Justin

As I fell down that cliff side and into the ocean below, I was certain I was dead, and that I would be loading my last checkpoint very soon. It was an understandable conclusion to come to, after all. Not only was I falling from a height that not many people could survive, but my still-beating heart had been ripped out of my chest. That’s pretty much a guaranteed death.

So when I found myself waking up in a completely new and unfamiliar location, I was a little surprised, to say the least.

I was in some sort of dimly lit, one-room log cabin, under the covers of a single person bed tucked in the corner. My shirt had been removed and was hanging on a wooden rocking chair off to the side. There were no windows in the cabin, not even one on the front door. The only sources of light were an old lantern hanging just above the front door, an oil lamp sitting on the nightstand next to the bed I was in, and a fire pit in the center of the floor with a cauldron hanging over it. Whatever was in the pot glowed a similar shade of blue as my HUD.

Standing in front of the cauldron was the silhouette of a person wearing some sort of robe and stirring the contents of the cauldron with a large stick. I noticed a pair of pony ears on the silhouette's head, making me think they were another anime/pony person. I made a mental note to eventually get confirmation about whether or not the anime people with pony ears were this Equestria's version of ponies, or if they were a separate species entirely. I’d been assuming they were ponies up until now, but I’d rather be 100% certain. The bed began to creak as I sat up, and the noise got the stranger's attention.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake." The stranger spoke with a sultry, feminine voice. After giving the cauldron a few more stirs, she released the stick and made her way over to me. As soon as the silhouette got closer, her appearance became clearer thanks to the light from the oil lamp. As I suspected, she was an anime/pony person. From what I could tell, she looked to be somewhere between her late twenties and early thirties. She had short black hair, dark green eyes, and dark grey pony ears. The thing that caught my eye the most however, was the small, 3-inch-long unicorn horn on her forehead that was the same color as her pony ears.

For her outfit, she wore a dark purple cloak with a pointed hood... and not much else. The only other thing she had on were some wrappings around her chest that thankfully covered her breasts. I was even more grateful that her cloak was doing a somewhat decent job at covering up her nudity. Unfortunately, it wasn't foolproof, as her nether regions were partially visible. I started blushing a bit as soon as noticed her lack of attire and directed my gaze anywhere other than the partially naked woman. "How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?" The woman asked me.

Well, you can put on some clothes, for starters...

"I-I'm fine, thanks." I eventually decided on staring up at the ceiling.

"Is that so? You don't sound fine to me. Sounds to me like something's making you uncomfortable. Also, it's a little rude not to look someone in the eye when you talk to them, is it not? I saved your life, after all. Showing a little courtesy is the least you could do to repay me." I couldn't see her expression due to my eyes being glued to the ceiling, but her voice sounded playfully accusatory.

"Uh, I don't mean to sound rude, but... could you maybe put some pants on?"

There was only silence for a couple seconds before the strange woman gave a hearty laugh. "Ah, my apologies! I hadn't even considered how my appearance would make you feel. One moment, please." I heard her snap her fingers, followed by a *poof* sound. When I looked back, I saw that she had, in fact, magically poofed some pants onto herself. Though she hadn't been wearing much before, the wizard cloak and chest wrappings, as well as the fact that she had been stirring a cauldron, had given her a medieval-fantasy-witch vibe. So, when I saw her wearing a pair of baggy grey sweatpants, I thought it looked kind of comedic, in a way. "There. Is that better?"

"Yeah, thanks." I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like I could finally look this woman in the eye without disrespecting her. "So, uh... I suppose I should get the basics out of the way. Who are you and where am I?"

"My name is Disarria, and this is my home." She gave a light bow as she introduced herself before gesturing to the rest of the cabin, showing off her abode. She then turned on her heel and went back to the cauldron, pulled a vile of a mysterious liquid out from under her cloak, poured it into the pot, and continued to stir. "You were lucky I found you when I did. It was quite a sight seeing you washed up on shore, profusely bleeding and missing a heart. I was able to cast a healing spell on you and restored your health before you bled out. I know you would've just loaded a checkpoint if you died, but who knows how far that would've set you back? Unfortunately, my spells aren't as effective as your health stims, so it didn't completely heal you. If you look down, you'll see you have quite the nasty scar on your chest."

Just as Disarria said, I finally noticed a large, starburst-shaped scar on my chest from where Ajax had punched me. A lot of the hair that used to be on my chest was gone, replaced by the not-fully healed skin. "Holy shit..." I muttered in disbelief. As I examined the scar, I started to fully process what Disarria had said before my eyes widened. "...How did you know I would load a checkpoint?"

"I'm fully aware of the HUD and its capabilities, Justin." She chuckled, surprising me again by somehow knowing my name. "I probably should've mentioned, but I was created by Discord to aid you in your quest."

