of years, and that’s indirectly caused the rest of the of the world to fall in line.” Rainbow had told her that once. She said she’d learned it in weather school. And Twilight had confirmed it, so she knew it wasn’t just another case of the pegasus misunderstanding what her teachers had been trying to teach her. Even if Applejack didn’t fully understand how it worked.

“Wow.” Minerva said again. “Anyways! Intelligence. It affects several Skills. Mostly magical ones. Most spells need a certain level of Intelligence to be learned, and higher levels improve the power of spells. It’s pretty much the magical equivalent of the Strength Stat.”

“That makes sense.” Applejack said, nodding. “And it makes me feel a bit better.” she added.

“Willpower is a much more versatile Stat.” Minerva continued. “In addition to MP regen and your consciousness threshold, it also has effects on many magics. It has the biggest effect on Debilitative Magic, determining how likely you are to affect an enemy with it, and how well you can resist the effects when being inflicted on you.”

“Debilitative Magic?”

“Sleep, Poison, Paralysis, and other spells of that nature. They can be very powerful. After all, if some deadly beastie is paralyzed, they can’t stop you from walking right up to them and taking their head.”

Applejack was surprised by just how little the thought of killing something bothered her. Most ponies weren’t comfortable with the idea of hurting—much less killing—anything that came with fewer than six legs. After a few seconds, she figured it was like the meat thing The Gestalt had mentioned.

“Willpower can also affect your interactions with wild creatures, and occasionally with other sapients.” Minerva finished.

“As for the last Stat, Charisma, it denotes your charm, sexiness, and general attractiveness. It’s a lot like Willpower, except in reverse. It has some effect on wild creatures, but it mostly affects your interactions with other people. Skills like Haggling, Flirting, and Seduction depend on it.”

“Right.” Applejack said, a little uncomfortable with the talk of sex.

“Well, that’s it for the Stat panel. Go ahead and touch the red button twice more to close it, then touch the yellow button to open the Skill panel.”

Again, Applejack did as bid, and was presented with a new screen.

WEAPON
Pankration – 1
Short Sword – 1
Handgun – 1
MAGIC
Life Magic – 5
CRAFTING
Jewellery – 1
LIFE
Calligraphy – 5
Northern Continental Language – 7 | Orcish Language – 2
Cleaning – 4 | Cooking – 3 | Butchering – 2
RACIAL
Transformation: Humanoid – 1
Transformation: Anthro – 1
Transformation: Horse – 1

“Alright, most of these are easy enough to figure out.” Applejack said, after looking the list over. “But Ah got a few questions.”

“And I’ve got answers.” Minerva asserted. “Which one do you want to start with?”

“Well, a handgun’s gotta be a long-range weapon, considering my Class Bonus, but beyond that…”

“Handguns are small weapons that use a controlled chemical explosion to propel an even smaller, pebble-sized piece of metal, called a bullet—or sometimes a slug—at extremely high speeds.”

“So it’s like a miniature cannon, then?”

“PRETTY MUCH.” The Gestalt answered. “BUT THEY’RE MORE ADVANCED, BEING ABLE TO FIRE MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE NEEDING TO BE RELOADED, AND BEING MUCH SIMPLER TO RELOAD. IT’S AN ANACHRONISM, I KNOW, BUT IN A GAME, FUN IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FACTUAL ACCURACY.” Then he was gone again.

“What else do you want to know?”

“You already explained what Life Magic is, but isn’t calligraphy just fancy writing?”

“Maybe where you’re from, but here, it’s just a whimsical term for penmanship. How clear and legible your handwriting is.” Minerva added. “Yours is kind of messy, but not too bad.

“Uh-huh. And Northern Continental Language is what it sounds like?”

“It’s the primary language of this continent, used by over 95% of people living here. Language skill levels are based on a combination of your ability to read, write, and speak it. Yours is about average. And your Orcish Language level is enough to muddle through until you find a translator. Which shouldn’t be hard at all, really. Anything else?”

