Justin

Another Tartarus Guardian howled as it fell into the abyss below. The anime girl, whose name I still don't know, had been making short work of any Guardians we came across. We'd run into about a dozen other Guardians by now, and not a single one of the wolves lasted more than ten seconds. It was quite impressive to watch her dispose of them with barely any effort. The way she carried herself made it obvious she was the strongest person in the room, yet she wasn't boasting it or trying to show off. It was clear she didn't care what anyone else thought of her, whether it be praise or disapproval.

As for me, I was looking marginally less cool as I shuffled behind her like a lost child, just trying not to fall behind. I was still waiting for her to ask those questions she said she had, or at least introduce herself, or say literally anything. She hadn't said a word since we left the cell, and it left me feeling a bit awkward.

I wasn't sure if I should say something or if I should just keep waiting for her to say something. If it's me who should say something, what should I say? Should I ask her name? Should I introduce myself first? Should I ask if she still wanted to ask me those questions? Did she just forget about the questions? No, that's just stupid, why would she forget the questions? That begs the question, what's she thinking about? Maybe she was still thinking of what to ask first? Was she still trying to make heads or tails of me? Does she think I'm a loser? Oh God, don't tell me, is she thinking about whether or not she should ditch me!?

"Are you gonna keep staring at me like that?" She asked, barely looking back at me. It was then that I realized I'd been staring at her like an idiot the entire time.

"O-Oh! Uh, sorry. Didn't mean to stare." I apologized before quickly keeping my gaze glued to the ground.

Ugh, curse you, social anxiety and high-functioning autism. Why do you have to make every social interaction an inner panic attack for me?

"I-I was just wondering if you were gonna ask me those questions you said you had." I explained. She paid a glance at me over her shoulder before looking back ahead.

"...Sure, I don't see why not. I was planning to wait until we got out of Tartarus to ask them, but we don't have much else to do at the moment." She eventually shrugged after a few seconds. "First question: Who are you?"

"Me? My name's Justin, Justin Baker. I'm... well, I'm not really anybody special. And you? What's your name?"

"Name's Amber Aurora. That's all you need to know about me." She answered bluntly. "Now, my next question: What’s a human like you doing in Tartarus?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I ask for clarification. I also made a mental note that she knows what a human is, meaning they most likely exist in this version of Equestria.

"You said you wanted to escape Tartarus, but you don't exactly seem like the kind of guy they would reserve a cell in Tartarus for. Well, as far as I can tell, anyway. Why were you thrown in here?"

"Oh. Well, I wasn't actually imprisoned here. I, uh, kinda sorta... teleported in here?" I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly, already knowing how unbelievable that sounded. The look Amber gave me made it clear she wasn't even trying to hide her skepticism.

"Really? Last I checked, humans can't use magic, and even if they could, there's only a select few people who can teleport into Tartarus."

"I'm not saying I teleported myself, someone else teleported me. I actually didn't get much say in the matter." I defended myself. She was clearly still skeptical but didn't press it further. "Now that you mention it, what exactly is a 'Legend'? I mean, I know the word and what the definition is, but the way you and the HUD say it, you make it sound like it's a kind of person."

That question managed to get her full attention as she stopped in her tracks and whirled her head around to face me. She looked at me like I'd just grown a second head. "You don't know what Legends are? You mean you've never once even heard of Legends?"

Uh oh. Are 'Legends' supposed to be common knowledge? If they are, then I might be making an implication of myself right now. I can't just tell her I'm not from this world, she'll think I'm insane!

"I'm, uh... let's just say I'm kinda new around here." I chuckle nervously. It was then that a HUD screen appeared in front of us, causing the two of us to stop in our tracks.

"Tutorial: Legends"

"Legends are people who have been gifted with special power and abilities attributed to one of four types of fighting styles. These four styles are as follows: Blade Dancers, Lead Slingers, Fist Strikers, and Magic Casters. Blade Dancers specialize in melee weaponry of any kind, Lead Slingers specialize in ranged weaponry of any kind, Fist Strikers specialize in any form of hand-to-hand combat, and Magic Casters specialize in any form of magic. The power of a Legend is classified by one of five tiers. From weakest to strongest, they are as follows: Basic, Intermediate, Ultimate, Epic, and Legendary."

"Okay, I... think I get it?" I said, though Amber could tell I was still pretty confused.

"That's a pretty bare-bones explanation of how Legends work." She chuckled as we started walking again. "It's a bit more complicated than how the... what'd you say it was called again?"

"The HUD?"

"Yeah, that." Amber continued walking again, and I picked up my pace so that we were walking side by side. "Legends are more complicated than how the HUD put it. For example, while a Blade Dancer might be good at using 'melee weaponry' as the HUD said, it's not like they can just pick up a stick and immediately be a master at using it in a fight. Some Blade Dancers are experts at using longswords, but they wouldn't be as good with something like a hammer or an axe. The same applies for Blade Dancers that are good with axes, they can't just pick up a sword and quickly master it. Everyone's good at their own thing."

"So... would that also apply to the other Legend types?"

"Yeah, a Lead Slinger might be great with a sniper rifle, but they probably wouldn't be much of a marksman with a pistol or a bow and arrows. A Magic Caster might be good at using fire magic, but not wind magic. You could also use me as an example. I'm a-" Before Amber finished her sentence, her ears flicked behind her and she shoved me down to the ground, catching me off guard. I looked up from the ground and was about to ask what the hell she did that for, only to see her throw a roundhouse kick at a Tartarus Guardian that had tried to sneak up on me, knocking it over the edge of the walkway. If she hadn't pushed me down, that thing would've sunk its teeth into my skull.

She offered me a hand up, and I took it. I dusted myself off, a little shaken by the close call, before facing her. "T-Thanks."