"Oh. That's... convenient." I said, blinking in surprise. I started to think it wasn't a coincidence that she found me when she did. "So, uh... this might seem like a weird question, but... are you a pony?" I asked. She looked back at me, raising an eyebrow, and I quickly clarified, "I-I mean, you do have pony ears and a unicorn horn, but I didn't know if you're what ponies in this version of Equestria look like or if you're some sort of cousin species or something like that..." I chuckled nervously. Despite me fumbling with my words, Disarria seemed to catch on to what I was saying and smiled.

"Ah, that's right. The ponies you're familiar with look quite different than they do in this Equestria, don't they? To answer your question, yes, I am a pony. All ponies in this world look similar to me." She answered before returning to her stirring.

So, the anime people with pony ears are ponies. Glad I finally got that cleared up.

"Soooo... uh, what sort of 'aid' will you be providing?"

She looked back at me, giving me a comforting smile. "You can think of me as the shopkeeper or merchant that appears in those video games you play. I'll provide you with any weapons, equipment, and repairs you may need on your journey... for a price, of course. Vice versa, you can sell anything you don't need to me in exchange for money. For now, though, there's something we must take care of first." She stopped stirring and grabbed a ladle off of a hook hanging from the cauldron. Using the ladle, she scooped up a bit of the liquid inside the cauldron and brought it over to me. "Give me your left arm, please?"

I was a bit hesitant at first, wary of what she planned to do with that mysterious liquid, but I eventually complied. The front of my arms were a bit hairy, so she gently grasped my left arm and flipped it over. Seeing that the backside of my arm was much clearer, she poured the liquid onto the back of my left forearm. I watched in awe as the light blue liquid glowed brighter and started to shift and move around on my arm, as if it were alive. Something about the process made it look beautiful, almost like an elegant dance. Eventually, the liquid began to take shape and quickly dried on my arm. Once it was fully formed, it stopped glowing, revealing a light blue tattoo of a fish. Specifically, it looked like a koi, a Japanese fish.

"Whoa..." I said breathlessly. Just as I did, a couple notifications from the HUD popped up.

"Ammo Count Unlocked"

"Clock Unlocked"

"Music Player Unlocked"

As if on cue, something appeared in the bottom right corner of my vision.

[No Weapon Equipped]
0 / 0

"Uh... What is this?" I asked as Disarria went over to the rocking chair and grabbed my shirt.

"Additional functions for your HUD. Do you see some numbers in the corner of your vision?" Disarria asked me, handing me my shirt.

"Yeah, there’s a pair of zeroes with a slash between them. It also says I don’t have a weapon equipped?" I raised an eyebrow.

"If you have a firearm or any other weapon that requires ammo, that will show how much of the required ammo type you’re carrying. The number on the left shows how much ammo is loaded into your weapon, while the number on the right shows how much you have left over in your inventory."

"Ah, so it’s the same as the ammo counter in every other shooter game. Gotcha." I nodded in understanding before getting out of the bed and putting my shirt back on. I noticed there wasn't a hole in the shirt from where Ajax had punched me. In fact, the shirt looked good as new. "How did you...?"

"Clothing is much easier to fix with magic than wounds." She answered, already knowing what I was going to ask.

Ah, right, magic. I'm not sure what else I was expecting.

"The next new feature should be the clock. This one’s rather simple and shouldn’t require much explanation. Open your map, please?" I did as she asked, and the outdated map appeared in front of me. This time, however, I noticed a clock in the top left corner that read '9:47'. I didn't see any a.m. or p.m., so I assumed it was using military time.

"It’s morning? I was out the whole night?" My eyes widened.

"Yes, you’ve been unconscious for a while. However, considering your injuries, it’s only natural."

"Actually, I’m surprised I wasn’t out for longer than that... Anyway, what was that last addition? Something about a music player?" As soon as I asked that, the HUD decided to take a turn at explaining the new additions.

"Tutorial: Music Player"

"The Music Player allows the User to enjoy whatever music they wish to listen to whenever they want. However, during certain events (Boss Battles, Specific Enemy Encounters, etc.), the music player will automatically choose a selection of music that fits the current situation."

"Soooo... what, it's like Spotify or something?"

"Affirmative."

"So you can play any song? Literally anything at all?"

"Affirmative."

"...Can you play Devil Trigger by Casey Edwards?"

[MUSIC START]

A smile made its way onto my face as I heard the familiar music begin to play, as if I were listening to the song through some high-quality headphones. I let the song play for about 30 seconds, nodding my head to the beat, before mentally commanding the music to stop.

[MUSIC END]

This is gonna come in handy keeping me entertained whenever I need to kill time.

"I take it the music player is to your liking?" Disarria smirked at me.

"Oh yeah, I'm definitely gonna enjoy using it." I gave a satisfied nod.

"Good. Now that that's all taken care of, it's just about time to send you on your way." She started making her way over to the front door, and my smile started to fade away.

"W-Wait, what? Hold on, I can't leave yet, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do now! You gotta give me some sorta game plan!"

She turned to look back at me, raising an eyebrow with a smug grin on her face. "Oh? Did you not already have an objective? I believe you were heading to the train station, were you not?"

"W-Well, that was before Jack said he hijacked it. There's no way I can use it now."