“You said there was a cleaning spell, but Ah’m not seeing any other spells on here, so what’s going on?”

“That’s the Cleaning Skill. There is a spell to clean things, but it’s small scale; not meant for cleaning large areas. Nothing larger than a person, really. And most people just find it easier to clean large areas normally, instead of casting the spell over and over.”

“Ahh, that makes sense.” Applejack nodded. “One last question. Ah know ah’ve heard the word butchery before, but Ah just can’t remember what it means.”

“It means cutting dead animals up, for meat or other purposes. Here, it also includes skinning them, to use their hides for various things.”

“That’s right.” Applejack drawled, nodding. Equestrian pigs weren’t sapient, so they were sometimes raised for meat. And leather. And several other reasons.2 They’d also given filly Applejack her first exposure to sex. (When she’d gotten old enough to be interested in sex, she’d actually been somewhat relieved to find out she wouldn’t lose half an hour or more of her already limited time any time she wanted to get laid.)

“Alright, now touch that yellow button again.”

At Minerva’s prompt, Applejack was presented with a slightly different screen.

WEAPONS
Pankration – 1
0 + 100 (Ordinary Citizen)
Short Sword – 1
0 + 100 (Ordinary Citizen)
Handgun – 1
0 + 100 (Ordinary Citizen)
MAGIC
Life Magic – 5
0 + 1500 (Ordinary Citizen)
CRAFTING
Jewellery – 1
0 + 100 (Ordinary Citizen)
LIFE
Calligraphy – 5
1512
Northern Continental Language – 7
2975
Orcish Language – 2
306
Cleaning – 4
1479
Cooking – 3
654
Butchering – 2
347
RACIAL
Transformation: Humanoid – 1
100
Transformation: Anthro – 1
100
Transformation: Horse – 1
100

“Here, you can see every skill you have any experience in.” Minerva explained. “Like your Stat panel, this gives you an exact breakdown of every bonus in effect. Unlike your Stats, you can see exactly how much experience every Skill has. Reaching Level 1 in any Skill requires 100 experience, and every level after that requires 100 more experience than the level before it.”

“Ah can see that.” Applejack said. “Mathematics was never best or my favorite subject, but Ah can figure that much out.”

“Spells are the same, by the way.” Minerva added. “Now, if you press the button again, you can see a list of every possible skill, so you can see if there’s anything in particular you’d like to try learning. There are dozens and dozens of them though, so you should save that for later. The green button is next. It works exactly like the Skill list, but is specifically for magic spells.”

Curious, Applejack closed the current panel and opened her Spell list.

LIFE MAGIC
Scan – 1
Clean – 1
Purify Water – 1

“So, how do Ah cast these spells?”

“Just think about the spell you want to cast, the target you want to use it on, if it needs one, and then say it. It doesn’t have to be very loud. You can even just mouth it, if you need to.”

“And how do Ah learn new spells?”

“Every spell has requirements to learn. Usually, Skill level in that school and a certain Intelligence level, but some also need a certain level in other spells, too. The third panel, which lists every spell, will show the necessary requirements, if you don’t meet them.”

“And how do Ah gain levels in a school of magic, if Ah can’t cast any of its spells?”

“The easiest way is just to change your Class to one that already has it, then gain some experience before switching back. But there are people who can teach you, and other ways, besides.”

“Right.” Applejack said, embarrassed for not thinking of the obvious. Not looking at Minerva, she asked, “So, um, the other two are pretty obvious, but what’s that Scan spell do?” She thought there might be a spell by that name in O&O, but she’d only played three or four times, and never as a spellcaster.

“It shows you information about the target. Not much right now, since it’s only level one. Name and level only, in fact.”

“You can cast this spell on any living thing, but using it on another person without their permission is a misdemeanor, carrying a small fine for a first offence.” Nightmare Minerva interrupted to point out.

“The last thing that I need to tell you about spells for now is that their levels can’t exceed the overall level of their school, no matter how much experience they gain, but that’s rarely an issue.”