"No problem, but you've gotta be more aware of your surroundings." With that, we resumed our trek through Tartarus as Amber picked up where she left off. "So as I was saying, I'm a Fist Striker, and my style focuses on kickboxing, with a bit of street fighting thrown in. That doesn't mean I could just start doing kung fu or ninjitsu or whatever."

"Alright, I think I'm understanding it now..." I nodded along, only for a thought to quickly occur. "Wait, hold on, the names don't make sense!"

"What?" Amber tilted her head, unsure of what I was getting at.

"If there are Blade Dancers who are experts in weapons that don't have blades, then why call them 'Blade Dancers'? Same with Lead Slingers and Fist Strikers. The name 'Lead Slingers' implies that they use guns and bullets, since bullets are made of lead, but you just said that there are Lead Slingers who use bows and arrows. Heck, you said you were a Fist Striker, but I just saw you kick that Guardian! You aren't limited to just your fists!" I don't know why this was bothering me so much, but now that I realized it, it wouldn't stop bugging me.

"Huh... Never really thought about it, honestly. I guess whoever came up with the names was either too dumb to realize their mistake, or they couldn't think of anything better. Maybe they just thought those names sounded cooler." Amber shrugged.

"I guess..." I decided to let the matter go and move on to my next question. "So, what if you wanted to learn other fighting styles? Would you not be able to?"

"I could, but my hits wouldn't be as powerful. You saw how far my attacks send the Guardians. If I tried that with another martial art, it wouldn't have as much of an impact." She explained. "Again, the same applies to the other Legend types. A sword wielder can learn how to use an axe or a mace if they wanted to, but it will never be as strong or effective as using a sword. They can also learn how to use weapons and fighting styles outside of their Legend type. If I wanted, I could learn how to be a good shot with a gun, but again, not as effective as my fists. The only exception would be learning to use magic like a Magic Caster, since that Legend type is unique to unicorns. Then again, I’ve heard stories about non-unicorns that managed to learn magic, but they’re just rumors."

The fact that a punch from her bare fist would be more dangerous than a bullet is both badass and intimidating.

"Huh, I see..." I pondered if there were any other questions I had before one came to mind. "The HUD also mentioned something about 'tiers'. What were those again?"

"Basic, Intermediate, Ultimate, Epic, and Legendary." She listed them off. "They basically give you an idea of how strong a Legend is. For example, a Basic Lead Slinger could easily hit a bullseye from over 200 feet away, and could single-handedly take on about 10 to 20 other thugs in a fight alone. A Legendary Lead Slinger, on the other hand, could hit a bullseye from almost 100 miles away and defeat a small army of trained soldiers by themselves."

Hot damn! So Legendary Legends are OP, duly noted...Wait a sec...

"So, what tier are you then?" I asked, feeling a bit more hopeful. If Amber is strong enough, then Cerberus might not be a problem.

"Me? I'm an Epic Fist Striker." She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"So, would you be capable of, oh I don't know... defeating Cerberus?" I felt my hope gradually increasing.

"Yeah, I can. It would take a bit of effort, but I can definitely pull it off." She casually answered. She didn't even need to think about her answer, she knew immediately that victory was guaranteed.

"YES!!!" I leapt up and pumped a fist in the air, which caught Amber a bit off guard. I felt a little embarrassed by the look she was giving me and shrunk back a bit. "S-Sorry, just got a bit excited there."

She gave me a weird look before chuckling at my sheepishness as we continued on in silence. Though I was still a little embarrassed, it didn't stop me from being happy that getting out of Tartarus was practically guaranteed.

...Though, that happiness quickly dwindled as soon as I spotted four Tartarus Guardians running down the path, charging straight towards us.

Oh shit!

Amber was already running ahead and charging right back at them. Three of the four Guardians focused on her as they engaged in combat. Unluckily for me, the last Guardian decided I was easy pickings, and went straight for me. I summoned the Bowie knife from my inventory as I felt myself trembling. I barely managed to scramble out of the way as the Guardian lunged at me. I whipped my head back around, trying to keep my eyes on the creature while simultaneously trying to figure out how I was going to kill it.

Ok, let's see, where can I find a weakness? It's faster than me... It's stronger than me... It's more agile than me... It has acid drool... It looks super terrifying and bloodthirsty... I have nothing but a knife to defend myself...

...I'm not exactly boosting my confidence, am I?

The wolf-like creature circled around me, eyeing me like I was a piece of meat. I kept my grip on the knife firm in my left hand as I waited for it to strike. After a few tense moments, it lunged at me, baring its sharp fangs. I ducked under it, wildly slashing at it in a desperate attempt to do some damage. I managed to graze it a couple times, two new cuts visible on its body, but that was about it. The Guardian didn't give me any time to recover from the maneuver and was already lunging at me again.

The Guardian tackled me to the ground, and I managed to bring my right arm up in time to stop it from sinking its teeth into my head or throat. Unfortunately, that meant it was chomping into my arm instead, and boy did it hurt like hell.

-29 HP

Overall HP: 71/100

Right Arm: 57%

"AAAGH!!!" Blood splattered on both of us as the wolf wrestled my arm around in its maw, and I could feel its acid drool burning through my flesh. With the knife still in my left hand, I stabbed it straight into the Guardian's head. I expected that to kill it, or at the very least get it to let go of my arm.

Shockingly, the Guardian seemed to barely be phased by the giant knife plunged in its skull. It flinched a bit, but showed no other reaction and kept trying to tear my arm apart.

Desperation and fear took over as I began frantically stabbing the knife into the Guardian's head over and over, each stab wearing it down more and more. "FUCKING DIE ALREADY!!!"