"And what about the civilians that are being kept hostage there? Do you plan to leave them to whatever fate has in store for them?" She rested a hand on her hip.

"N-No! Er- I mean... It's not like I want to, but..." My thoughts went to the events of yesterday. I was helpless in Tartarus, I was helpless in the forest, and I was helpless against Ajax. I literally died only 5 minutes after showing up here, and there were multiple occasions where I would’ve died again if Amber and Jack hadn’t been there to step in. Jack was right, I didn't stand a chance on my own. "Look, there's no way I can go up against those guys. They'll slaughter me."

"That's why you have the HUD." She walked back over to me and grasped my arm, showing me the tattoo again. "That's why you have this. With the HUD, you have a fighting chance." She released my arm and looked me dead in the eye. "I won't lie, your chances of survival in this world are very slim in your current state. That's why you need to become stronger, and you can't do that without taking the first step forward." She placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Right now, the people in that train station are counting on you. With the quest Discord has given you, all of Equus is counting on you, even if they don't realize it. You can do this, Justin."

I looked at her for a bit, the doubt still swirling around in my mind. After a bit, I took a look at my inventory and spotted the Walther P22 handgun, as well as the three remaining health stims that Jack had given me. I equipped the handgun and checked the ammo count.

[Walther P22 (Handgun)]
9 / 0

...All of Equus is counting on me, huh?...Gee, no pressure.

After a few seconds, I let out a heavy sigh. "...Alright, alright, not like I got much choice. I'm already locked into this until Discord sends me home, which won't be until I've finished the quest and the elements have freed him from whatever the gods did to him."

"That's the spirit!" She sauntered over to the door and placed her hand on the handle. "If it helps, there's a radio tower near here. Climbing it will help increase your Agility Skill, and you can use it to get a good view of the area."

A Radio tower? Did they have those in Equestria in the show? Eh, I can't remember, but it's a good place to start either way. My Agility Skill is in dire need of leveling up, now that I think about it...

"Thanks, I'll be sure to check it ou-"

"Oh! I almost forgot to give this to you!" She reached into her cloak and pulled out a knife. At least, I think it's supposed to be a knife. It looked more like a rusty, jagged piece of scrap metal shaped like a blade, with rope and duct tape wrapped over one end of it to create a makeshift handle. "This is only a makeshift knife and it does very little damage, but it has unlimited durability unlike other melee weapons, and it will allow you to perform stealth takedowns. Trust me, it's more useful than it looks."

"If you say so..." I eyed the makeshift knife with skepticism as Disarria handed it to me. It looked like it would fall apart after a single attack. Still, anything was better than nothing, so I stuck it in my inventory.

"I do say so. Now run along, you've got a long journey ahead of you." She said as she turned the knob and opened the door. Through the doorway, I could see we were on a small beach right next to the forest, the mid-morning sunlight shining into the cabin. I began to take my first steps out before stopping short, turning to face Disarria.

"Hey, Disarria?"

"Yes?'

"Thank you... for saving my life, I mean."

She smiled. "It was my pleasure. You can return the favor with your patronage."

Hearing that reminded me that Disarria was supposed to act as my merchant of sorts. As I stepped through the doorway, I asked her one last question, "Hey, if I ever want to buy something from you, how do I get in contact with y-" The words died in my throat as soon as I turned around and saw Disarria's cabin.

Or rather, a lack thereof.

All that sat on the beach was a singular wooden door with no house or building behind it. Despite that, I could clearly see the interior of a cabin through the doorway. It was like looking into a TARDIS from the outside. "Don't worry, I'll know when you need me." With that, she shut the door, and it proceeded to fade away like dust in the wind. Not a single trace of the door was left behind. All that remained was me, standing on the beach and staring in silent shock at where the door had been a second ago.

"...Huh." After a bit, I finally managed to shake away my surprise and take a look at my surroundings. As previously stated, I was on a small beach next to the tree line of the forest. A few feet away from me, I could see a spot of dried blood in the sand, though most of it had been washed away by the tide. Looking farther down the shoreline, I could see the cliffside I fell from not too far from the beach, maybe about half a quarter mile away.

So I fell from there, and the tide carried me until I washed up here, where Disarria found me...

After confirming where I'd come from, I opened up the map to see that the train station was a little ways North of where I was right now. Taking a few steps back from the tree line, I stood on my toes and gazed over the trees, trying to see if I could see the radio tower from here. Thankfully, I was in luck; I managed to spot the tip of the tower over a couple trees. It looked like it was a short walk from here, maybe about a five-minute walk if I had to guess.

Welp, guess I better get started. I should probably play some music to pass the time.

"Alexa, play Devil Trigger by Casey Edwards." I said aloud as I started my trek.

"My name is not Alexa."

"It's called sarcasm, HUD. Can you please play Devil Trigger?"

"Affirmative."

I let myself relax as the familiar tune began playing and started making my way towards the radio tower. My journey had officially started.