“So now the blue button?” Applejack asked, closing the Spell list.

“That’s right. There actually isn’t anything there right now, except for the date and time, but in the future, if you join any guilds or organizations, you can use that button to keep track of any jobs you’ve undertaken. What you need to do, where you need to go to do it, when you need to do it by, and your rewards for doing it.”

Nevertheless, Applejack touched the button.

Day 3 – Late Spring, 4147 AA
15:34
JOBS
-None

QUESTS
-None

“Fifteen-Thirty-Four?” Applejack read off, puzzled.

“We use a 24-hour clock. Like the military.” Minerva explained.

“And Late Spring?”

“A year is divided up into four seasons. Each season is further divvied up into three months or moons—since they follow the lunar cycle, the terms are interchangeable. And each moon has four weeks, of seven days each, corresponding to the lunar phases.”

Applejack nodded, before asking, “If jobs are from guilds, then what are quests?”

“Quests come from GOD, and they’re meant to make your life more entertaining for It to watch.”

“So they’re all gonna be sexual, aren’t they?” Applejack sighed.

“Probably.” Minerva agreed. “But completing them will get you rewards from GOD.”

“Like prostitution?” A perfectly legal and even respectable profession in Equestria, but one which Applejack had never quite understood how somepony could want to make their living doing. On the other hoof, she knew a lot of ponies felt the same way about running the Acres, including a couple of her friends.

“You could look at it that way.” Minerva admitted. “Or you could look at it as getting a bonus for something you’re going to do anyways. Like making something that’s already nice even better. Like icing on a cake! Besides, they’re entirely optional, so you don’t have to do about them if you don’t want to.”

Applejack sighed again, then shook her head and asked if the blue button did anything else.

“Pressing it again will show you a calendar where you can keep track of not just Job deadlines, but birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, festivals, or anything else you want.” Minerva then spent a couple minutes teaching Applejack how to navigate the calendar by scrolling with her finger.

“And that’s it for the left bracelet.” Minerva finished.

“So what’s the right one do, then?”

“It’s your inventory. All your items, in other words. The red button shows your restorative items, like potions, antidotes, and other things like that. Touch it again to see any food you have stored.”

“Ah can store food in this thing?”

“You can put just about anything in it, except for a few living things.” Minerva said. “And since time doesn’t move for things stored in these bracelets, anything you take out will be just as fresh as when you put it in, no matter how long it’s been since.”

“And how do Ah put things in and take them out?”

“It’s easy. You just hold or touch the thing you want to store and imagine it being put in the bracelet. You can practice with some of the rocks around here, if you want.” It didn’t take very long for Applejack to figure out how to do it consistently. Then she asked how to take things back out again, and Minerva told her to start with the red button.

ITEMS – RESTORATIVES
O Weak Potion (Quick-Use) – 6
O Antidote (Large) – 2

“To take something out, just touch that circle in front of the item name.” Minerva told Applejack, who took out one potion. It was a small metal flask. “That will restore ten percent of your HP if you drink it. There’s only one dose in that flask. It’s a good idea to keep at least a couple of those on your person at all times while in the wild. And especially when delving. That way you don’t have to fumble for the button and everything.”

Taking Minerva’s advice, Applejack looked down at herself, hoping to find someplace to put the flask. She found she was wearing a heavy, long-sleeved leather jacket, with small metal loops all over, over some sort of simple, heavy dress that went past her stifles.

“Thighs.” she thought suddenly. “Spike calls the part of his legs between knees and hips thighs.”

Around her middle—which Spike called a waist—there were half a dozen pockets sized just right for a flask, and Applejack tucked the one in her hand into one. Then, just to be on the safe side, she transferred one more from her inventory to her belt.

Satisfied with her preparations, Applejack pressed the button again to check her food supplies.

ITEMS – FOOD
O Apple – 12
O Apple (Dried) – 8
O Cheese Wedge – 3
O Bread Loaf – 1
O Rabbit Jerky – 6
O Full Canteen – 2

“What’s jerky?”