Eventually, after a couple dozen stabs or so, the Guardian's body slumped over me and went limp before fading away into dust. I tried to scramble to my feet, only to flinch as pain shot up through my right arm. Blood gushed out from the several holes in my arm where the Guardian's teeth had been, and there were a few burn marks that I assumed had been caused by the Guardian's acid drool. I could feel tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes as my arm burned and sook from the pain. I wasn't even sure if I should put pressure on the wound due to the acid burns.

+10 XP

It was then that I remembered Amber and turned to where she and the other three Guardians had been. Instead of seeing her busy fighting off the wolves, I saw her just standing there with a relaxed posture, having already dealt with the Guardians a while ago. Given how she had been efficiently dispatching them so far, I honestly don't know why I expected anything else.

As she glanced over at me, it took her a second to realize I was hurt. As soon as she did, her eyes widened, and she rushed over to me. "Shit, you alright, man?"

"I-I've been better." I grimaced as I examined the injury. Before I knew it, another blue screen popped up as the HUD began to speak again.

"Tutorial: Healing"

"There are two ways to heal injuries. The first method is by using the Manual Healing Ability, which can only be acquired when the User's Medicine Perk reaches level 3. The second method is by using Health Stims. Health Stims are used to restore the User's HP and limb durability. There are five types of Health Stims: Small (+20% HP), Moderate (+40% HP), Large (+60% HP), Extra Large (+80% HP), and Full (+100% HP). Each type of Health Stim has a different level of effectiveness at restoring HP. However, no matter which type of Health Stim is used, all limb durability will be fully restored with the use of one Health Stim, no matter where it is injected."

Health Stims?... Oh right! That thing that was in the inventory!

I summoned one of the Moderate Health Stims from the inventory and it appeared in my hand. The needle was small, but still looked a little intimidating. "D-Do I need to inject it into a vein or something?"

"Negative. It does not matter where User: Justin injects the Health Stim."

So, I can just... stab it into my arm?... Alright, here goes nothing.

I winced as the needle pierced my skin and watched as the green liquid was automatically transferred from the syringe to my arm. My wincing was immediately replaced by wide eyes when the wounds on my arm began rapidly healing. The puncture wounds from the bite sealed shut, and the burn marks disappeared completely. There wasn't even a scar or anything, it was good as new. If my arm hadn't been covered in blood, you wouldn't even know I had been injured. I could still feel a slight pain in my arm, but that was quickly fading as well.

Whoa...

+29 HP

Overall HP: 100/100

Right Arm: 100%

"[Note]: For healing your first injury, User: Justin's Medicine Skill has increased to 2."

Oh hey! Progress! Hell yeah!

I did a mental fist pump as I turned to Amber. She didn't seem to be as in awe of the miracle of medicine like I was, but did look a little intrigued by it. "Neat trick. What kinda medicine is that? I've only seen healing spells fix up injuries well enough to not leave scars. Is that some sorta potion or something?"

"Uh... well, believe it or not, I know just as much as you do about it. This is the first time I used it."

Amber blinked a few times as she processed my answer. "...Wait, you've never used that stuff before, and you didn't know what kind of effects it would have, yet you injected a needle with some mystery liquid inside straight into your injured arm without question?"

"...Um...yes?" Amber just looked at me, trying to tell if I was crazy or just stupid. Honestly, it's probably a bit of both. After a few seconds, she rolled her eyes and helped me up off the ground. I dusted myself off and waited for her to take the lead again, only to see her still staring at me. "...What?"

"...You don't have much fighting experience, do you?" She asked me, folding her arms.

"Uh, w-well, I-...No, no I don't. This is the first time I've been in a fight. Outside of video games, at least." I admitted. Now that she knew I wasn't very helpful in a fight, I was worried she might leave me behind.

Amber let out a heavy sigh. "So much for 'Covering each other’s backs'." She muttered. "Look, just hang back and try to leave anything we come across to me, alright?"

I blinked, a little surprised by her answer. "Y-...You're not gonna ditch me for being useless?"

She raised an eyebrow, probably not expecting that response. "I said I owe you for breaking me out, didn't I? I don't break my promises. Now c'mon, we should almost be there."

Feeling a great amount of relief, I followed her as we continued our trek through Tartarus. According to the objective marker, we were indeed almost at the exit, and that also meant we were almost free.

As we got close to our objective, the path opened up into a very large stone platform, the size of it giving me 'boss fight arena' vibes. A pair of stone double doors were at the far end, standing at around 30 feet tall. The door itself had many intricate designs on it that give it a rather demonic presence. According to the objective marker, this was the exit. While I was glad that we finally made it, I was a little concerned about the lack of a certain three-headed dog. Either Cerberus was waiting somewhere to ambush us, or he had just up and disappeared. Either way, it was a bad sign.

Why would Cerberus disappearing also be a bad sign, you ask? Well, Tartarus is basically a hellish prison, and Cerberus was the main thing keeping all the evil stuff locked up in here. If all the prison guards in a prison filled with convicts suddenly up and vanished, would you consider that a good thing?

"Stay behind me." Amber ordered, also noticing the absence of Cerberus. I did as she said, and the two of us cautiously made our way towards the doors. As we got closer, I heard a rumbling from... above us?

Wait, wha-?

"LOOK OUT!!!" Amber shoved me back as something large crashed down to the ground from the ceiling, causing me to fall onto my back. I raised my arms to shield my face from the dust and pebbles that were sent flying by the impact. Once the dust had settled, the first thing I saw was Amber standing beside me, having managed to dodge whatever had ambushed us. The next thing I saw was the source of the crash, which was standing right in front of us.

What stood before us was a large, house-sized black bulldog with three heads, each one wearing a spiked collar. Each head glared at us with vicious eyes that matched the ghostly eyes of the Tartarus Guardians. They bore sharp and ferocious fangs, letting out loud growls. Before us was none other than the Warden of Tartarus...