The song came to an end just as I reached the radio tower. A part of me had been worried I would run into more zombies or creatures on my way here, but my walk had thankfully been rather peaceful. The tower was surrounded by a 12-foot chain link fence, and the entrance gate was jammed shut by a rusted metal pipe that had been stuck between the handlebars. Luckily, a dead tree had fallen on one side of the fence a long time ago. I was able to balance myself on the tree's log and climb over to the other side. Once over, I walked over to the gate and removed the pipe before pushing it open.

"Nice job, me. Hey, thanks me! Don't mention it me." I said aloud to myself after successfully getting the gate unlocked. I looked down at the rusty pipe in my hands as a thought occurred to me. It was long enough for me to swing it with two hands like a baseball bat, so I couldn't help but wonder... "Hey HUD, can I take this pipe with me and use it as a weapon?"

"Affirmative. [Note]: Unlike the makeshift knife, the metal pipe has limited durability. Use it wisely."

"Noted." I nodded as I put the pipe in my inventory. Turning around, I took a look at the tower itself. It stood at around 60 feet tall and seemed... rather rickety, if I was being honest. The metal supports looked old and rusted, and the whole tower let out a metallic groan of protest as a light breeze blew by. I suddenly found my confidence dwindling and I took a nervous gulp.

There was a ladder along the side that went halfway up the tower before stopping at a platform that looped around the tower's base. On the opposite side of that platform was another ladder that continued to the top of the tower, where another platform sat. The platform at the top looped around the antenna and had a safety railing around it, as well as a switchboard that I assumed controlled the radio tower's... frequencies? Wavelengths? Are those the right terms? I dunno, I'm not an expert on how radio towers work.

The climb ahead of me looked intimidating, but I swallowed my initial fear and stepped up to the ladder, beginning to climb slowly and steadily. The ladder seemed to hold steady as I progressed further and further with each step.

Okay Justin, easy does it. One step at a time...

Eventually, I managed to reach the top with no issue. I pulled myself up onto the first platform and looked up at the rest of the tower, seeing how much farther I had to go. "Okay, alright, doing good so far. Halfway there now, just gotta keep- OH SWEET MOTHER OF JESUS!!!" After looking up at the second half of the tower, I made the mistake of looking down and seeing how high up I was, immediately hugging the base of the tower for dear life. I wasn't exactly afraid of heights, I was more so afraid of dying, and falling from a high place was an easy way to die.

"Holy fuck that's a long way down... okay, okay, deep breaths... deep breaths..." I closed my eyes and kept breathing in and out, over and over again until I managed to calm myself down somewhat. I opened my eyes again, this time making sure to not look down, and shuffled over to the second ladder on the other side of the platform. I was about to start climbing again, but hesitated as another breeze past by, causing the tower to give another metallic groan. After the breeze went away and the tower went quiet again, I began climbing. As I climbed the second ladder, I could tell it was slightly less sturdy than the first one, but I pushed ahead anyway. As I got closer to the top without any incidents, a little spark of hope flowed into me, thinking I might be able to make it.

Then, just before I reached the top, one of the steps broke underneath my left foot, causing me to lose my balance.

"OH SHIT!" I clung onto the bars of the ladder as tight as I could, attempting to find a new foothold. Thankfully, it didn't take long, and I managed to regain my balance before pulling myself up onto the top platform. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as I let out several panicked breaths, calming myself down. Once I had my breathing under control again, I let it sink in that I had managed to reach the top of the tower. I started chuckling in relief, glad that it was over, before opening the map and taking a look around.

The forest stretched on for a while, with trees as far as the eye could see. Looking Northwest, I could see the mountainous terrain where Tartarus was, and I could see the South Luna Ocean in the... well, the South, as the name implied. According to the map, there should be more land past the ocean, but it was unfortunately invisible to the naked eye from where I was standing. Off in the distance, towards the North, I could see some sort of transparent dome beyond the trees. The HUD's objective marker was hovering over it, leading me to guess that's where the train station was. I checked the map and sure enough, the station was in that direction.

Okie dokie, then. Just gotta head for the weird dome thingy. Pretty straightforward.

With a game plan in mind, I closed the map and took out my handgun, checking the ammo count again.

[Walther P22 (Handgun)]
9 / 0

Not a whole lot of ammo... I'm just gonna have to make do.

After returning the pistol to my inventory, I looked back down and felt a pit in my stomach as the realization hit me:

...Now I've gotta climb back down.

Mercifully, no more of the steps on the ladder broke on my way back down. As soon as I reached the bottom, I let the tension leave my body as I breathed a sigh of relief. After taking a breather for a few seconds, I exited through the gate, which was when I received a notification from the HUD.

"The Agility Skill has increased to 2."

Awesome! It might not be much, but a little bit can go a long wa-

*BANG!*

A flock of birds flew from the trees as soon as a gunshot rang out not far from where I was. I immediately crouched down, scanning the area where I heard the gunshot come from as my heartbeat quickened. I didn't see anyone, and whoever it was didn't fire again. I didn't think I was the one they were shooting at, so I made my way towards the direction of the gunshot, staying low so as to not draw attention to myself.