“Jerky is meat that’s been dried, usually by smoking it, in order to preserve it.”

“So it’s rabbit meat.” Applejack mused, a little uneasy at the thought, but not as much as she would’ve expected. “Well, as long as it’s not pony meat, Ah can probably get used to it.” she decided, closing that panel.

“Now touch the blue button. That holds your equipment, including weapons, ammo, armor, and accessories.”

“Accessories count as armor?” was Applejack’s disbelieving question.

“Most jewelry can be enchanted to give bonuses to Stats, Skills, and/or Spells. Now, let’s see what you’ve got.” Minerva ordered brightly.

ITEMS – EQUIPMENT
O ALL
WEAPONS
O E Bronze Short Sword
O E Bronze Knuckle A
O E Bronze Knuckle B
O E Woodney 13
AMMUNITION
O E Basic Bullets – 50
ARMOR
O E Leather Jerkin
O E Wooden Targe
FOOTWEAR
O E Padded Leather Boots
ACCESSORIES
O E 12-Loop Cartridge Holder

“This panel is a smidge less simple than the others, but still pretty intuitive.” Minerva said. “First of all, you can cycle through the sub-categories by touching that circle in front of ALL. Then, like the other panel, touch the circle in front of the item to pull it out. Then you can equip it manually, sell it, or do whatever else with it. Or you can touch the ‘E’ to automatically equip or unequip it. A glowing ‘E’, like in front of the jerkin, means that it’s currently equipped.”

“That’s this jacket Ah’m wearing?”

“Yep! It doesn’t offer too much protection, but it’s tough leather, and the slight padding inside will help a bit, too.”

“And what’s a targe?”

“A small, round shield. It uses the Small Shield Skill, which you don’t know. Of course, you can still equip it and use it, to start getting experience, but you won’t use it very well.”

“Then Ah probably shouldn’t try using it. The last thing Ah wanna do is get myself hurt by messing with something Ah don’t know how to use.”

“That’s a good attitude to have. There are safer ways to learn skills after all.” Minerva approved.

“Yeah, Ah figured. So what’s the cartridge holder?”

“It attaches to your belt and allows you to keep spare bullets on your person for quick access. Just like the flask slots. Also, if you have it equipped, and auto-equip your bullets, it will be filled, too. Now, if you touch that button again, you’ll see your clothing.”

“Shouldn’t Ah equip a weapon?”

“That can wait until we finish this.”

“If you say so.” Applejack said, touching the blue button again.

ITEMS – CLOTHES
O ALL
OUTERWEAR – TOPS
O E Green Tunic
O E Blue Tunic
O E Orange Silk Dress
OUTERWEAR – BOTTOMS
O E Linen Pants A
O E Linen Pants B
O E Short Brown Skirt
UNDERGARMENTS – TOPS
O E Simple Brassiere A
O E Simple Brassiere B
O E Nice Corset
UNDERGARMENTS – BOTTOMS
O E Simple Futa Panties A
O E Simple Futa Panties B
O E Fitted Futa Panties
FOOTWEAR
O E Thin Woolen Socks A
O E Thin Woolen Socks B
O E Silk Stockings
ACCESSORIES
O E Belt
O E Stetson

“Okay, Ah’ve definitely got some questions.” Applejack said, staring at the list. “First, what’s a brass…ee-airy?” Having never encountered the word before, she tried sounding it out, but ended up butchering it.

“It’s pronounced brassiere.” Minerva started.

“Ain’t that a fancy kinda torch?”

“That’s a brazier, and it’s spelled differently.” Minerva corrected her. “A brassiere is something that supports your breasts, and prevents them bouncing around painfully.”

“Okay.” Applejack figured that would make more sense eventually. “And a corset?”

“It does the same thing, but it also wraps around the abdomen, to help simulate or emphasize the breast-waist-hip hourglass figure that many humanoids find alluring. They can be strictly functional or serve as lingerie. Yours is the latter, by the way.”