Cerberus... he's a lot scarier looking than I remember.

"Stay back." Amber waved a hand back to me. The cool, stern look on her face showed no signs of fear or worry as she got into a fighting stance. She wasn't nervous, but she wasn't cocky, either. She stayed calm and collected, keeping her focus entirely on her opponent as they stared each other down.

The air was tense for several seconds as neither one of them made a move or a sound.

Cerberus glared at Amber.

Amber glared at Cerberus.

. . .

Cerberus moved first.

The giant canine lunged at Amber, the middle head opening its maw to chomp down on her. She rolled out of the way before throwing a straight punch to its nose. Normally, considering the difference in size, a punch from someone as small as Amber hitting something as big as Cerberus shouldn't even be enough to make the Warden of Tartarus flinch. However, Amber wasn't a normal person.

Her punch sent Cerberus flying a good 20 feet across the room and onto its back.

WHOA!!!

Shaking the dizziness out of its middle head, Cerberus rolled back onto its paws, all three heads growling angrily. Before it could react, Amber had run up to it and leapt feet first at the three-headed dog, dropkicking it. This time, her dropkick sent the dog flying 30 feet back before it crashed into the double doors behind it. The doors hadn't budged an inch, but the sound of the impact echoed throughout Tartarus.

Cerberus got back up and charged straight at Amber, all three of its heads chomping at her while simultaneously swiping its paws at her. Amber dodged, weaved, and rolled to avoid every single attack the large canine threw at her. It didn't even manage to get a single scratch on her before she threw an uppercut into the jaw of one of Cerberus' heads. The uppercut sent Cerberus soaring straight up into the air before crashing back down with a loud *THUD*, shaking the ground beneath it.

This time, before Cerberus could get back up, Amber ran up and wrapped her arms around its tail. As soon as she had a good grip, she actually managed to lift the house-sized dog up by the tail before slamming it back down into the ground. Then, still gripping the tail, Amber spun Cerberus around like she was performing a hammer throw in the Olympics before tossing it into the doors again, the impact once again echoing through Tartarus. Cerberus had a lot more trouble getting back up this time, its legs wobbling beneath it.

With a smirk, Amber tilted her head left and right to crack her neck before rolling her shoulders and getting back into a fighting stance. She hadn't even broken a sweat yet. The entire aura she gave off just screamed 'Badass'.

I'm not gonna lie... I think I was starting to fall in love. At the very least, I was starting to have a crush on her.

Amber paid a glance back at me, noticing that I was staring at her with my jaw dropped. "...What?"

"...Y-You're, uh... You're really cool." I fumbled the words out of my mouth like the graceless dork that I was.

"Uh... thanks?" She gave me an awkward look before returning her attention to Cerberus as it finally managed to get back up. The head in the center of the trio kept its gaze on Amber, sniffing at her. It studied and scrutinized her for a bit, as if trying to come to a decision. Then, it did something I never would have expected it to do.

Instead of attacking Amber again, the dog spoke.

"This one does not belong here." The middle head's deep voice echoed through the cavern, confusing Amber and leaving me in shock.

Cerberus can talk!? Since when was that a thing!? I sure as hell don't remember that from the show!

"What do you mean I don't belong here?" Amber kept her fighting stance, prepared for any sudden attacks. Instead of answering, the head on Cerberus' right looked over to me, giving me a sniff as well.

"Neither does this one." The right head addressed its fellow heads.

"Hey! I asked you a question." Amber called out, getting Cerberus' attention.

"You two are not creatures of ill will. You do not belong here in Tartarus." The left head answered as Cerberus... stepped aside?

Amber and I blinked in confusion as we exchanged glances. "You're letting us out? Just like that?"

"Only those that intend to bring harm to the innocent belong here. Neither of you carries the scent of those that would." The right head of the giant dog explained.

"Wha-!?...If that's the case, why the heck did you attack us?! Why did the Guardians attack us!?" I expressed my frustration. One of those things literally killed me, that's not something I'm just gonna shrug off!

"When we sensed someone killing the Tartarus Guardians and saw you two, we assumed you were prisoners trying to escape. As for the Tartarus Guardians, they do not possess sentience. They are merely tools to ensure order within Tartarus, and prevent any prisoners from escaping. We apologize for any harm they caused you."

Tell that to my arm, my throat, and my innocence, ya oversized mutt!

Obviously, I wasn't stupid enough to voice my complaint to the giant dog that could swallow me whole, so I kept it to myself. However, this brought up another question. "Wait, if you know we don't belong here, why was Amber in a cell? Shouldn't you have let her out?"

"We were not aware of her imprisonment. Whoever put the two of you in here did so without authorization." The middle head answered. I then shifted my gaze to Amber, hoping she could provide an answer. She remained silent for a few seconds, but eventually spoke up.

"Let's just say the guy that threw me in here is the one that belongs here, not the other way around. Not like this place would stop him, though..." Amber muttered something at the end that I couldn't quite catch. "Well, I guess we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."

After helping me up off the ground for the umpteenth time now, Amber and I walked past Cerberus and towards the giant doors. Amber remained wary of Cerberus in case the big canine tried anything, but it seemed to keep its word and let us pass without any fuss. I quickly went to push one of the doors open, only to find that it wouldn't budge. I kept pushing it with all my might, even putting my back into it, but they wouldn't move an inch. It then occurred to me that with the massive size of the doors, they most likely weighed a ton.

"Christ, these doors are heavy! How are we gonna-?" Before I could finish my sentence, Amber stepped past me and pushed the doors open, needing only a small bit of effort to do so, then casually strolled outside. "...Or you could just casually open two several hundred-pound doors by yourself. Yeah, that works too."

I paid one last glance back at Cerberus, as well as Tartarus itself, before following Amber outside. As soon as we were through, the doors slowly closed behind us as Tartarus sealed itself shut once more.