I pushed through bushes and weaved around some trees before I came across a clearing. There I saw three of Jack's men, all dressed in red and armed with handguns, standing over two ponies. I recognized them as two of the ponies that had been with me when we escaped the cages, one of which was the lady who distrusted me for being human. The lady was putting pressure on the other pony's leg, which had a bullet wound in it. I stayed hidden behind one of the trees, summoning the Walther P22 from my inventory.

"P-Please, just let us go!" The lady cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Like hell I'm doing that! When the six of you escaped, I was the one that got blamed for it! I'm getting my pay docked because of this, and it's all your fault!!!" The thug in the front spat. My eyes widened when I recognized him as the grunt that had been guarding us back in the camp, the same one Jack had hit in the nuts with a rock.

Before the grunt could do anything, the guy on his right put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. "Are you crazy!? Jack told us not to hurt them!"

"To hell with Jack!!! That asshole can go fuck himself for all I care!!!" The first thug cursed.

"Do you have any idea what he'll do to you when he finds out about this!?! A docked paycheck will be the least of your worries, I'll tell you that much!"

The two of them continued to argue back and forth, the two ponies cried hopelessly on the ground, and the third grunt just stood there awkwardly as he watched his partners bicker between each other. I took my eyes off of them for a second to look at the gun in my hand as the reality of the situation started to sink in. I was ready to fight, but... was I ready to kill? Was I ready to take a life to save another? I'd killed countless enemy npc's in video games before, but that was different. This was real life. Those were real people. Was I really ready to end someone else's life?

"You can do this, Justin."

Disarria's words echoed in my head. I looked back at the clearing, seeing that the first grunt was getting antsy and ready to pull the trigger. It was becoming increasingly obvious that he was going to shoot them, no matter what the other grunt told him. If I was going to do this, it would be now or never. I was left with a choice: Get blood on my hands and save the innocent civilians’ lives, or keep my hands clean and leave the civilians to die.

It wasn’t a difficult choice to make.

I peeked out from behind the tree, lined up the sight of the gun with the first grunt's head, and held my breath.

Here goes nothing...

I pulled the trigger.

[MUSIC START]
["Interlude Combat" - Borderlands 2 OST]

The loud crack of the gunshot echoed through the forest, and the bullet hit the grunt in the side of the head. His body slumped to the ground, and the other two panicked, frantically moving for cover.

+10 XP

The thug that had been arguing with the first one blindly returned fire at me as he ran towards a nearby rock for cover, while the other one hid behind a tree. Two of the shots hit the trunk of the tree I was behind, and I recoiled back into cover. "YOU GOT A DEATH WISH, ASSHOLE!?! CUZ WE’LL GIVE IT TO YOU, FREE OF CHARGE!!!" One of them yelled at me, and a couple more shots hit the tree trunk.

"No thanks, I’m allergic to dying!" I called back. As a retort, he continued to blindly fire in my direction, despite the fact that I was still in cover. Once he stopped shooting, I spared a glance and saw the two ponies still in the middle of the clearing, cowering and staying as close to the ground as possible to avoid the gunfire.

Shit, that’s not good. There’s a chance a stray bullet might hit them, but there’s nothing I can really do about it now.

I then noticed the grunt behind the rock peeking his head out and quickly raised my pistol, firing two shots in his direction. Both shots missed and hit the rock, and the grunt ducked back down into cover. At the same time, the thug behind the tree saw an opportunity and fired at me, the bullets just barely whizzing by my head. Thankfully, I avoided getting hit and ducked back into cover.

[Walther P22 (Handgun)]
6 / 0

Fuck! I can’t keep wasting ammo like that, I’ve gotta make my shots count!

"Hey, you got eyes on him!?" One of the grunts called out to the other.

"Nah, I can’t see ‘em, but he’s gotta be behind that tree!" The other responded.

So I’m out of their visibility, huh?

Looking around for something to give me an advantage, my gaze fell on the bushes around me. They were about waist length in height, and were spread out all around the perimeter of the clearing. An idea quickly formed in my head as I realized I could sneak through the bushes and use the trees for cover, allowing me to move undetected and get the flank on the grunts. However, before I could enact my plan, something unexpected happened.

"Fuck it, I’m going for it!" The grunt behind the tree said.

"What!? Wait, don’t-!!!" Before the thug behind the rock could warn him, the other thug ran out from behind the tree and charged towards the tree I was behind. I didn’t have any combat experience outside of video games, TV and anime, and even I could’ve told him that was a dumb idea. As soon as he got close, I peeked out, pointed my gun at him, not even bothering to aim down the sight, and pulled the trigger.

It was impossible for me to miss with how close he was, but my aim ended up being luckier than I thought it would as the bullet hit him square in the throat. He collapsed to the ground, writhing around and clutching his throat. I’m not sure if he died from blood loss or from choking on his own blood, but either way, he stopped moving after a few seconds.