“Sorta like a saddle” Applejack thought, before moving to the next topic. “Futa? And Panties?”

“A futa is a person who has both male and female sexual organs. And panties are garments that cover the crotch area, usually worn by females. Males have their own styles of undergarment. They absorb sweat and otherwise cut down the wear and tear on pants and similar garments. At least that’s how they started. Nowadays, they’re just like corsets, in that they can be functional or decorative. Futa panties, specifically, are designed to accommodate a cock more comfortably, as opposed to the smooth curve of a vagina. Yours are more functional than fun. Except for the fitted pair, which are personally tailored to fit your body, and are very sexy.” Minerva finished with a wink.

“Uh-huh.” Applejack responded flatly, trying not to be too annoyed by the constant sex talk. After all, she’d agreed to play this game, even after finding out it was going to be so lewd. “And what’s the difference between socks and stockings?”

“They both protect boots and shoes, in the same way a pair of panties protects a pair of pants. Socks are mostly utilitarian, but they can be cute or even sexy. Stockings are generally considered more feminine, and while they are often just as utilitarian as socks, more often than not, they’re meant to be titillating.”

“Okay, so what’s next, yellow or green?”

“The yellow button is the rest of your inventory. That’s where you can find your money, your bath supplies, and a knife, pot, and pan for cooking with. Along with a fork and spoon for eating with, a small tent, a bedroll, a pillow, a fire-starting kit, some rope, maintenance kits for your weapons, and the rocks you were practicing with earlier.”

“And how much money do Ah have?” Applejack asked, opening her inventory. Sure enough, the contents were just as Minerva said.

“You’ve been saving almost all your wages for the last eight moons, with most of your expenses covered by the merchant caravan you were travelling with, so you’ve saved up a good amount. You have 75 copper coins; five silver coins, which are worth 50 copper, each; and two gold coins, worth ten silvers apiece.” Minerva explained, as Applejack played with the rocks in her inventory. She was practicing removing them and putting them back.

“Ten times two, times fifty…” she muttered, tossing the rocks back on the beach. “That’s over a thousand copper coins. That sounds like a lot, but how much is it really?”

“1,325 coppers, to be exact.” Minerva confirmed. “In practical terms, it would be enough for you to live on for a bit over a month, in the nearest village. That’s assuming you didn’t earn any more money in the meantime, of course.”

“And how easy is it to make money around here?”

“It’s not too hard to make enough money to live on. Savings may be a little harder to come by, though.” Minerva admitted. “But the better your skills, the easier it can become. A crafter can usually make a decent living, though an apprentice will usually have to move somewhere else after they finish their apprenticeship. Combat types can have it a little tougher, though. Dungeons can make it easier, but the nearest one is a couple weeks’ travel southwest of here.”

“Well, Ah suppose Ah kinda am a combat type, at least for now, so how do Ah make money?”

“Mostly by hunting local critters and beasties.” Minerva said. “Exact details will have to wait, though. For now, it’s time to talk about the green button.”

“Wait, what happens if Ah touch the yellow button again?”

“The panel closes. It only opens the one panel. And it’s the only one. The green button has two panels, too. And like your job panel, there’s nothing there right now.”

“So what is it?”

“Your Menagerie.”

“Menagerie? Like a zoo?” Applejack asked, completely confused.

“Yes and no. Touch the green button once to see your bestiary. A list of every kind of critter and beastie you’ve encountered. Touching it again shows you all of your pets, steeds, and active summons. And that’s everything you need to know for now. Oh! Except for one more thing. Like me, all these panels are invisible to anyone else. Unless you keep your finger on the button for two full seconds, then it becomes visible to everyone.”

“So now what?”

”Well, now you can lay back down and rest awhile, if you want. That was a lot of information to take in, so it’s understandable if you need some time to sort it all out.”

“Maybe, but it’s all pretty simple, so Ah’m ready to get going.”

“In that case, you should probably equip a weapon or two.”