I'm not sure what kind of scenery I was expecting to see once we escaped Tartarus, maybe a forest or open fields or something visually appealing like that. What I didn't expect to see was some bland, grey, rocky terrain surrounded by cliffs and mountains. A few rocks and boulders were scattered about, and the only plant life was a few dead trees and bushes here and there, as well as the few dead vines on the door to Tartarus. Now that I thought about it, I do remember seeing what the outside of Tartarus looked like during the Season 8 finale, when the mane six had gone there to confront Tirek, and it looked a bit similar to this.

Looking up at the sky, I could see that the sun was up and directly above us, so I assumed it was around noon. In front of us was a dirt path that went to the left towards some forestry far off in the distance. It would take quite a long walk to get there.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure there's a train station not far from here." Amber said before fishing something out of her jacket's pocket. When she passed it over to me, I saw that she was giving me a handful of five gold coins. I assumed they were 'bits', the currency used in Equestria. "This should be enough for you to buy a ticket. Just follow the path to the station, then take the train to the nearest Haven. After that, you should be safe... Well, relatively safe, anyway."

I took the coins and stuffed them in my pocket, receiving a notification from the HUD as soon as I did.

• $5

"What about you?" I asked, giving her a questioning look. A part of me had a feeling where this was going, and I didn't like it.

"I've got some personal stuff I need to take care of, so I'll be heading that way." She pointed to the direction opposite of the dirt road, confirming my suspicion.

She's leaving already!? But I could use her help! I wouldn't have gotten out of Tartarus if it wasn't for her!

"W-Wait, hold on! Would it be okay if I came with you? There's some stuff I have to do, and I could seriously use your help!"

"...What kind of stuff?" She looked a little suspicious of my sudden desperation.

"Well, uh... do you know anything about the Elemental Gods?" After I asked that, Amber reacted in a way I hadn't expected. She stiffened at the very mention of the Gods, and for the first time since I met her, I saw fear in her eyes. It made me a little hesitant to continue, but I did anyway. "I, uh, kinda need some help taking them down. I mean, clearly you're strong, like really strong, so I figured-"

"No."

I blinked. "...Huh?"

"I want nothing to do with them. If you want my advice, you shouldn't either." She quickly turned on her heel and started walking away, not even giving so much as a goodbye. I blinked again, still trying to process her sudden rejection. However, I was persistent, or just stubborn depending on who you ask, and chased after her.

"Wait! Hold on! Why not? You said you're an Epic Legend, right? And you just kicked Cerberus' ass! This shouldn't be a challenge for y-"

She immediately turned back around, giving me a sharp glare. "If you think all it takes to defeat those assholes is one Legend, then you're as good as dead." She jabbed a finger in my face. "Even a Legendary Legend wouldn't stand a chance against them, and after seeing the way you handled yourself back there, I can guarantee you wouldn't last 5 seconds against just one of them. Where the heck did you even get the idea to challenge the Elemental Gods of all people!? Why would you even dare to do something that stupid!?"

I'd been caught off guard by her sudden hostility, so it took me a second to form a coherent response. "W-Well, I, uh... I mean, they invaded and took over most of Equus a while back, right? Wouldn't stopping them be the right thing to do?"

Amber scrutinized me for a few seconds before a look of realization spread across her face. "...Oh, I see what's going on here. You're trying to play hero, aren't you?"

"What? N-No, I-"

Amber started walking towards me, forcing me to step back. Even then, she didn't stop, and I kept trying to put some distance between us as she continued her rant. "Oh, don't gimme that bullshit. I've seen that look in your eye before. You're thinking you can swoop in, beat the bad guy, get the girl, and save the day, right? Well, guess what? Real life doesn't work that way."

"I-I'm not...!" I stammered, unable to bring myself to deny her accusation, so I tried deflecting. "A-And what do you mean 'get the girl'? I wasn't-"

"Oh please, I saw the way you were eyeing me in there. I'm not an idiot." She rolled her eyes. "You need to get your head out of the clouds and stop thinking you're some 'chosen one'. This isn't some movie or video game, you're not a hero, and I'm not some damsel in distress for you to save!"

Before I knew it, I ran out of room to keep backing up as I felt my back bump into a giant rock the size of a boulder. "I don't know where you got the idea to try taking on the Gods, but I can tell you right now that it's a stupid idea, and it'll just get you killed. There's only one person on Equus who just barely managed to kill a God, and he's not exactly the friendly sort. I've seen this way of thinking before, believing you're some sort of destined hero when you really aren't. Trust me, it doesn't end well. If you value your life, then you should forget about the Gods."

I didn't say anything, too shocked by her outburst. I wanted to rebut her, I tried to think of some sort of argument, but I couldn't come up with anything. I found myself speechless due to the harshness of her words.

...Probably because deep down, I knew there was some truth to them.

After a few seconds, Amber took a deep breath to calm herself down. "...Look, you don't seem like that bad of a guy. Trust me, the Gods are at the top of my shit list, and they sure as hell have it coming. But neither of us would stand any chance against them. Whatever you hope to get by defeating them isn't worth it. It's nothing but a death wish, so just give up on it." She was about to turn to leave again, but I couldn't just give up on this. While the idea of being a hero was appealing to me, there really was more to it than that. As awesome as it is to explore another world, I still wanted to get back home. I had family and friends that I wanted to get back to. Stopping the Elemental Gods and saving Discord from whatever they did to him was the only way to do that.

I reached out a hand to stop her. "Come on, there's gotta be-"

I flinched when Amber threw a fist in my direction, only for the fist to sail past my head and slam into the rock behind me. That single punch had been powerful enough to destroy the entire rock, shattering it into a thousand pieces as it crumbled to the ground. Judging by the death glare she was giving me, punching the boulder hadn't hurt her hand at all. "I'm. Not. Helping. Got it?"

