//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Are You Lost? 
// Story: I am the Bodyguard of a Nation 
// by Warden of Monsters 
//------------------------------//

The Sun beats down on my face as I slowly regain consciousness. Groaning I raised a hand to cover my eyes, and slowly crack open my left eye. Beyond the silhouette of my hand I can see the blue sky, and there is the faint noise of the surf and a few seagulls getting awfully chatty with one another. 

"What in the actual hell?"

With a grunt I sit up, and look around. It looks like I'm on a beach someplace, and a warm one too. My hand brushes on something hard, and I look down to see a Sand Dollar. Blinking I reach out to pick it up, and look it over, remembering the one time I visited an ocean beach was with an Ex Girlfriend and her family. We had gone there to look around, and with the tide out the beach had been littered with these. Regrettably not all of them had been whole, but she had found a pristine one like the one in my hand right now. I'd never really gotten rid of it, it was a good moment of my life even with us splitting up eventually.

I blink as I study the hand holding that shellfish, and furrow my eyebrows. A fingerless black glove with a little extra padding on the back, and a red sleeve. Looking down at myself I note how my shirt, pants, and boots are all black with a long red coat over them. But then my eyes go wide as I note something distinct about myself.

"What the tits, Tits?!" My jaw drops along with the sand dollar as my hands fly to my chest. I hadn't noticed initially, but my body is totally different to what I'm used to. My B Cups are suddenly huge Double D's! 

I rub my hands over my body feeling the toned figure I've been dieting and running miles for the last year to get. It's finally mine!

With a happy sigh I run my hand over my head through my hair… Wait a minute, I have hair?!

Sitting up again I put both hands to my head. "Oh what I would give for a mirror…" In middle school I used to have a super long ponytail that went down between my shoulders, but I got tired of my hair poking me in the eyes so in frustration I ended up pulling out my bangs. They never recovered so I ended up just buzzing my head.

"I swear I'll take better care of it this time," I say with a smile. Then I get up to my feet at long last and start brushing off the sand. "Now where the fuck am I…?"

It looks like a shore someplace, and turning I see the ocean through some trees. Meaning I'm on a deserted island probably only a mile wide. Though some of the trees have bananas so that at least looks promising. Good thing I'm not terribly hungry right now though.

Sighing I look down at myself. "This getup though, I look like a genderbent Dante from Devil May Cry. I should know, I made one for that game." That brings a thought to mind, but I just laugh, "No way, there is no way it's that cliche…"

I'm a big fan of anime, especially Isekai anime which takes a person from one world and drops them in another for some reason or another. Part of me wants to think that is what is going on, but the realist in me is laughing while telling me to grow up.

Rolling my eyes I raise a hand, imagining the same magic circle I used with my character as my default move for combat. Then to my shock it appears, a wide circle of arcane symbols and six glowing spaces surrounds me.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

The spell only lasts for about ten seconds like it did in the game, but that's enough for me to fully believe what is happening here. Somehow I've been transported to another world in the body of Beatrice Sparda, my character from DC Universe Online. 

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the heroes of the DC Universe, at least by their names. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and such. Well years ago an MMO game came out taking place in their world. Honestly I'd only got interested because it was free to play and I had too much time on my hands. But your typical glitches aside I'd enjoyed the level of freedom the game had to offer.

The idea behind it was that Superman's arch enemy Lex Luthor had led a campaign that wiped out the Justice League, but in doing so left earth vulnerable to the likes of an alien artificial intelligence named Brainiac. Finding earth unprepared to handle it Lex went back in time to the setting of the game, and released microscopic machines called Exobytes into the atmosphere, stolen from Brainiac himself in the far future. These machines held the data of the skills and abilities of pretty much all the characters in the DC Universe, Hero and Villain alike.

One thing I found exceptional about the game was how freely you could customize your character, from their powers to their size to their costumes. Beatrice had been a Healer type character I made because the game just seemed to have so few of them, and as a laugh I'd made her look like a female Dante of Devil May Cry. Another thing I had enjoyed was how it was cross-platform, meaning I could play it on my PS4 while some friends of mine across the country could play on their PC computers.

The current situation doesn't exactly add up though, none of the game maps had a remote island like this. At least not ones that weren't home to some of the most famous prisons in DC. 

"Well if this is anything like your typical Gaming Isekai then I should still have access to my Menu," I mutter, and start trying to figure out how to open it. I glance off to the side where I had cast the magic circle, pondering. That had appeared with a mental image, so maybe it's all mental control?