+10 XP

"DAMNIT! YOU’RE DEAD, FUCKER!!!" The final remaining grunt yelled at me. He ran out from behind cover, but instead of charging towards me, he ran for the two ponies. Before I could do anything, he grabbed the lady and held her in front of him, aiming the gun at her head. The lady screamed and cried in protest, but the bastard ignored her. "GET OUT HERE, OR I BLOW THIS BITCH'S BRAINS OUT!!!"

Oh, fuck me...

Obviously, I didn't plan on surrendering, but I couldn't just let him shoot the lady, so I went with my original plan to sneak through the bushes. I crouched down into the bushes, moving slowly and quietly as I circled around the clearing and tried to get behind the grunt. I made it about 90 degrees around the clearing, now on the thug's left side, before he called out to where he thought I still was. "I'M GONNA GIVE YOU TO THE COUNT OF TEN TO GET OUT HERE, YA GOT THAT!?! ...ONE! ...TWO!"

Damnit, I don't have time to sneak all the way behind him! I've gotta take him out now!

"...THREE! ...FOUR!" He continued. I was just outside of his peripheral, so I peeked out from the bush and aimed my handgun. "...FIVE! ...SIX!" Despite being on a time limit, I took the time to carefully line up the sight with the grunt's head. If I missed, he would kill the hostage. Plus, I didn't want to accidentally hit the hostage by accident. "...SEVEN! ...EIGHT! ...NI-!"

*BANG!*

I fired and hit him directly in his left temple. The lady screamed as the grip on her was released and the thug's body fell to the ground.

+10 XP

[Walther P22 (Handgun)]
4 / 0

[MUSIC END]

Once I was certain he wouldn't be getting back up, I let the tension leave my body, and the adrenaline faded away as I took several deep breaths, emerging from the bush. My eyes lingered on the bodies of Jack’s men. I could see their lifeless eyes staring at nothing, and it unsettled me. I just killed people for the first time in my life, and I got the feeling this wouldn’t be the last time, either. As I approached the two ponies, I received a notification from the HUD.

"After using a gun for the first time and getting into a gun fight with 3 hostiles, the Guns Skill has increased to 3."

"Are you two okay?" I asked the pair, though I felt like it was obvious they weren’t. One had a hole in his leg while the other had just been held at gunpoint.

"N-No, my leg feels like it’s on fire…" The guy with the bullet wound winced as he continued to apply pressure to it.

"Wait, a-aren’t you…?" The lady started to recognize me as soon as she saw me. I didn’t answer her, more concerned about finding a way to patch the guy’s leg. It was then that a thought occurred to me.

"HUD, can I use health stims on people other than myself?"

"Affirmative."

The gamer instincts inside of me hated the thought of using up supplies like this. I only had three health stims left, and they were all full heals. Saving large health items like these for when I’m near death is one of the most basic of basics in any video game with health items. Yet here I was, not only using it on someone other than myself, but I was using it for a mere single injury. Still, if it meant preventing this guy from bleeding out, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

"I’ve got something that can help. Hope you aren’t afraid of needles." I summoned a stim from my inventory and gently injected it into the man’s leg. The health stim started to do its thing as the wound sealed up.

"W-Whoa..." The man whispered breathlessly, both him and the lady staring wide-eyed as the injury disappeared completely. I was glad to have saved the two ponies from death and healed that guy's leg, but I couldn't help but feel lost as a single question entered my mind:

...Now what?

I couldn't just leave them here in the forest, so should I bring them with me? The train station wasn't exactly safe, either. There was no doubt it was crawling with Jack's men. However, I wasn't sure if there was any better option.

Hmm... Maybe I can have them come with me, but once we get close, I could have them hide and wait until-

"Seems you're off to a good start." I whirled my head around when I heard a familiar voice and spotted Disarria, standing in her magical doorway about 15 feet away from me.

I immediately turned my back to her, however, when I realized she wasn't wearing any pants again.

"Uh, Disarria? Your pants?" I said, keeping my eyes glued to the ground.

"...Ah, right! My bad!" I hear her fingers snap before I turned back around, seeing the same grey sweatpants on her as before.

"W-Where did she come from!?" The lady gawked, understandably confused.

"D-Don't worry, she's friendly." I quickly told the two ponies before turning my attention back to Disarria. "I... wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

"Are you disappointed?" She raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on her face.

"No, not at all, but... What are you doing here? I know you can't be here to trade, it's only been a few minutes since we last saw each other. I don't have enough money to buy anything, or anything to sell to you for that matter."

"Haven't you looted them yet?" She cocked her head in confusion.

"'Looted them?' What do you-?" It didn't take long for me to realize she was talking about the corpses of Jack's men. Looting enemies would normally be my first instinct in video games, but it hadn't even crossed my mind in real life.

...Well, if they have anything on them, I suppose they're not gonna need it anymore.

"...Gimme a second." I walked over to the body of the first grunt I'd killed. As soon as I approached, a small blue holographic screen appeared above the body. On the screen was a list of items I assumed was all the stuff the corpse had on him. All the stuff that was useful to me, anyway.

[Take All]
- x5 Handgun Ammo
- $200

Damn, that's a lotta moola compared to what Amber gave me. With that cash, I could buy a train ticket and then some.

