Someone Else's Paradise Chapter 2: Artificial Intelligence, a my little pony fanfic

Dale looked around the area while he descended down the latter; the last thing he wanted was to be surprised by another monster. He could barely believe that he managed to defend himself from that "Timberwolf" as it was called. Dale assumed that because this world is using mechanics from a Role-Playing Game he stood a better chance, but all the mechanics in this universe wouldn't mean anything if he came across something that was completely out of his league. The unknown is what Dale feared the most about the forest he was descending into. He knew how dangerous they can be when you're unprepared, but Dale was going in almost naked with the exception of the clothes on his back.

"People for some reason wonder why I hated the wilderness. If only they could see what it's like here; it's dark and filled with strange creatures that want to tear my head off..." Dale thought as his feet touched the grass. The sunrise that he saw on the balcony was being overshadowed by the weeping trees of the forest. Dale began to doubt that he was alone due to the cold chill that began to run down his spine. He thought that the best course of action would be checking his status screen for anything he may have missed.

Name: Dale Stevens

Level: 2

HP: 55/55

MP: 20/20

Status

Strength: 4

Magic: 2

Vitality: 6

Agility: 3

Luck: 1

EXP: 0/50

App Points: 10

Current Alignment: Neutral

(If you would like to review what each stat does, please select "Review" for each stat)

"So I guess the tutorial for the stats is over? I still have no idea what App Points are, or even what this 'Alignment' is," Dale voiced his small bit of frustration aloud as he began to scroll through the menu once again. He didn't gain any new skills or new equipment from the last fight, unsurprising due to his low luck stat. What bothered him the most were the four functions that were unavailable to him.

Function Currently Unavailable

Function Currently Unavailable (Available at Level 3)

"If some god put me here for a reason, it would've been nice of them to at least give me all of the functions of something that's supposed to keep me from getting killed..." Dale began to tap the screen, hoping that a glitch would occur that would give him access to these locked screens. Each tap produced an annoying beeping noise, like the one you would hear when your computer encountered an error. Brute forcing his way through turned out to be a pointless endeavour, it was almost expected to him. One of the functions was different from the others, it listed a level requirement that needed to be reached in order to be activated. Dale scratched his chin while thinking, "If the only thing that's required is me reaching one more level, I could just hang around this forest and try to grind up... It says I need fifty experience points to gain another level; I can get another function for this device as well as some extra points to distribute. The only thing I'm worried about is how tough the enemies are in this forest, that Timberwolf encounter was probably just me getting lucky. I also don't have any way of healing myself in case I get injured, maybe I should just head straight for that village I saw," Dale wanted to make the best decision here and he didn't have all the time in the world to do so. The inventory he had didn't contain any food or water, there is also the risk of him taking too long to find shelter, and he didn't know what monsters could come out at night.

"I must be out of my fucking mind," Dale groaned to himself as he began to run down the path towards the village. Dale wasn't going to the village right away, he thought that he had enough time and energy to attempt to get both enough EXP as well as make it to the village without dying. His stats were a little bit higher than they were before, so Dale assumed that he would at least have an easier time dealing with any monster that he could come across, "I just have to manage myself properly and I'll be fine. If it gets too tough I can always attempt to run away and hide somewhere in the forest," Dale thought as he looked to his sides, making sure nothing was going to get the jump on him. Talking to the monsters was out of the question for Dale, he didn't have any luck last time and he also didn't want to risk the damage without a way to heal himself.

Dale was a bit surprised at the amount of progress he managed to make in a short amount of time, he wasn't getting winded at all. This may have something to do with this Vitality stat currently being the highest stat he has. Even back at home, he couldn't jog for this long without having to pace his breathing; Dale wasn't in the best shape but he wasn't exactly the healthiest man either. This didn't distract Dale long enough for him not to notice that the arm brace was slowly flashing the colour yellow.

"That must mean there's an enemy nearby," Dale said as he slowed down to a walking pace. He made sure to look all around him so that the enemy couldn't get the jump on him. Dales' heat had begun beating at a rapid pace, the anticipation and build up for the fight has slowly been creeping into his mind. He needed to stay focused in order to win, otherwise, he will die where no one could hear him scream. The bushes began to rustle all around him as he shifted his eyes back and forth. Dale could feel the sweat drip from his forehead, "Come on..." Dale whispered quietly, "Show yourself..."