And so I think about the Menu Wheel being in front of me, and with a smirk on my face it appears, a dark blue circle with various icons around it. I note however that the Options, and Marketplace icons are missing. Meaning "logging out" or buying from the online stores are no longer options. I notice a new option however which when I focus on it becomes labeled "HUD Toggle."

Hitting it with the mental click I note new features appear in my line of sight. In the upper right corner of my vision appears my Minimap showing me at the center in the form of a green dot with a transparent white cone spread in the direction I'm facing. No red dots at least, which is nice since those indicate enemies, and I can see the whole island on it. In the lower left corner of my vision is the Chat Box of all things, empty at the moment. Messing with that a little seems to work the same as it does in the game with the different channels and such. In the upper left corner is the meter which shows my Health and Power bars along with my Level and Combat Rating. In DCUO the maximum level was only 30 which you accomplish easily by following the main quest line, an easy feat. After that what determined your power was Combat Rating, which was entirely dependant on your equipment you have equipped. Mine was never the maximum though, not even close. Some of the highest CR I have seen was in the range of 270, but Beatrice was only 60.

I suppose an easy way to think of it is by default I am as physically strong as I can be without the aid of equipment, my physical abilities maxed out. But adding special gear on top of it just raises my abilities so much quicker.

Speaking of equipment, I open the menu again and toggle over to the Inventory icon. It opens to show my inventory empty save for what I already have equipped already. I also notice that my currency is empty too, and the dollar sign beside it is replaced with what looks like the slanted view of a gold coin.

"Not even Soder Cola? I paid good money for those," I mutter, thinking of the basic health regeneration items everyone keeps ahold of, and look at my equipment. It seems at least that I do indeed still have the signature armor I slaved for a week to get, but the cosmetic effects in the Styles menu keeps me from looking like someone made Doctor Fate a magical Iron Man Suit. At least I still have my Trinkets, and a quick search reveals I still have my Starheart Fragment artifact I got from a quest with John Constantine, boosting my abilities as a Healer.

Opening my menu again I decide to check out my ability list. Then I blink in surprise, seeing that under Traits the Loadout menu is missing. Closing my menu I glance to the bottom of my HUD for the action bar where my attacks and abilities are supposed to be on hotkeys. The bar itself is entirely missing however.

"That makes sense if this is all controlled mentally," I mutter. "As long as I have the skill unlocked I can use it by visualizing the effects in my mind…" Checking the spells my character had I'm relieved to see that everything was just how I left it. Then a frown slowly comes to mind as I say, "On the other hand I probably hadn't built my character right to begin with. Beatrice is a Healer above all else so she's pretty squishy with standard damage for a Level 30 in Weapon Damage and Attack Spells. She was always meant to rely on a team… Not exactly ideal to go exploring with. At least if I'm not swarmed with baddies I can survive, my spells can mend damage faster than it can be made back in DCUO."

I browse the Traits section of the menu to see what I have to work with. Sure enough my points are just like I left them. After mastery of my weapon I'd unlocked the Super Strength ability in the Iconic Powers for the 10% boost in Weapon Proficiency, the Word of Power ability which is a knockoff of Shazam's that I picked up for the group heal, and one under my travel ability Flight to triple my travel speed. Supposedly it's supposed to be Supersonic flight. But apart from that I'd focused putting my points into boosting my Healing abilities. This led to me maxing out the Critical Healing chance at 20% so one in every five spells would get that boost, and the boost in question is only 10% more than usual.

"If I can find ways to earn more Skill Points though then I can fill that out to the max 40%," I reason. "After that… cross that bridge if and when I come to it. Still, if I'm not limited to 6 active abilities to draw on anymore then maybe picking up some more Iconic Powers wouldn't go amiss. But before that…"

I open the menu wheel again, eyeing the icon of a planet, the Map Function. Hesitating only a minute I click it, opening a map of my surroundings, which on the map seems to be an island half the size of the nail on my little finger with nothing but blue everywhere else. I zoom in, not too surprised or disappointed at how no other icons appear. And so with a shrug I look up at the Warp Menu button, a tool for instant travel between regions in the game.

"Moment of truth," I mutter, and click it. 