I pressed the 'Take All' option, and immediately got a new notification.

• x5 Handgun Ammo
  
• $200

Well that makes looting a lot easier. With practice, I can probably get good at doing that mid-combat. I could press the 'Take All' button as I'm running by a body and boom: Instant looting on the go.

I went over to the two other bodies and did the same thing, pressing the take all button.

• x5 Handgun ammo
  

• $100

• x5 Handgun Ammo

• $200

I checked my inventory and sure enough, the ammo was there.

Inventory (All):
- Walther P22 (Handgun)
- Makeshift Knife
- Rusted Metal Pipe (100%)
- Full Health Stims (2)
- Handgun Ammo (15)
- $505

I noted that the handgun ammo wasn't a specific caliber. It wasn't .22 or 9mm, it was just 'Handgun Ammo', as if it applied to every handgun ever. That would often be the case in numerous games, especially survival horror games, but it wasn't how ammo worked in real life. At least, it's not how it worked back on Earth. Perhaps guns and ammo work differently here on Equus? Certainly, a question for another time.

I was ready to talk to Disarria now that I'd finished looting, but first I wanted to test out a theory. I ejected the magazine from my handgun, letting it fall to the ground, before inserting a new one and manually racking the slide, reloading the weapon. Once that was done, I checked the ammo counter.

[Walther P22 (Handgun)]
10 +1 / 8

So, it's just like I thought.

When reloading a gun before emptying the magazine in video games, the magazine is filled with however many bullets are needed to completely fill the magazine, with no extra bullets getting lost. However, in reality, that's not how reloading works. Those four bullets that had still been in the magazine before I reloaded? Those should still be in the magazine currently on the ground, not in my inventory. Yet, when doing the math of how many bullets I currently had, that was not the case. Those four bullets were somehow still in my inventory.

"Well that completely defies the laws of physics. How does that work?" I asked the HUD.

"Video game logic."

"...But this isn't a video ga-"

"Video game logic."

"...But-"

"Video. Game. Logic."

"...Alright, whatever." I just shrugged and let the matter go. This defiance of reality worked to my advantage anyway. I also made note of the '+1' in the ammo count, which I was willing to bet meant there was a round in the chamber. With my theory confirmed, I approached Disarria. "So, how does this work, exactly? Buying stuff, I mean. Do you have a list of what you're selling, or maybe a catalogue or something?"

"No need for such things. It's as simple as this." She snapped her fingers, and a holographic screen similar to the HUD's appeared next to her doorframe.

DISARRIA'S SHOP
[BUY]
[UPGRADE]
[CRAFT/REPAIR]
[SELL]

Huh… it really is like a video game…

I tapped on the 'Buy' option first to see what was in stock.

[BUY]

Weapons:
- Luger P08 (Handgun) [$8,000]

Health:
- Health Stim (Small) [$2,500]

Ammo:
- Handgun Ammo [$50 per bullet]

Crafting Recipes:
- Small Health Stim Recipe [$5,000]
- Handgun Ammo Recipe [$10,000]

"Yeesh, these are pricey..." I winced at the prices listed next to the items.

"Oh, they aren't that expensive. You just don't have much money, that's all." She waved a dismissive hand. Rolling my eyes, I moved on to the next option, 'Upgrade'. The menu asked me to select a weapon to upgrade, and since the Walther P22 was the only option available, I chose it.

Walther P22 Upgrades:
- Damage: (Lvl 1) 0.90 -> (Lvl 2) 1.10 [$5,000]
- Ammo Capacity: (Lvl 1) 10 -> (Lvl 2) 11 [$4,000]
- Rate of Fire: (Lvl 1) 1.00 -> (Lvl 2) 1.10 [$5,000]

"This is it? No upgrades for recoil, accuracy, reload speed, anything like that? Just these three?" I looked to Disarria for an answer.

"Those traits cannot be modified; they depend entirely on what weapon you're using. However, leveling up your Guns Skill can help improve your overall handling of firearms." She explained. "I will say that while it can't be upgraded, accuracy is still listed among your weapon's stats. If you want to take a look at a weapon's stats, you should examine it in your inventory."

Heeding her advice, I opened the inventory screen and tapped the Walther P22 to examine it further.

Walther P22 (Handgun) Stats:
Damage: 0.90
Ammo Capacity: 10
Rate of Fire: 1.00
Accuracy: 4.00

Disarria folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. "If you want my recommendation, don't bother upgrading the pistol you have now. Even when fully upgraded, it isn't very good compared to other handguns. You'd be better off saving up for the new handgun I have in stock now."

"Sure thing, not that I could afford the upgrades anyway." I nodded. For now, I decided to leave the 'Craft/Repair' and 'Sell' options for later, instead returning to the 'Buy' screen. Looking at the prices again, the only thing I had enough money for was handgun ammo, 10 bullets at the most. While ammo was definitely important, I didn't want to blow all of my money on it. The other items available in the shop would be extremely useful in the long run, so that meant saving up the cash to buy them. Still, I assumed there would be a lot more of Jack's men at the train station, and I would need to be prepared for them. I had to decide whether or not I was confident enough in the amount of ammo I had, and if not, how much ammo I should buy.