"...Y-Yes ma'am."

With that, she stormed off, leaving me alone once again. I was still trembling a bit from her show of strength, but I managed to take a shaky deep breath and calm myself down.

Welp, there goes the only potential ally I had in this world.

As upsetting as it was that Amber left me alone, her speech still lingered in my mind. If someone that strong was afraid of the Gods, it spoke volumes to how powerful they must be. The thought alone sent shivers down my spine. Seriously, how does Discord expect me to pull this off?

[Main Quest]: The Journey Begins

Objective 3: Make your way to the exit. (COMPLETED)
Objective 4: Head to the train station.

"[Note]: For enduring the harshness of Tartarus and experiencing death for the first time, User: Justin's Endurance Skill has increased to 5."

Another Skill leveled up already? Well, at least I have that as a silver lining.

"Hey HUD, are the Skills always going to be this quick and easy to level up?"

"Negative."

Of course they aren't.

With nothing better to do, I started along the dirt path to the train station. While things still didn't seem to be getting any better than when I started, I was sure it would all turn around in my favor soon. I might've had trouble dealing with the Tartarus Guardians, but it might not be the same with whatever else I encounter. Discord said that Tartarus was the only place he could start me off at, so maybe it was like throwing a new low-level player into an area with higher level enemies. Now that I was out of that area, I was sure the odds would be a lot more even for me...

...right?

A few minutes had passed since I began walking. With no one to talk to, I was left with nothing to do but stew in my own thoughts. I also had “Carry On” by Avenged Sevenfold stuck in my head to keep myself entertained, but that’s not important right now. What was important was the bomb Amber dropped during her outburst. Not the truth bomb about me 'playing hero', but something I think was much more important.

"There's only one person on Equus who just barely managed to kill a God, and he's not exactly the friendly sort."

Someone already killed one of the Gods. That makes my job just a tad easier, but that still left me with a few questions: Who killed a God? How did they do it? Which God did they kill? What did Amber mean when she said he wasn't the 'friendly sort'?

I didn't have any way to answer these questions at the moment, so I put them on hold for later and decided to think about something else. It was as I was thinking that I remembered a question I meant to ask the HUD sooner. Seeing a couple moderately sized rocks on the side of the path, I sat down on one of them and addressed the HUD. "Hey HUD, I almost forgot to ask; What's the Abilities screen? Discord mentioned it before he sent me to Tartarus, and you keep mentioning different Abilities, but I still don't know what they are." In response, another holographic screen appeared with a tutorial on Skills.

"Tutorial: Abilities"

"Abilities are techniques and passive traits that can provide new tactics, benefits, and opportunities to the User, primarily in terms of combat, stealth, and traversal. Abilities are tied to the User's Skills, and are unlocked naturally as the User's Skill Levels increase. To learn more about a specific Ability and what it does, select the specified Ability to read its description. [Note]: Certain Abilities, usually passive Abilities, will be replaced as soon as more effective versions of the Ability are unlocked. [Example]: Once the Ability 'Semi-Sturdy' is unlocked, it will replace the 'Slightly Sturdy' Ability."

Another screen replaced the tutorial, this screen being labeled “Abilities”.

Abilities
Strength Abilities (1):
- Flyweight

Endurance Abilities (1):
- Slightly Sturdy (NEW!)

Reflexes Abilities (0):
- None

Agility Abilities (0):
- None

Stealth Abilities (0):
- None

Guns Abilities (1):
- Hold Breath

Explosives Abilities (2):
- Cook Grenades
- Throwback

Melee Abilities (0):
- None

Unarmed Abilities (0):
- None

Medicine Abilities (0):
- None

Huh... Okay, guess I should see what each of these Abilities are.

I selected the first one, 'Flyweight', and a new screen appeared with a short description of the Ability.

Ability: Flyweight (Strength 7 Required)
Melee/Unarmed damage increased by 3%.

It was pretty straightforward, and I didn't see anything worth commenting on, so I moved on to the next Ability. This one was called 'Slightly Sturdy', and unlike the other Abilities, it had the word 'NEW' next to it.

Ability: Slightly Sturdy (Endurance 5 Required)
Blunt damage resistance increased by 3%.

Endurance 5 required? Guess that's why this Ability is 'new', since I just reached Endurance 5 a few minutes ago.

There were no Abilities for the Reflexes, Agility, or Stealth Skills, so I moved on to the Abilities for the Guns Skill. I selected the only Ability there, titled as 'Hold Breath', and began reading the description.

Ability: Hold Breath (Guns 2 Required)
Gain the ability to hold your breath while aiming down the sight of a ranged weapon, steadying your aim and greatly reducing weapon sway. [Note]: The User cannot hold their breath forever, so before holding their breath while aiming, they must be sure they are ready to take the shot.

I was familiar with the 'holding your breath while aiming' trick. I'd used it a number of times while playing first person shooters, and even a couple times in real life, though I often didn't need to rely on it. However, I still thought it was better than nothing. Next up was the Explosives Abilities, which actually had two Abilities instead of just one. They also appeared to be the last two Abilities on the list.

Abilitiy: Cook Grenades (Explosives 2 Required)
Instead of immediately throwing a grenade after pulling the safety pin, the User can cook the grenade by letting the 7-second countdown tick down before throwing it. [Warning]: Be careful not to hold the grenade for too long, or else it will explode in the User's hand, killing them.

Skill: Throwback (Explosives 2 Required)
When an enemy throws a grenade at the User, the User can throw the grenade back at the enemy before it explodes. [Warning]: Picking up an enemy's live grenade and throwing it back can be extremely dangerous, and the User will only have a short window of time to successfully do so. Sometimes it might be safer to just run away from the live grenade, so it is recommended that the User doesn't use this method unless they have no other choice.