Thankfully it isn't blank which is the good news, but I don't recognize any of these listed places. Each selection is a wide button with distinctive scenery on it and a name. There's a place that looks like an ivory palace, a city on the side of a mountain, an old style village with straw roofs, a western village, two of them actually, and a big city. The names though…

"Canterlot? Ponyville? Manehattan? What is with the horse worship here? A Dodge Junction, Appaloosa, Crystal Empire… Well at least none of these places look too threatening. Still I have no idea what I'm walking in on. There could be Witch Hunts going on, or a war. The last thing I need is the walk down the path of Major Tanya Degurechaff… On the other hand living on this island all alone isn't an option. 

If I'm going to make a debut then it should probably be someplace that isn't too densely populated. I should probably avoid things like royalty for now, get a feel for this new world in general before I get too mixed up in anything. So that leaves places like Canterlot Castle, and Twilight's Castle out. Not sure if I want to deal with an Empire either, I've seen enough Star Wars to know how things like that work so that place and Manehattan are off the list. And for Western places I would rather avoid tempting a shootout so that's off as well. That only leaves a few places with this Ponyville at the top of the list.

"At least I have a destination in mind," I say as I close the Warp Menu. I toggle up this Ponyville on the map, and look it over. It would seem it is a little larger than anticipated, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. For now just an experiment.

I mark a custom waypoint for navigation on the map, and close the menu. A glance to my minimap shows the green arrow of my waypoint facing East, and I turn to face it. I smile when I spot the little diamond in my vision giving me a more precise heading, and the distance from my destination.

My eyebrows raise at the number under the diamond. According to this it's well over 500,000,000 meters away. While that hadn't been unexpected, in DCUO I have never seen that reading more than 5,000 meters.

"Definitely taking the warp menu," I state as I roll my shoulders. "But first some practice. Hope for the best while preparing for the worst, and she who fails to plan plans to fail."

Checking my equipment loadout in my Inventory I sigh in relief when I see my weapon is still equipped. So closing my menu I hold out my hands and imagine it in my grip. A rifle appears in a shimmer of red magic, and I catch it. It seems my preferences in Styles held true since it is the same appearance for the Biomechanical Weapons Style I had locked. No matter the weapon I had equipped they always looked the same. I liked this one ever since I picked up the Hellbound Rifle because of how wicked and badass it looked with its serrated detailing and the curved bayonet on the end making it look like something Doom Guy ripped off an enemy, plus it holds the same red and black color scheme as the rest of my outfit.

"Okay," I mutter as I look it over, trying to figure out what did what, apart from the obvious trigger. In the game it had a grenade launcher and a flamethrower once you unlocked the right combos for combat, but given I can't work this by holding a button and working a joystick I need to relearn my primary weapon. Otherwise I collected the Rifle Mastery combos for nothing, and without the Watchtower and the RADS machine I can't reset my Skill Points. That would suck...

I frown as I look it over, not finding any sign of a way to access grenades or the flamethrower though the business end of both are easy to find. There isn't even a way to reload this thing!

"So either I'm dealing with an unknown finite amount of ammo, or there's a way to use infinite ammo like in the game I just haven't thought of yet," I mutter. "Balls…"

Sighing I imagine empty hands and it vanishes again. "Well at worst I can summon one of the game's Familiars to help me. Now to figure out flight…"

I think about floating off the ground, and gasp as I lift a foot away from the sand. "W-whoa…" Now that it's confirmed that I can fly I'll admit it scares me a little. I'm not afraid of heights exactly, to be more accurate I'm afraid of falling from great heights. Looking around I say, "At least I have plenty of practice space."

Over the next few hours I get used to flying around, and let me tell you it's just as fun as it looks on TV. The sheer freedom of motion is intoxicating, and a few times I found myself laughing like a kid who got just what he wanted for christmas. And I found out the hard way too while trying to get fancy among the trees of my island that a passive skill for Fall Damage Immunity is a thing apparently, so if things go poorly then I can at least escape without worry.

Landing on the beach again I nod. "Alright then… time to take the plunge. My adventure begins… Now." I open the Warp Menu, and select Ponyville.


*****


When I open my eyes again I find myself standing in front of a large decorative fountain of a dark pink color, and then promptly shut my eyes again as lightning flashes overhead. Seems the town is in the middle of a huge storm. Wind pulls at me, and rain hits me like bullets, making me raise an arm to cover my face. "Fucking…"

Remembering my spells I use one that puts a shield bubble up around myself, at best I can cover two others with it as well for 15 seconds of invulnerability. I sigh in relief as the wind and rain is held at bay, giving me a chance to look around for the first time. I seem to be right in the middle of town if the water fountain behind me and the big circular looking building past it are any indication. No lights are on, but in this weather no one should be too mad at me for taking shelter on the porch of what I am assuming is town hall. 