The arm brace began to flash red and beep rapidly as the bushes rustled behind Dale, he quickly turned around and got ready to kick the shit out of whatever was going to attack him. What came out of the bush was the last thing Dale expected it to be. Rather than a bloodthirsty monster looking for its next meal, it was a small, ball-shaped. flying creature with big green eyes. Dale stares blankly at the creature while it smiles back. At first, nothing came to his mind on what to do, then he began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Y-You can't be serious?!" Dale managed to say in between laughs, "Are you going to eat me, little guy?" Dale asked said in a taunting tone. He checked his arm brace to see what the holographic display had to say about it.

Parasprite

HP: 15

MP: 30

Skills

(Unknown)

"Parasprite, aye? It also has MP, that must mean it can cast magic. Low enough HP, so I don't think I need to worry at all" Dale mumbled to himself. He took note that the Skills were listed as unknown, just like the Timberwolf, "Maybe I'll have to get the enemy to join me if I want the data? I'll worry about that later," Dale wasn't worried about the Parasprite since it looked harmless on the outside, but Dale was in for a rude awakening.

The Parasprites' face twisted in disgust before spitting how a ball of brown mush right in front of Dales' foot. Dale took a step back in order to get clear of the vomit, he wasn't really a germaphobe but since this is a new world he would be better off avoiding touching it. The pile of mush began to sprout wings out of it, slowly beginning to form into another Parasprite. The new Parasprite took the side of the one that effectively gave birth to it, both having the same smile on their faces.

"What the hell? That's fucking gross!" Dale shouted in disgust. He's never seen anything like that happen back on Earth; he began to question why this would be someones most desired reality. Both of the Parasprite's faces turned from the upbeat look they had before, into ones of anger. The Parasprite on the left flapped its wings incredibly fast, Dale could barely keep up with it. The force of the wings began to shoot wind directly into Dales' face. The wind was so powerful that it began to cut his cheek and his jacket.

-8HP

"How the hell is it doing that?" Dale thought as his HP dropped. It didn't cut super deep, but it felt like when you accidentally cut yourself with a knife.

The Parasprite on the right flew forward so fast, it slammed into Dales' face with the force of a heavy hitting punch back on Earth. Dale recoiled back, almost falling over.

-5HP

Dale quickly wiped off the residue left on his face, he felt gross on the inside. Dale quickly ran at one of the Parasprites and threw a punch that hit dead smack in its face. The Parasprite flew back into a tree, immediately blowing up in a flash of red.

-17HP Enemy Defeated

The original Parasprite once again tried to use its wings to fire a blast of wind at Dale, but he managed to take cover behind another tree before it hit him. He could see the splinters of the tree he was hiding behind blast past him. Once the wind calmed down, Dale quickly left his cover and slammed his fist on top of the Parasprites' head. The Parasprite rocketed down to the ground and blew up in a flash of red.

-17HP Enemy Defeated

Dale wiped the goop off of his hands while his experience bar began to fill up.

You gained 14 EXP

"That's it?" Dale complained aloud. He was disappointed that two enemies gave out less experience than the one Timberwolf he killed, "Maybe these guys weren't that high of a level," Dale thought as he stared at the hologram. There was no time for rest as he had to try to find more Parasprites to kill before it gets too dark.

Dale yelled out in anger as his attack connected with the final Parasprite causing it to instantly be defeated, "Is that it? You bastard!" Dale huffed. Dale had been grinding experience points for the last half an hour, he was close to getting to level 3 but the final Parasprite wouldn't stop vomiting offspring. Dale lost track of how many he fought; he was relieved that it was over. Dales' experience bar not only filled up the rest of the way but also filled up some of the next level as well

Current EXP: 27/70

Level Up!

Level 3

You've earned 3 stat points! Please chose what stats you wish to improve!

App Points: 20

Dale opened his Status screen and saw his HP has fully recovered once again, this relieved him as he was getting uncomfortably low, "Those assholes were getting hard to hit, I think I know what I'll be spending this on," Dale said as he navigated to the Agility bar. He placed two points inside the Agility stat which will make him faster and more accurate. He had one point left over that he couldn't decide to use it on. When Dale thought about it, none of the enemies he killed dropped any items at all, that could be because of his low luck stat. Dale placed his final point into Luck so it could help him later on... hopefully, "Maybe now monsters will have a better chance at listening to me," Dale said with a sarcastic tone, everytime he tried to talk to a monster it didn't go well for him. The tutorial screen did say something about luck helping with Critical Hits and Negotiation of all kind, so it could be worth it to invest.

That's not what Dale was looking forward to though, he was excited to see what that hidden function on his arm brace did.

Function Currently Unavailable

Alex

"Alex?" Dale asked aloud, "What kind of a function is this?" Dale tapped on the screen with a bit of worry building up, he was worried that he just wasted his time and put his life on the line for an app that could potentially be useless.