Two more methods I was familiar with from video games. While the concept of cooking a grenade might sound suicidal, there's actually a bit of strategy behind it. If you throw a grenade towards an enemy immediately after pulling the pin, they still might have a few seconds to either run away from the grenade or throw it back at you. However, if you let the grenade countdown before throwing it, and time your throw just right, the grenade would explode just as it reaches the enemy. They wouldn't even have time to process that a grenade had been thrown at them, let alone avoid it.

The '7-second countdown' part of the description caught me off guard, though. I was fairly certain that, at least on Earth, grenades took somewhere between 2 to 6 seconds to explode. Perhaps the grenades in Equestria work differently than the ones on Earth?

I can't say I'm too surprised that grenades exist in Equestria now. I found out guns exist here earlier, so it makes sense that-

The sound of footsteps coming from behind me stirred me from my thoughts. I whipped my head around and nearly jumped from the rock I was sitting on out of surprise when I saw a stranger casually stroll past me. He just sat down on the rock across from me without a word. He didn't make a peep, didn't acknowledge me, he was just... there. As if him suddenly and nonchalantly showing up wasn't weird enough, his appearance made him stand out quite a bit.

He wore a black sleeveless hoodie with the zipper undone and the hood pulled over his head. He wore a bulletproof vest under the hoodie, and no shirt beneath that, showing off his moderately toned muscles. A pair of black tactical elbow pads were strapped to his arms, and I could see a tattoo of an eastern style dragon with red scales on his right forearm. Though his hood kept the top of his head hidden from view, I could see a few strands of brown hair peeking out. As for what shade of brown it was, I was unable to tell. Below, he wore a pair of dark grey cargo pants, black tactical knee pads, and black tactical combat boots.

He seemed to be about the same height as me from what I could tell, if not a couple inches taller. I also didn't see any pony ears on him, so I assumed he was human. It would be easier to tell if he was a pony or a human by looking at his face, but it was currently covered by a mask. Because of that, I couldn't tell if he had anime-esque features like Amber or normal human features like me. Speaking of the mask, it had to be the strangest part about him. His entire face was hidden behind a black mask with a full-face visor. Not even a speck of his face was visible through it.

As soon as the mysterious masked man sat down on the rock across from me, he pulled out a book and started reading, not even acknowledging my existence. I just sat there in confused silence, turning my head to look at the way he came from then back to him, trying to figure out if what I was seeing was real. After a bit, he looked up from his book to pay me a glance. When he did, his mask lit up as two glowing white dots and a wide, u-shaped curve appeared on the black visor. It took me a second to realize it was a cartoonish smiley face. It seemed the visor was more than just a regular visor.

"Sup." He nodded to me. The pitch of his voice was slightly deep and had a bit of distortion to it, a clear sign of a voice changer in use. The smiley face disappeared as he went back to his book.

"U-Uh..." I failed to come up with a response. I was too busy being in shock by his sudden appearance. Did he seriously see nothing weird about this? It's just the two of us in the middle of nowhere, he just walks by me and scares the absolute piss outta me, sits on a rock next to me, and just starts reading. And on top of all that, the only form of acknowledgement he gives me is a 'Sup'?

After a bit more silence, the stranger looked at me again. This time, no smiley face appeared on the mask, and I was left staring eye to eye with a blank visor. At least, I assumed we were staring eye to eye. I couldn't exactly see his eyes through the mask.

"...I don't like your face." He said out of nowhere.

I blinked. "I- uh...what?"

"...Oh! Sorry, I shoulda worded that better. I'm not saying I don't like you, I barely even know you, and I'm not one to judge based on appearances. I just don't like your face, that's all." He clarified.

"...Huh?" I responded as brilliantly as ever.

"Eh, you just look like someone I know. He was a real piece of shit, let me tell ya. Absolute fuckhole, that guy. I hate him with every fiber of my being. That's why your face is pissing me off. Nothing personal, I swear." He chuckled before turning back to his book. Despite what he said, the tone of his voice didn't sound 'pissed off'. If anything, he sounded pretty chill right now.

"...I-...wha-?"

"Have you ever heard the story of Alice in Wonderland?" He cut me off as he looked up from his book once more, changing the topic out of the blue.

"W-Wait, what? I-"

"And no, I don't mean that animated Disney one. It's a good movie, but it ain't what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about the live action one, either. I mean the original book. You ever read it?"

"Huh? Uh... no, I can't say I-"

"Oh, dude, you've gotta give it a try. I remember reading it for the first time, and I fuckin' loved it. It's not that long either, just a little over a hundred pages. Seriously, give it a shot, man." He then looked down at his book for a second before turning back to me, lifting it up. "Oh, uh, this isn't it, by the way. I'm sure you might've gotten the idea I'm reading it right now, but this is a different book entirely."

My brain was struggling and failing to figure out just what in the absolute hell was going on right now. To say I was confused would be an understatement. Who was this guy? Why did he just randomly show up? Why does talking with him feel like I'm having a conversation with an NPC from Oblivion? AND WHAT DOES ALICE IN WONDERLAND HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!?

...Wait...

...Alice in Wonderland doesn't exist in Equus...

A new face appeared on the stranger's mask, but it wasn't the same smiley face I saw earlier. A pair of X's for eyes and a sharp-toothed smile appeared on the mask, creating a devilish grin. "Behind you, by the way."

It took me a second to process what he'd said, but as soon as I did, I turned around just in time to see someone smash the butt of their rifle into my face, knocking me out cold.

I slowly started to come to as I groggily opened my eyelids. It took a second before everything started to come back to me, going through Tartarus with Amber, meeting the stranger in the mask, then getting knocked out. As soon as I remembered everything, my eyes widened, and I began taking stock of my surroundings.