“A weapon or two?” Applejack asked, surprised. She figured she could only have one at a time.

“That’s right! Unlike most games, you can equip as many weapons as you want. So long as you can make them all fit. And have enough strength to carry them all. The same for armor and jewelry. You can wear rings on every finger and even get your ears pierced multiple times, if you want.”

“Huh. In that case…” Applejack said, opening her equipment menu again. First, she equipped the short sword, and it appeared on the back of her waist, clipped to the jerkin’s belt. She practiced drawing and sheathing it a few times, to get a feel for the action, and then took a few practice swings, to get used to the weight of the golden-brown blade. Then she equipped the knuckles.

Unlike a sword or gun, she had no idea what to expect, so she looked them over. They consisted of four metal loops that went around her fingers, connected to each other by a bar that pressed against her palm when she closed her fist. There were also three chains leading from the bar to a wide bracelet that sat halfway up her forearm. The chains were mostly made of fine links, but every three or four, there was a larger one.

“What’s with all this stuff?” Applejack asked. “Shouldn’t they just…cover my fingers, or something?”

“That would be a glove.” Minerva said, before explaining the whole anatomy of the weapon.

“The thin rings concentrate the force of your punch into a smaller area, leading to more damage to your opponent. The palm bar does the opposite, transferring the force on the rings to your palms, instead of your more fragile fingers, making you less likely to break them. The chains and the bracelet are for equipment modifiers, which I’ll explain later.”

Applejack just nodded and threw a couple practice punches. It felt weird to someone who’d lived their entire life as a quadruped, but she thought she could get used to it. But when she grabbed the hilt of her sword, she couldn’t get a solid grip on it. After a moment or two of trying, she gave up on trying to make it work, so she unequipped right-hand knuckle, but she kept the one on her left hand equipped.

Then she equipped the gun, and it appeared on her right hip. Carefully, Applejack pulled the thing from its holster and turned it over in her hands, studying it. It didn’t really look anything like she’d expected it to.

“Would you like me to tell you about that?” Minerva asked, and when Applejack nodded, she started. “All handguns work the same way. Once it’s loaded, you pull back the hammer with your thumb or your other hand until it clicks. That primes it, like pulling a bowstring back. Then, to actually fire, you gently squeeze the trigger. Now, since it is powered by an explosion, it will be very loud, and the gun will jump in your hand, so you will have to get used to both of those. Jerking the trigger will only make it jump worse and throw your aim off." Minerva warned.

“That’s how guns in general work. Now, the specific model in your hands is a Woodney 13, the weakest model in the world. It’s a five-shot revolver, meaning you can’t fire it more than five times before needing to reload. It’s also got the worst accuracy of any handgun, and is nearly useless beyond about fifteen meters. Which is roughly the distance to the far bank of the river.” Minerva added, before Applejack could ask. “Also, the trigger doesn’t need very much pressure to activate, so you need to be careful about that.”

“So how do Ah load it?” Applejack asked, and Minerva walked her through loading and reloading. “Ah think Ah’ll stick with auto-equipping from the inventory for now.” she said, holstering the gun.

“That’s fine. Though you might’ve wanted to hold off on holstering that.” Minerva said, turning to look over Applejack’s shoulder.

“Why?” Applejack asked, turning her head. “Oh.” she said, when she saw the white shape emerging from the tree line. The thing paused for a moment, then started moving forward again. As the creature approached, Applejack quickly stood up off the rock. And despite having only been a biped for a few minutes, she immediately took a combat-ready stance, balancing effortlessly.

Author's Note

1. The Anadolu is a pony breed that’s known for its strength, speed and endurance, making it a pretty good match for Applejack. Even if it is a little shorter than I picture her. And I didn’t even notice the alliteration at first.

2. They were great for getting rid of food scraps and crops that weren’t good enough to sell, and providing manure for fertilizer. They could help tear up the ground, when the plow was out of commission. Or just not enough. And while there wasn’t much call for it around Ponyville, other places used them for truffle-hunting.