I stood there in silence as I racked my brain over how many bullets to buy, if any at all. This wasn't a simple, inconsequential decision. For all I know, this could be the difference on whether I live or die. Granted, there wasn't much consequence to me dying thanks to checkpoints, but it's not like I'm eager to experience death again. I went through it once already, and it sucked.

"I understand these decisions can be stressful, so take all the time you need." Disarria seemed to notice that I was struggling with my decision and reassured me. I took a deep breath and thought about it for another minute before making my choice. I selected the Handgun Ammo in the shop menu, and another menu popped up. The menu showed a number counter with two arrows next to it, one pointing up and one pointing down, and asked how many I wanted to purchase. I pressed the up arrow until the number reached 4, then confirmed my purchase.

• $200
  
• x4 Handgun Ammo

"Excellent! Will that be all?" A pleased smile appeared on Disarria's face.

"Yeah, I think that's everything for now." I nodded.

"Pleasure doing business with you, then. Until next time!" She waved goodbye before shutting the door, which proceeded to fade to dust and disappear just like on the beach. I gave my ammo counter another look, checking to see if the 4 bullets had been added.

[Walther P22 (Handgun)]
10 +1 / 12

Ok, that leaves me with 23 bullets in total. I should be good to go now-

"W-What just happened...?" I turned my head when I heard one of the two ponies speak. Both of them looked equally shocked and confused after seeing the whole transaction between Disarria and myself, as well as the disappearance of her door.

Oh, right. I almost forgot they were here.

"U-Uh, that was a... she's an acquaintance of mine, I guess. She's a bit... strange, but you don't worry about it." I looked over at the stallion who's leg had previously been injured. "Do you think you'll be able to walk?"

"Y-Yeah, my leg doesn't hurt anymore. Actually, it feels great!" The stallion stood up and took a few steps to test his leg, and it seemed to work fine.

"Ok, good. It's not safe out here, so we're gonna have to make our way to the train station. Thankfully, it's not too far from here." I gave them the plan.

"The train station!? B-But it's been taken over by those-... those-... those brutes! It's too dangerous!" The lady protested.

"It's not any safer wandering around the forest. Once we get there, you two are going to hide nearby while I clear the place out and free the other hostages. Sound like a plan?" They both looked between each other before turning back to me and nodding nervously. It seemed neither of them were eager to help and were okay with letting me go into the fray alone. Honestly, I didn't blame them. I wasn't feeling too sure about the chances of winning myself, but I had to try. "Alright, let's get going."

I began to lead them through the forest and towards the train station. When I told the two of them the plan, I had been acting like I knew what I was doing. However, that couldn't be farther from the truth. In reality, I was feeling extremely nervous, and I was pretty much just figuring this crap out as I went. The only reason I took out those three guys back there was sheer luck. I got the jump on the first one, the second one stupidly ran towards me, and I just barely killed the last one before he executed the lady.

I didn't even have a plan for how I was going to take on the rest of Jack's men. I didn't know how many I would have to deal with, how well-armed they were, or if there was anything I could take advantage of. On top of that, all I had to defend myself was a crappy handgun, a rusty metal pipe, a 'knife' that looked ready to fall apart, and combat experience that was practically non-existent. I was super unqualified to be dealing with this whole situation, what was Discord thinking when he summoned me of all people to save Equus!?!

I've got a long way to go before I'm ready... but like Disarria said, if I want to get stronger, I need to take the first step.

Author's Note

General Status
User: Justin Baker
Current Level: 1
Current XP: 40/100
Money: $305
Overall HP: 100/100
Head: 100%
Torso: 100%
Left Arm: 100%
Right Arm: 100%
Left Leg: 100%
Right Leg: 100%

Skills
Strength: 10/100
Endurance: 5/100
Reflexes: 14/100
Agility: 2/100
Stealth: 4/100
Guns: 3/100
Explosives: 2/100
Melee: 1/100
Unarmed: 1/100
Medicine: 2/100

Howdy, y'all! I'm very sorry this chapter took a while. I've been having a blast playing the Resident Evil 4 remake (I've beaten the game at least 9 times since it came out and I've gotten S+ rank on all difficulties except Professional, I think I might be addicted), plus I've got finals next week. Throw my job into the mix, and you can tell that I've been extremely busy. Thankfully, it's finally finished for everyone to enjoy. As you can see above, I'll be posting Justin's current status and skills in the author's notes from now on to help readers keep track of it.

I'm sure some of you already noticed, but the shop system is heavily based on RE4's shop system. There isn't much in stock at the moment, but that will change in time. As for the tattoo of a koi on Justin's arm, I got the inspiration for that from a Chinese legend about how a koi becomes a dragon through perseverance and determination (Those that have played the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series might be familiar with this legend). If you want to learn more about the legend, you can check it out by clicking here.

That's all for now. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are excited for the next one. Stay tuned!!!