I was currently sitting... inside a dog cage of all things. A dog cage that was concerningly locked, judging by the padlock on the latch. I wasn't alone, either. Next to my cage, there were a few other cages, each with a person inside. Like Amber, they all had pony ears and looked like they jumped straight out of an anime, so I assumed they were ponies. Some looked downtrodden and hopeless while others were full on crying their eyes out. Definitely not a good sign.

Outside of the cages, we appeared to be in a small clearing in the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees. The sun had gone down completely, and moonlight was shining through the many branches and leaves. A single tent was nearby with a wooden chair in front of it. Sitting in that chair was a man wearing a dark red tank top, black balaclava, camo cargo pants, and combat boots, holding an AK-47 and looking like he was about to fall asleep. I assumed he was the guy in charge of guarding us.

You've gotta be kidding me. This couldn't possibly get any worse.

...

...Wait, shit, I shouldn't have said that. I probably just jinxed it.

It was then that I heard footsteps approaching off to the side. Over on the right side of the clearing opposite of the tent, I could see a path that led deeper into the forest. Emerging from that path was the masked stranger I met earlier, followed by another guy dressed similarly to the guard by the tent. The only notable differences were that he was wearing a red bandana over his face instead of a balaclava, and a red t-shirt instead of a tank top.

The masked stranger first looked at me, then turned his head to face the drowsy guard in the chair. The guard seemed so out of it that he hadn't noticed the new arrivals. The X-eyed, sharp toothed smile I saw earlier appeared on the stranger's mask as he turned his head back to me, raising a finger to the mouth of the smile and signaling me to be quiet. He reached down and picked up a rock from the ground, aimed, then threw the rock straight at the sleeping guard's crotch. The second the rock impacted, the guard jolted from his seat, clutching his groin in pain as he fell out of the chair.

"HA! Fuckin' nailed 'em! You see that?" He elbowed the thug standing beside him, who was also chuckling at the guard's pain. The devilish smile disappeared from the stranger's mask as he turned back to the guard. "Hey! Wake your ass up, will ya? I'm not paying you to sleep on the job."

Turning on his heel, the masked man casually strolled over to my cage. Once he was in front of it, he sat down with his legs crossed so that he was eye-level me, the devilish smile returning to his mask once more. "Hello there, little rabbit. Sleep well?"

"...Who are you?" I asked a bit hesitantly.

"...Ah! That's right, I haven't introduced myself, have I? Name's Jack. Pleasure to meet ya!" He stuck a hand through the bars of my cage to shake my own. I didn't return his gesture, and he retracted his hand after a few seconds. "Okay, okay, I get it, you're a bit shy. Plus, I haven't exactly given you the..." He looked around at the cages, "...greatest of first impressions. Completely understandable, don't worry about it. Could you at least tell me your name? I told you mine, so it's only fair, right?"

"...Justin. Justin Baker." After I gave him my name, Jack didn't respond for a few seconds. He just sat there... looking at me.

After those few seconds had passed, he spoke up again. "Cool, cool. So... Justin..." He said my name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth, "I've got a hunch about you, and my hunches are usually right. Let me ask you this..."

Jack leaned closer to the cage. "...You aren't from Equus, are you?" As if that question wasn't surprising enough, the next one really caught me off guard. "I'm also willing to bet you have a HUD, don't you?"

"...H-How did you...?"

"Well, let's just say we're cut from the same cloth, you and I." Just when I thought this man couldn't possibly surprise me further, he did something I never would've expected. "HUD, show General Stats and Skills."

Two red holographic screens appeared right next to him, ones that looked strikingly similar to my own HUD's screens. One screen was titled 'General Status' while the other was titled 'Skills'. On each, several stats were displayed in plain view.

General Status
User: [REDACTED]
Current Level: 13,758
Current XP: 14,090/50,000
Money: $144,296
Overall HP: 137,680/137,680
Head: 100%
Torso: 100%
Left Arm: 100%
Right Arm: 100%
Left Leg: 100%
Right Leg: 100%

Skills
Strength: 100/100
Endurance: 100/100
Reflexes: 100/100
Agility: 100/100
Stealth: 100/100
Guns: 100/100
Explosives: 100/100
Melee: 100/100
Unarmed: 100/100
Medicine: 100/100

"Pretty cool, huh? Spent years grinding for these stats." Jack said to me, either not noticing or not caring that I was staring slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the two red screens. "Listen kid, I don't know what Discord told you when he brought you here, I imagine he hid some stuff from you, but I can tell you this..."

"...You aren't the first person he summoned to Equestria."

Author's Note

And there's the second part of the first chapter, which we still aren't done with quite yet! Believe it or not, there's still one more part before we reach the end of the introduction. This intro is taking a lot longer to write than I originally thought it would. Next up will be "Down The Rabbit Hole... (Part 3)", where I finally wrap up the introduction.

I want to try and finish writing the third part before I officially publish this story for you guys to read, but I'm considering just publishing the first two parts as it is, since I'm eager to share this story with everyone. So, if you're reading this and the third part isn't available yet, then I guess that means I published the story early. If not, then just ignore this. Either way, stay tuned for more!

P.S. If you're wondering why I've been starting every chapter with "Justin" underlined at the top, that's because this story will occasionally shift between the perspectives of other characters, and the name at the top is to help let the reader know whose perspective they're currently reading the story from. Even though we haven’t shifted perspectives yet, I want to try and keep it consistent, so I’m starting each chapter with the name of whoever’s perspective the story is being told from.

P.P.S While I wasn't able to find a way to re-create Jack like I did with Amber, I was able to find a picture of a mask that should give you a better idea of what his mask looks like. Just imagine that the visor is tinted black rather than see-through.