Shortly after I get under cover my spell wears off, and I can feel the cooldown in effect. Nodding a bit I look down as movement catches my attention. That's when I realize my Chat Box has been filling with words for a while now in light grey text.

[Pipsqueak] Say: "I really hope the rain stops soon, it really does feel like the end of the world."
[Berry Punch] Say: "Me and little Pinch are in a pickle. If we can't preserve food then most of our pantry is going to go bad within the next day or two."
[Mayor Mare] Say: "They're not going to hold me accountable for this, right? I mean it's not just Ponyville, right? Magic has been vanishing all over the land so there isn't anything I can do. I hope Princess Twilight and her friends can fix this soon."

Messages like this from random people seem to be popping up left and right. If I have to take a guess at this it is because the Say channel of the Chat had a range of about fifty meters, and allowed anyone to read it. It must just be working here because I am finally around people. But these names are throwing me for a serious loop. Mayor Mare? Yet more evidence of horse worship, that has to be a title of some sort. Although not all of what I read was irrelevant.

Apparently this world has the tangible concept of magic, and it is vanishing across the land? If someone sees me using it they might assume I took it. For all I know that could be the case somehow, if unintended. And if that is the case then maybe this Princess Twilight will be looking for me.

Sighing I start to pace, "Okay then, my options… Either hide and try to blend with the masses in hopes that I'm not discovered while making a new life… Or seek this princess out to not appear guilty in any way… To a princess who might decide the only way to save their world is to end my life for all I know… But if left alone things will only get worse it seems… letting hundreds, possibly thousands or millions suffer and die because I did nothing…"

Groaning I facepalm, and rub my wet and cold cheeks. "This… I do this for you Stan Lee. Great Power meet Great Responsibility, would you two care for hot chocolate?"

Turning my attention back to the Chat I open the Social Menu, and select Nearby for a list of people in my area, about the same range as the Say Chat if I had to guess. I frown at the long list of names when I don't find any Princess on it, or anyone with the word Twilight in their name. I check the Recent Text list as well to be sure, but nothing happens.

Looking to the text in the chat box again I frown a bit. I will have to see where this princess can be found. This Mayor Mare seems to have some idea of what is going on so selecting her name I open the Tell channel, preparing a message only she could receive.

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: Mayor Mare? I want to help. Where is this Princess?

I hear a sudden banging inside the building I assumed was Town Hall, and turn to face it. Lights are coming on quickly.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "Who said that?! Who's there?! How are you in my head?!"

"In her head?" I raise an eyebrow, "Does the Tell function work as Telepathy now? Interesting… file that away for later."

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: I am no enemy, I'm right outside. I heard your hopes regarding Princess Twilight, and wish to be of help as best I can."

I take a glance at my minimap, and see a green dot approaching me from behind. So I turn to face it as the door behind me starts to open.

I am not ready for what I face.

A small tan horse with a wavy styled white mane stands before me. She also wears glasses, and some weird frilly tie thing. Her already comically large eyes go even wider, and she squeals a horse's whinny before jumping back, slamming the door shut.

"...So an alien world," I muse softly, rolling my eyes. "Well one of us has to be the adult here…" Reaching out I knock softly on the door three times. As I do I notice a new entry on my chat box.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Fantastic," I mutter. On the other side of the door I hear some shrill horse noises, and as soon as they end a new entry for Mayor Mare appears in the Chat box.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "N-no need to start growling! I swear there isn't anything for you in here!"

"Oh cut the B.S. already," I call through the door. "I'm trying to be nice here!"

All I get is a short squeal, and her saying "Meep!" on the Chat. Frowning I take a minute to ponder that, and it comes to me. Neither of us can understand one another by speaking aloud, it's all in the Chat. I feel pretty stupid that I hadn't put that together right away, and consider my options. What would Superman do?

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: My apologies Mayor Mare, I hadn't expected you to not understand my spoken language. I swear on my life not to harm you, may I please come in out of the rain?

There are a few moments of silence before the door cracks open a bit. She peeks out at me, and I nod softly to her with a gentle smile. A few more seconds and she backs up, opening the door more for me.

I step inside, and look around. We are in a wide room with a second story with balconies overlooking it. The colors are mostly red with yellow accents, and a hardwood floor, and it's rather warm which is something I appreciate. I look down at myself, frowning at the water dripping off my coat.

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: This is a nice place you have, thank you for inviting me in. Sorry for the mess.

