//------------------------------//
// Up again! Punch a tree! Go find a job! - Edited! 
// Story: Live, Die, Repeat 
// by Hidden_Night 
//------------------------------//

My heart aches, and a piercing jolt through my chest wakes me up yet again. I am punching my entire being to sit up and inhale. Panic breathing settles in as the adrenaline in my body flows through me, giving me the strength to get up. 

I’ve woken up again, how exciting! I wonder how I’ll die this time. I’m placing my bets on Plague this time around. It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with one. Though, with how many times I’ve fallen to a plague, it’s unlikely due to my body retaining some “experience” from my last life. It’s a neat system! It’s like leveling up, only I just get placed in a different place and hope it can improve. 

Or worse, but that’s also unlikely.

I should probably open my eyes and take a gander around. A good rule of thumb is to find civilization, find a guild, and then go do something for a while. It should be fine to kill time that way. 

I slowly let my eyelids open, only to find it was an open field. Grass of green, skies of blue, a water stream next to me, and a tree line defining a dark forest. If this were an RPG-like world, that would be the first area to level up, but considering I don’t want to risk getting arrested for illegal hunting, I’ll pass up for now. 

Am I getting onto my…hooves? 

With a quick gander down, a green body of fur awaits, with flat circular limbs protruding out of my body. With a black tail behind and a question mark on my bum, flank, whatever. I am forced polymorphed into a pony. Okay, no big deal. I remember how to walk, if only through other experiences. It’s like a wolf, only without the paws or…claws. 

After taking a few troubleshooting steps, using both my hind and forelegs one at a time, I get the mechanics down and then take a quick prance to the nearby tree. I am eyeing up the tall, dark set of bark. It is tall, definitely not oak or any wood I know of. They probably named something stupid like Dark Wood or Evil Plank.

Getting up on my hind legs, I can stand up. I'm leaning forward due to the placement of my forelegs, just dangling there like on a ledge, but I’ll have to force them to relax on my side as I move myself into a fighting pose. Right hind leg shifted forward, left shifted slightly, twisting upper body thanks to legs in prime position, and a sudden turn and a hoof shooting forward, I punch the tree. 

Well, it's more of a stomp since I can’t ball a fist, and I’d rather not test pony ankles on wood. I guess it would be like open-palming something.

As the bark snaps forward, the roots lift from the dirt below me, and splinters flying around my hoof. I still had my strength with me, something good to know. All that’s left to test is magical ability; then, I could take this wood and turn it into a cabin. 

Yet I need a medium. Naturally, humans can perform magic. They need a medium to access their source of magic. The same should apply to ponies. 

Probably any stick could do, but that leads to the chance for a spell to backfire and kill me right away, so it's for the best to avoid that. I may be brought to another world upon death, but I strive to see how long I can last before I kick another bucket. 

With my head shifting left and right, trying to find anything metal, or at least smooth to use, I found nothing, but gazing up slightly caught my attention: a horn! On my forehead! I’m not just a pony but a unicorn, which comes with infinite life, a free pointy stick, and can probably turn people into confetti if shot at someone.

I have to avoid pie confectioners. The last time I was a unicorn, some guy cut it off, and I fell down a cliff. Not fun.

Anyway, using my horn, I decided to do something simple yet fun. 

Magic Missile!

Focusing my thoughts on the medium, my horn, I can surround it in an aura. Then, three bolts of a green light flew out of my horn, making contact with the tree. Letting more splinters spark and ignite as the wood snaps and cracks. A nice new hole was now open through the tree before it slowly leaned back and fell upon the tree line. 

With my quick check of my body completed, I can now set off to do whatever I want. Finding civilization, living in a cave, dying, and staying here are all my current options. So, let’s head down to locate any society. It shouldn’t be in the forest. It looks like the place a guild would camp outside to draw in skilled rangers and harvesters. So, it’s time to circle and hope I go in the correct direction.

Settling myself back down on all fours, I began to gallop, using that experience to run around the forest. I’ll dub it the First Forest in case this place is primitive.





It’s been an excellent half an hour. My heart is steady, my breathing is fine, and my legs feel better after breaking in. 

‘SO WHY AM I SO CONFUSED?’ I thought to myself, as I’m being babbled too by a very Pink Pony. 

“Heysowhereareyoufrom?IfeltmytailgotwitchytwIitch,whitchusuallymeanssomethingisgonnafall,butthenIfeltmy-“ She would not slow down if she’s the leader of being able to speak this fast. I don’t know what to do.

Oh, right, to catch you guys up here. So, I found this quaint village a little medieval, something I’m pretty familiar with. I enter, next thing I know. 

PINK IS ALL I SEE. 