"Congratulations on completing the beginner's program, Master Dale!" A feminine voice rang out from Dales' arm brace. This caught him off guard, almost causing him to jump out of his skin.

"What the fuck?!" Dale yelled out in shock. The voice from the arm brace sounded like a woman nearing her 30's

"My apologies, Master Dale. I am your Artificial Intelligent assistant, Alex. My duty is to support you and provide information on any function for your journey," the voice known as Alex responded with a bubbly tone.

"Provide support?"

"Yes, while I cannot directly interfere with any action you may take on your journey, I can provide support via Function unlocks and Skill purchases," When Alex finished her sentence Dale lit up in excitement as he was finally going to find out what his arm brace can really do, "Would you like me to go over how to purchase Functions and Skills?"

"Uhh, yeah!" Dale responded happily.

Functions

(Spend App Points in order to install Applications. More Applications will be available to purchase at a later date)

Map (Shows current location and automatically map out where you have explored with a built-in compass) -10AP

Quest Log (Take requests in order to earn rewards such as Money, Items, EXP, and App Points. Quests will be automatically registered with this App installed) -5AP

Advanced Translator (Translate monsters that don't speak your native language making it easier to negotiate with them) -30AP

Glossary (Allows Alex to record whatever you discover about monsters and people alike for you to view whenever you want) -10AP

Skills

(You may also spend App Points on skills that you can learn. You can know a maximum of 8 skills before you have to begin to discard them. You may repurchase a skill if you choose to do so. More skills will be available to purchase at a later date)

Zio (Light Electic damage to one foe, low chance of shock) -5AP (4MP cost)

Bufu (Light Ice damage to one foe, low chance of freeze) -5AP (4MP cost)

With the choices presented to him, Dale had to think hard about what he wanted to spend his App Points on since he only earned 10 points with every level currently. As tempting as it was to snag both of the skills to see what they can do, he decided it would be for the best if he picked up the Map and Quest Log functions at least. That'll leave him with only 5 App Points left, which begs the question 'Lightning or Ice?" Dale doubted that one skill was stronger than the other since the cost was the same for both, maybe it really depended on preference?

"Hey, Alex. Can you tell me why two different elements are listed for purchase?" Dale asked since there's no way in hell he'll waste these points on something he won't like.

"Different enemies are weak to different elements if you find out what enemy is weak to what element, it'll make winning battles much easier," Alex responded.

"Uh... I guess Zio?" Dale had no idea what to pick since none of the enemy data is available to him, so it was best to go with his gut feeling. Dale made his final purchase and installed the apps.

Thank you for your purchase! Your new functions are available now!

Just as the screen said, two new functions appeared on his home screen. Since Dale has this new A.I companion with him, he wanted to see how much she knew about his situation.

"Alex," Dale began, "Can you tell me where exactly I am?"

"You're currently located here," Alex responded while pulling up the holographic map. The map showed where Dale has been in this forest, it seemed as though he went slightly off course. Top corner of the map said "Everfree forest, Equestria" the name confused him as it seemed strange for a world that's based off a medieval RPG.

"Huh, sounds familiar... Equestria... I should try to find my way out of this forest now that I'm a little stronger," Dale then took off in a light jog, making sure that he wasn't being followed by any enemies.

Dale had done it, he had successfully made it out of the Everfree forest and was running down the pathway that leads to the nearest town, "This is great!" he yelled triumphantly. Dale already had his plan in mind when he was going to arrive in town. He was going to get something to eat and then start looking for the person who created this world. It shouldn't be too hard, he just has to find someone wearing an arm brace like him, unless everyone was wearing an arm brace around here, then he would need a backup plan.

Dale stopped once he reached the stone bridge that would cross the stream, his face turning from excitement into confusion. All of the houses in the village looked like they were made out of hay. Something about this felt familiar, almost like he's seen this place somewhere before.

"Is something wrong, Master Dale?" Alex asked.

"It's nothing... I just feel like I've seen this place once, but I can't remember where," When Dale finished responding a loud boom was heard close by followed by a bright rainbow streak flying above the sky. Dales' eyes widen in shock, he now knows where he is. Dale remembers the times where he was sent video clips of a show that was becoming popular years ago, a show that was meant for small children but had a very strong male fanbase.

"You've got to be shittin' me," Dale said as he looked at the pegasus flying above the sky.

Someone's desired reality after the Apocalypse was to live in My Little Pony with the mechanics of an RPG, and God or whatever that black sun was roped Dale into it.