As I kneel to take my boots off, and hang my jacket on a hook I get my first good look at Mayor Mare. Her fur looks thicker than the horses I've seen, more like the coat of a dog or cat than a proper horse which gives her a more fluffy appearance. And her face is much more expressive, something which is sure to help with communication. Given all that, and the fact she's only three feet tall I can only conclude that in an aged looking way she is one of the more adorable creatures I have ever seen.

She talks to me as she watches with a nervous expression from a couple yards off.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "That's quite alright, and this is town hall… Can I get you anything? A towel, and tea perhaps? Hot cocoa?"
[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: That sounds lovely, thank you very much Madam Mayor.

She nods, and trots off, watching me over her shoulder until she rounds a corner into a hallway. Looking around at the few chairs that are here I'm afraid they would break under my weight given they were made for creatures half my size. But I do spot a few large pillows, and so I take a seat on one of those by a small table. I grab a second one, and set it across from me on the other side of the table for Mayor Mare.

She comes back about ten minutes later with a tray in her teeth. She spots me, and comes over, setting the tray on the table. On it are two mugs, and a plate of sandwiches. In an interesting show of dexterity she uses her front hooves to pour hot chocolate from the kettle she brought while balancing on her hind legs before she takes her seat across from me.

I nod my thanks, and curiously pick up one of the sandwiches. Peeking inside I smile at the sliced cucumbers before taking a bite with a nod, and a nod to her.

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: Thank you, I hadn't realized how hungry I was.

She offers a small but warm smile as she picks up her mug, and blows on it softly.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "You're welcome, I wasn't sure what someone like you would eat so I just went with one of my favorites. But if you don't mind my asking, what are you? And what are you doing here?"

I pause for thought as I sip my own cocoa, and nod softly.

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: You can call me Beatrice I suppose, and I am a human. As for what I'm doing here… Well I've never even heard of creatures like you so for now I'm assuming that I'm not of this world, possibly even of this reality. So I'm more or less lost.

Mayor Mare frowns softly at the news.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "Oh dear, that doesn't sound good at all. Especially with how things are right now since the incident…"
[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: What incident?
[Mayor Mare] Say: "...Well, in our world magic essentially makes the world go around. We use it for healthy crops, preserving food, medicine care, even our leaders Princess Celestia and Princess Luna control the moving of the sun and moon. But a few days ago magic started to vanish from the land… Three days later it vanished completely."

I sit staring with wide eyes as I'm given the news that I am taking that Isekai adventure that I've always wanted, but on a doomed and dying planet. I look out the window at the rain storm, it looks like it's night right now. And assuming what Mayor Mare said is true about the sun and moon this could fall into an ice age fast.

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: How did this happen?
[Mayor Mare] Say: "I'm not sure, but from what I've heard at the School of Friendship six of the students managed to use a ritual to cast all the magic from this world out to someplace else, along with themselves and their guidance counselor Starlight Glimmer. We've been trying to hold it together ever since. A big help of that has been Cozy Glow up at the school. She was a Teacher's Aid when this mess all started so Princess Twilight left her in charge when she and her friends went out to try solving this problem."
[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: I see, and where did they go?
[Mayor Mare] Say: "That I don't know…"

As we sit in silence I mentally sort through my menu, and curiously check the Journal where Quests are kept organized. To my surprise there is a mission there titled "New Dawn." I select it, and read the page over. Normally in DCUO this is the part where Oracle or one of the other Justice League members pop up by the Minimap with a spoken message, but not this time. Instead it just has the written mission requirements.

-Investigate the School of Friendship
-(Optional) Investigate Twilight's Castle

And so I toggle that as my active mission, and close the menu. Under the minimap my list of mission requirements appears, and two of the yellow diamond location markers appear in my vision to guide me.

Nodding I quickly chow down the sandwich in my hand, and drain my mug as quick as I am able without burning myself. Then I stand, much to the alarm of Mayor Mare.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "Where are you going?"
[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: I'm going to do a little digging, and find out where they went. Then we're going to fix this.

My boots on, I grab my coat before heading for the door while slipping it on.

[Mayor Mare] Say: "You are? Just like that?"

Opening the door I turn to face her with a nod.

[Beatrice Sparda] Tell: Just like that. It's not in my nature to let anyone suffer.

I watch her jaw go slack in shock as I float off the ground, and engage my shield spell. With a wave I fly off into the squall as lightning flashes overhead, following the map markers in my vision.