Also, I'm chewing on cake right now, just nodding and grunting with my mouth full. I have to pretend I understand. The pink speed-talking pony has been going on for about 10 minutes or so. 

“Soanyway, WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!!” She suddenly started speaking like a normal person, with her body suddenly standing straight up and decorations that somehow got here way too quickly. She fanned her front legs out, almost as if trying to show me the decorations—a banner with ‘WELCOME TO PONYVILLE,’ various balloons, and streamers. 

I just got here looking for a job and a hotel to start, something decent. Perhaps one of the other ponies here can get me into something to start, a part-time job, one free-lance shift, anything really.

With a small crowd around, some waving at me, others ignoring me, and this kid taking a large bite out of my cake. It's rude but understandable. With another peek around, I see a white pony in a dress. Everyone else is nude but her. Go off, I guess, upperclass, I assume, so she won’t accept my support. Looking up, I see some ponies flying with wings, pegasi, I presume. Anything that requires flying is an immediate no.

So I decided to get talking to some of these ponies. Their vocabulary is odd since the only thing they change is ‘somebody’ is now ‘somepony,’ and other such bodies become ponies. 

Attempting to find work is challenging. Some ponies, wait, I'm doing it already, are nice enough to ask their boss to see if they have openings. Yet, I still can’t find any higher-ups. Maybe the white girl has something for me.

So, taking in a deep breath, talking to a high-class lady is going to be difficult. 

I approach with a confident gait, but I am not too sure. I slowed down to walk normally towards the mare, who glanced in my direction when the white pony in a dress heard my footsteps before being surprised and turning towards me. 

“Hello,” C'mon, say something charming. Must be sociable while not flirting with the white pony! I assume she’s female from the dress. “Fair lady,” I say, speaking generally while slightly bowing.

“Oh, how nice of you, darling.” She giggles into her hoof. Got called Darling, a good sign. Plus, she sounds posh and trying very hard to sound British. “It’s a wonderful change of pace to see a gentlecolt walk into town.” 

Gentlecolt…it’s supposed to be Gentleman, but with the male horse name, got it!

“I pride myself on knowing a lady when I see one.” I got that charisma flowing through me. See blushed slightly at the flattering, though faltered at the end. She probably thinks I’m sucking up to her. Just pull back to prevent brown-nosing. I have to get that job opportunity. “As a new citizen, I, too, need to play my part in society. So, do you have any job openings you are marginally aware of?”

“Hmm. Well, I do require some help in a store in Canterlot, but that would be too much to ask of you if you’re moving here.” With her hoof to her chin, she began to ponder, making overly dramatic hmms. Then, with a sudden lightbulb in her brain, she continued. “Oh, perhaps you could foalsit my little sister and her friends while I get you a job set up in my store here in Ponyville.”

She seems excited at the revelation. I’m not going to prod into why she needs a babysitter, but I assume it’s to go on a date or check on that other store in totally not Camelot. 

“Sounds good to me, Lady…” I held my hood up, circling it in the air, prompting her to introduce myself. 

“Rarity, and please just call me Rarity. How about yours? A handsome stallion like yourself must have a name to remember.” With a warm smile and her hoof extended to mine, we shake. Also, she’s flirting with me! Okay, I did too much. Not rich enough, nor the status to go out with a girl like her.

“Alright, my name is Anonymous. Just call me Anon.” The tried and true name. Usually, I’d try to get a unique name for each world I’m in, but I’ve reached a writer's block of names for a while, so that Anonymous will do.

“Anonymous, it’s been pleasant meeting you. Shall I meet you tonight? I assume you don’t have a place to stay yet, so if it isn’t too much to ask, may you watch over my sister overnight?”

“Overnight…yeah. I don’t have a place booked yet. I can do that.” Anonymous the…untitled has now become Anonymous the Babysitter. 

I was exchanging goodbyes and getting the location of her place. It was going to go well. Apparently, she had to do something with the girls in Canterlot and can’t miss it. 

So I wondered.

This place is a blend of modern society and medieval. They have no guilds for adventuring or fighting. Just normal society with jobs that are bog standard and decent, they have stores that are specialized for comfort, a bathhouse that has become a spa, and I'm lost. Though if my magic is any indication, they probably have it down, and it’s so normal to them that they don’t have any advancements in magic outside of those who are in specialized schools. 

This is going to make my life difficult. I’m basically in a normal society, with no wars to fight and no one to sign up as a mercenary. It feels like Blue Collar America all over again, and yet, I’m not bothered by this. It feels liberating. I can finally just have an everyday life without worrying about my life! Perhaps I might still worry. No life is stress-free. 

Then, when all hope is lost, I see a shining beacon of hope. HayBurger, but then I lost that hope when I remember: NO MONEY. 

‘Time to do old faithful…’ I say, creeping into an alleyway and getting a tin can.